North Shore Schools
Board of Education
Minutes
The meeting was called to order by President Beyer at
Executive Session
At
At
Pledge of
Allegiance
President Beyer lead the audience in the pledge of
allegiance.
Recognition of
Students
Dr.
Melnick and President Beyer recognized the Women's
Tennis Team and Coach Brian Kline who had a perfect season and won a Conference
Championship as well as both the Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams and
their coaches Ed Corona and Neal Levy for winning the County Championship and
for finishing 10th in their class in New York State.
Approval of Minutes
On motion by Trustee Glassman and seconded by Trustee Beyer
and all in favor, the minutes of
Approval
of Treasurer's Reports
On motion by Trustee Pombar and
seconded by Trustee Webb and all in favor, the treasurer's reports of August 1,
2006 through August 31, 2006 and
September 1, 2006 through September 30, 2006 were approved.
Report
of the SGO Representative/Comments from the Public
SGO Representative, Alex Romano was not present at the meeting.
There were no comments from the public.
Report
of the Superintendent
Dr. Melnick reported on the production of the Crucible, the
National Honor Society induction ceremony, the achievement of 73 high school
students earning the designation of AP Scholar and the selection of Clifton Shulz and Dan Agovino as Coach of
the Year. He also reported on the
Community Service Project, Relay for Life, he gave an update on the status of
the 2007-08 Course Catalog and reminded the Board of the upcoming
Regular
Business
Elementary Integrated Science Program
Carol
Smyth, Director of Science, gave a presentation on the Elementary Integrated
Science Program. Her presentation
included examples of how the program is working in the classroom. Elementary teachers Kathleen Yoo, Glen Head and Darlene Skaee,
Glenwood Landing, gave their personal experiences of this program. Both teachers were very enthusiastic about the
program and about working with Nancy Letts. The Board thanked Dr. Smyth and the teachers
for their presentations and asked questions about meeting the needs of all
students and making sure the students are prepared for the State testing. Dr. Melnick also
thanked Dr. Smyth for her presentation and commended the teachers who
volunteered to be part of the first group trained in this program.
Parent Education Programs
Dr. Melnick
thanked Shelly Newman, Director of Public Affairs, Sue Ring, Web Master and the
technology staff for their work on the parent survey that was sent home to
parents and posted on the web site. He
explained that we received approximately a 14% response rate and the highest
priority among parents seems to be homework and stress. The next step is for an RFP to be developed
and sent out, he will then report to the Board in time for the budget
discussions. The Board had a brief
discussion about some alternative ways of providing a parenting program. There was consensus on the Board to go
forward with preparing an RFP, and asked to see the document before it is sent
to vendors.
Comments from the
Public
Diane Cannam,
Old Brookville, informed the Board that parent programs are offered by the
Library in conjunction with Cornell Cooperative Extension. She said she attended 3 of the classes and
while 12 people started out, by the last class she was the only one left. She feels if parents aren't charged a fee, they
may not commit to the program. She also
suggested a program where the parent could participate through the computer and
would not have to leave home.
Karen Quinn, Glenwood Landing, said
she felt the survey wasn't clear and caused confusion. Specifically she felt it wasn't clear whether
the funds would come from this year's budget or next year's budget.
Dr. Melnick
responded that there are no funds in the current budget for this program and
the survey was done in anticipation of next year's budget so the Board would be
able to consider it.
Ms. Quinn then questioned why an RFP
would be necessary if there was such a low response rate.
Dr. Melnick
responded that the response rate is significant enough to look at it as a pilot
program for next year.
Ms. Quinn then asked a question
about the integration of the differentiated curriculum in math and
science. While she feels it is a
wonderful way for children to learn, she is concerned that the children may not
be learning what they need for the assessments.
Dr. Melnick
explained that the curriculum is aligned to the State curriculum and the
children are prepared.
School Calendar
2007-08
Dr. Melnick
gave the Board three options for the 2007-08 calendar. Dr. Melnick's
recommendation is a calendar which includes 6 early dismissal days for K-5 (1
hour early) to allow for teacher training in the initiatives that have begun
throughout the District. The early
dismissal days are planned for Mondays allowing for the time to be combined
with faculty meeting time. This will result
in a longer period of training and would alleviate the need for teachers to be
pulled from the classroom and the need for substitutes. The Board had a lengthy discussion about the
burden that would be put on parents to have 6 days of early dismissal. They questioned Dr. Melnick
about the benefit of training in this fashion rather than in the summer. Dr. Melnick
explained that due to contract constraints, teachers cannot be required to
attend training after school or in the summer.
The Board discussed other options as well as the cost of training
teachers outside of the school day and reached consensus to have 4 early
dismissal days (dismissing at
Preliminary
Discussion Summer Program 2007-08
Dr. Melnick
reported that George Esernio of the North Shore Boys
& Girls Club is once again interested in facilitating the Summer Program
for 2007-08 along with Richard Ryan. He
explained that the District is not compelled to do an RFP for 5 years.
Committee and
Conference Reports
Trustee Pombar
reported on the Fiscal Training Workshop that he and Trustee Glassman
attended. Trustee Genovesi
reported that the Health & Safety Committee met with Wally Zeins to discuss emergency plans throughout the
district. They will meet with him again
on December 12 and are discussing a drill to be held on a Saturday and will
report back to the Board after that meeting..
