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MINUTES
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Regular Meeting – November 16, 2004
Riverhead High School Auditorium
PRESENT: President, Mrs. Lori H. Montefusco;
Vice President, Mrs. Nancy Gassert; Mrs. Kathleen Berezny; Mr. Timothy Hubbard;
and, Mrs. Christine Prete.
ABSENT: Mrs. Mary Ellen Harkin.
LATE: Mr. Timothy Griffing.
ALSO PRESENT: Dr. Joseph Laria, Mr. Joseph Singleton
and MaryAnn Sadowski, Esq.
President, Mrs. Montefusco,
opened the meeting at 5:50 p.m. with the pledge of allegiance to the flag.
A motion was made by Mrs.
Gassert, seconded by Mr. Hubbard, to recess to executive session to discuss
contractual and legal matters.
Yes
5 No 0
Motion
Carried.
The Board of Education
recessed to executive session at 5:51 p.m.
Mr. Griffing arrived at 6:08
p.m.
A motion was made by Mrs.
Gassert, seconded by Mr. Hubbard, to return to open session.
Yes
6 No 0
Motion
Carried.
The Board of Education
returned to open session at 7:40 p.m.
A brief recess followed.
The meeting resumed at 7:48
p.m.
There were about 70 other
people in attendance.
ALSO PRESENT: Mrs. Barbara O’Kula.
Pledge of Allegiance
Recess to
Executive Session
Return to
Open Session
Recess
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Minutes
Board of Education
November 16, 2004
Page 2
The public hearing commenced
at 7:49 p.m. with regard to a proposed real property tax exemption owned by
members of volunteer fire companies and volunteer ambulance services.
A number of firefighters
dressed in uniform were present to support the proposed real property tax
exemption. No residents spoke;
however, Mrs. Montefusco announced that the Board of Education will vote on a
resolution to this matter at the December 7, 2004 Board meeting. The public hearing closed at 7:52 p.m.
A motion was made by Mrs.
Gassert, seconded by Mr. Hubbard to amend the minutes of the August 24, 2004
meeting, page 80, Community comments – to delete for the Riley Avenue School
as commented by Mrs. Marie
Tooker.
Yes
6 No 0
Motion
To Amend Carried.
A motion was made by Mrs.
Gassert, seconded by Mrs. Prete, to approve the minutes of the following
meetings as amended:
Special Meeting – August 4,
2004
Regular Meeting – August 10,
2004
Special Meeting – August 17,
2004
Regular Meeting – August 24,
2004
Special Meeting – August 30,
2004
Special Meeting – August 31,
2004
Special Meeting – September
2, 2004
Yes
6 No 0
Motion
Carried.
A motion was made by Mrs.
Gassert, seconded by Mr. Hubbard, to approve the Treasurer’s Report for the
month of September 2004.
Yes
6 No 0
Motion
Carried.
Dr. Laria commented on the
following:
-the district calendar had
scheduled six half days for staff
development – December 23, 2004 will now be a full school day
Public Hearing
-Proposed Real
Property Tax
Exemption for
Volunteer Fire-
fighters and
Ambulance
Volunteers
-Approved as
Amended
-September 2004
-Approved
Opportunity for
Superintendent
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Minutes
Board of Education
November 16, 2004
Page 3
-auditors from the N.Y.S.
Comptroller’s Office arrived November 15th and will examine
administrative expenses and address specific areas of interest to them and
others as reported to their office by district residents. They will audit the period July 1, 2002
through August 31, 2004. Prior to
their leaving, they will provide an exit conference and submit a draft report of their findings.
-the new Superintendent,
Paul Doyle, will begin shortly and he plans to assist in the transition prior
to his departure
-this being his last meeting
as Interim Superintendent of the District, he gave personal thanks to the
members of the Board of Education for the opportunity to serve. He thanked all employees of the
district, administrative staff, support staff, teachers, parents and children
for their help and support over the past five months and praised the district
for its unrelenting and tenacious attention to the children and quality of
leadership.
All members of the Board of
Education thanked Dr. Laria for the
gains the district has made
from his experience and wisdom.
Mrs. Berezny reported on her
attendance at a teleconference on October 26th at Cornell Cooperative
Extension. She was able to obtain
a taping of the forum, Using Accountability to Build Public Trust,
and has given it to Mrs. Prete who in turn can pass it to other Board
members. She, also, announced the
weekend performances of “Kiss Me Kate” put forth by the Riverhead Faculty
Community Theatre at the High School auditorium. Appreciation was extended to Debra Rodgers, Principal at the
Roanoke Avenue School for the breakfast in recognition School Board Recognition
Week and announced the book fair being held there on
November 1. Compliments were extended to David
McKillop’s class community based project, Riverhead’s Greatest Generation.
providing World War II veterans’ experiences.
Mrs. Montefusco announced
that the next Board meeting will be held on December 7th. There will be no board meeting on
December 14th. The next
meeting to follow will be held on
January 11, 2005.
