by Alex Brooks
High School Teacher Brandon Trinkle gave a presentation on new agriculture education programs to the Hoosick Falls School Board at its January 20 meeting. Trinkle was hired as a business teacher, but has also offered agricultural classes this year, and the student response has been enthusiastic. 80 to 100 students are in agriculture classes this year. Trinkle has also revived the Future Farmers of America (FFA) at Hoosick Falls and there are about 30 students involved in that. The District has secured a grant from Cornell University for materials needed for the agriculture programs.
Building Condition Survey
The NYS Education Department requires that a Building Condition Survey be done every five years at public school buildings. These surveys are often used as the basis for planning future capital projects to renovate buildings. Superintendent Pat Dailey said HFCS has just completed its survey, done by the architects who are handling the Capital Project. Dailey said to no one’s surprise, the Bus Garage received an unsatisfactory rating. He said the District will need to start planning improvements to that building soon. The main school campus is in pretty good shape, with most of the work that needs to be done already incorporated into the current Capital Project, except for two items that have recently come to light. One of those is the pressure tanks for the water system, which were fixed over the Christmas break, and have been inspected and put back in service. But they are old, and the District may want to replace them at some point soon. The other is the septic system, which failed last fall when a lateral line broke. The lateral was repaired, but more extensive work on the septic system is contemplated.
Dailey said he is talking with the architects about reworking the Capital Project to include work on the septic system, without raising the total amount of the capital project. But Dailey said even though the total amount of the project will stay the same, the revised work plan would probably have to be submitted to the voters for approval because the original project approved by the voters didn’t say anything about extensive work on the septic system. He said the changes in the plan will probably extend the capital project into a fourth summer, as the schedule for next summer is already strained to the breaking point. More information will be forthcoming after the administration and the architects discuss these matters in more detail and come up with a new plan.
Board President’s Comment
Board President Joe Patire said he was dismayed to read an article in the Panther Post about racial incidents at HFCS. He said, “It bothered me to read that. I guess some work still needs to be done.”
Budget Revisions for Grants
The Board approved three supplemental appropriations for the current school year because of additional revenue coming in from outside funding. The first is an increase of $21,700 for 100 ChromeBook computers paid by the Federal government through the E-Rate program. The second is an increase of $10,000 to reflect that sum received from the District’s insurance company for repair of the sewer lateral that broke last fall. The third is $10,000 received from Cornell University as an Agriculture Education Incentive Grant for materials to be used in agriculture programs at Hoosick Falls.
Middle School
The Board formally approved reconfiguration of the school to include a middle school. Starting next school year, the Elementary School will comprise UPK through 4th grade, the Middle School will comprise grades 5 through 8 and the High School will comprise grades 9 through 12. The District has already appointed a Middle School Principal and already has an operational Middle School. By next year the transition will be complete and the new administrative structure will be formally in place.
Gina Harrison Retirement
The Board accepted a letter of resignation for retirement purposes from 8th Grade Math Teacher Gina Harrison, effective at the end of this school year.