The Board decided to act
simultaneously on items F-P.
On motion of Trustee Pombar and seconded by Trustee Webb and all in favor it
was:
Personnel
Resignation
- Certified
Resolved: To
accept the resignation of David Dowling, Part-time (.1) Physical Education,
Glen Head, effective
Leave of
Absence for Child Rearing Purposes
Resolved: To
approve a leave of absence for child rearing purposes for Janice Chen,
Biology, effective
Appointments - Non Certified
Resolved: To approve a conditional appointment for Rishen
Balwant, Part-time Cleaner, Glen
Head, effective
Resolved: To approve an appointment for Marianne Trubish,
Food Service, Middle School, effective
Approval of Additions to the Per Diem Substitute List
Thomas Camilleri Secondary
Raymond Chaputian Physical Ed
Patrick Lynch Physical Ed
Eileen Reed(conditional) Secondary
Approval of Extra
Curricular Activities Club Sponsors
Resolved: To approve the following extra curricular activity club
sponsor
Women's Basketball
Junior Varsity Robert Vachris*
*replaces Kellie Moritz
Approval of Resolution for
Re-Classification of Unappropriated Funds 2005-06
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education of the
the
encumbered amount of $528,763.96 be re-classified as unappropriated
funds
(Fund Balance) in 2005-2006, and be it further,
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education of the
that
the 2006-07 budget be increased by $528,763.96 and be encumbered for
the
purposes indicated
Professional
Development in Differentiated Instruction $ 77,132.02
1
FTE Music (increased enrollment) $ 86,669.00
Summer
Curriculum Work $ 36,000.00
High
School Dean Position $ 20,000.00
Increment
for Advanced Study $110,003.00
.6
FTE Health (increased enrollment) $ 52,001.40
New
Internal Claims Auditor $ 18,000.00
Electives
at Middle School $ 18,958.54
Project
Lead the Way (PLTW) Supplies $ 10,000.00
Middle
School Science Labs (Summer 2007) $100,000.00
Approval of Re-Classification of
Employee Retirement System Funds 2005-06
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education of the
the
encumbered amount of $479,179.75, accrued to pay the Employee
Retirement
System, be re-classified and placed in the Retirement Contribution
Reserve
Approval of Budget Transfers
Resolved: To
approve budget transfers in the amount of $175,002 effective
Acceptance of Donation to the High School Drum Line
from the High School PTSA
Resolved: To
accept the donation of $3,205 from the High School PTSA for the purchase of
Drum Line equipment
Approval to Dispose of Obsolete Equipment
Resolved: To
declare as obsolete and approve of the disposal of the equipment located at the
Glen Head & Middle Schools:
Approval to Dispose of a Non-Repairable Vehicle
Resolved: To
approve of the disposal of a 1992 Maroon Ford Taurus Station Wagon
Approval of
Change Order RFG-3 from GTS Construction Corp. for Roofing Replacement at
the High
School
Resolved: To approve change order #RFG-3 from GTS
Construction Corp. for Roofing
Replacement
at the High School, in the amount of $61,200 (additional)
Approval of
Change Order RFG-4 from GTS Construction Corp. for Roofing Replacement at the
High School
Resolved: To
approve change order #RFG-4 from GTS Construction Corp. for Roofing
Replacement at
the High School, in the amount of $18,635 (additional)
Approval Of Special Education Consultants/Service
Providers
Resolved: To
approve an agreement with Variety Child Learning Center for ABA Services,
effective
Resolved: To
approve a rate increase for Judy Leibowitz, Special
Education Teacher in The
Approval of Special Education Services
Resolved: To
approve special education services, per attached tab
Comments From The Public
There
were no comments from the public.
Old Business
Trustee
Beyer asked the Board to let her know, by email, prior to the meeting of any
committee or conference reports and to notify Dr. Melnick
of any old business they would like discussed.
New Business
Dr.
Melnick informed the Board that their conference code
is overspent due in part to the NYSSBA Convention being held in
The
Board had a brief discussion about the inaccuracies in the local newspapers and
how to ensure this doesn't happen. It
was suggested that Shelly Newman speak to the editors about this ongoing
problem and that the Board write a letter.
Ms.
Buatsi updated the Board on the $700,000 grant coming
from LIPA. She said Mr. Hoefer has agreed, in principal, to give it as an unrestricted
grant for energy conservation measures.
Ms. Buatsi also noted that she is looking into
how to use the retroactive PILOT funds.
Dr.
Melnick spoke of a letter from Ingerman
Smith addressing the issue of charging students for field trips. Dr. Melnick
explained that this will have some impact on the budget and the Board Policy
may need to be altered. The current
policy and practice will continue for the remainder of the year, and the policy
will be reviewed and amended in July.
There
is an upcoming conference on School Funding scheduled for January 24 by
Nassau-Suffolk School Board Association.
Dr.
Melnick explained that Governor-Elect Elliot Spitzer
does not have a representative from
Trustee
Pombar asked about tracking students who do not live
in the district. Dr. Melnick
asked Ms. Buatsi to prepare a report for a future
agenda.
Adjournment
At
favor, the
meeting was adjourned.
Elizabeth Ciampi
District
Clerk