Opportunity for
Board Members
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Minutes
Board of Education
November 16, 2004
Page 4
Comments from the community
included:
-clarification of funding
for curriculum liaison teachers
(proposed new curriculum development is supported by
Title IIA funds and positions will be available on a yearly
basis as
Long as Title IIA funds are available to the district – the
distribution of positions are: 4 per grade level at Pulaski
Street
School; 4 per primary building; and, special projects
liaisons, to be
determined)
-amount of architectural
contract with Burton, Behrendt and Smith
Mrs. Montefusco stated that the Board is still negotiating
the
contract and has yet to be signed. She also stated that the Board
plans to enter into two contracts – one for portable
classrooms at
the High School and the other to build a new high school.
-concern that the architects
were recommended to the Board by
the Space Planning Committee which has been criticized
for
inadequate representation of the people/community as a whole
for
Riverhead
-a teacher and resident
suggested that the recently revised field
trip permission slips be translated into Spanish and perhaps
Polish, as well.
-Dr. Peter Pace spoke on the
lack of notification from Long Island
Blood Services or the district when his daughter had an
adverse
action to her volunteer donation of blood on October 29th
at the
Long Island Blood Services sponsored school blood drive at
the
Riverhead High School.
Mrs. Montefusco apologized and stated
that the Board of Education was unaware of this situation and
gave assurance that the matter would be investigated.
A motion was made by Mrs.
Gassert, seconded by Mr. Hubbard to amend the agenda as follows:
Amend the following
resolution:
RESOLVED, that on the
recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, the Professional Personnel recommendation
be approved per Supplemental File Personnel Report and is subject to Board
Policy #9310:
Lisa Talmage – 6th
Grade Band, effective 11/17/04-6/24/05, no
stipend attached.
Community
Comments
-Amend Advisor
Appointment
-Add Resolution
to Amend
Superintendent’s
Starting Date
-Approved
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Minutes
Board of Education
November 16, 2004
Page 5
Add the following
resolution:
RESOLVED, that the Board of
Education of the Riverhead Central School District approves that the
commencement date of the contract for Superintendent, Paul R. Doyle, as
previously authorized by the Board of Education, be amended to read November
29, 2004 in place of December 1, 2004.
Yes
6 No 0
Motion
to Amend Agenda Carried.
A motion was made by Mr.
Hubbard, seconded by Mrs. Berezny, to accept the following resolution:
RESOLVED, that the Board of
Education of the Riverhead Central School District accepts the following
recommendations of the Committee on Special Education regarding children with
disabilities and whose Individualized Education Plans need
to be implemented:
C.S.E. MEETING
STUDENT NUMBERS
09/14/04
212177, 212603, 213536, 214572,
215564
09/27/04
207349
09/28/04
204201, 204251, 205006, 205140,
205331, 205384, 205481, 206489,
206764, 206783,
207059, 207774,
216477
09/30/04
204010, 204686, 206089, 206486,
206803, 207185, 207842
10/01/04
206274, 207799, 212380, 213608,
213215, 216116, 216150, 217043,
217074, 217232, 217205, 217165
10/05/04
210027, 211097, 211288, 211662,
211670,
211689, 212686
10/12/04
203727, 214390, 215042, 216159
10/14/04
213636
10/19/04
211693
C.P.S.E. MEETING
STUDENT NUMBERS
11/09/04
218267, 218142, 218088, 218238,
218265
-Accepted
-Supplemental File
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Minutes
Board of Education
November 16, 2004
Page 6
Yes
6 No 0
Motion
Carried.
A motion was made by Mrs.
Prete, seconded by Mr. Griffing, to approve the following resolution:
WHEREAS, the Riverhead
Central School District has submitted formal Request for Proposals (RFP’s) for
architectural services, and
WHEREAS, the school district
has received inquiries from ten (10) architectural firms, and
WHEREAS, the Space Advisory
Committee has interviewed five (5) architectural firms who specialize in
educational facilities and has recommended to the Board of Education two (2) of
the firms as finalists, and
WHEREAS, on November 6,
2004, the Board of Education interviewed the recommended finalists, therefore,
be it
RESOLVED, that the Board of
Education of the Riverhead Central School District appoints Burton, Behrendt
and Smith, PC as the official architects of the district; and, the President of
the Board of Education is hereby authorized to sign a contract prepared by
district counsel including all modifications required by the Board of
Education, on this date, for
professional architectural services with Burton, Behrendt and Smith, PC.
Yes
6 No 0
Motion
Carried.
A motion was made by Mrs.
Gassert, seconded by Mr. Griffing, to approve the following resolution:
RESOLVED, that the Board of
Education of the Riverhead Central School District approves the transportation
contract between Mattituck-Cutchogue Union Free School District, party of the
first part and the Riverhead Central School District, party of the second part,
for one (1) Mattituck student from the NAT Center in
-BBS
-Approved
-Approved
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Minutes
Board of Education
November 16, 2004
Page 7
Brookhaven to Riverhead
(one-way only), for the period of service
to begin November 1, 2004
and to end June 24, 2005 in the amount of $332 per month at a total anticipated
cost of $2,656; and, authorizes the President of the Board of Education to sign
such contract.
Yes
6 No 0
Motion
Carried.
A motion was made by Mrs.
Gassert, seconded by Mr. Griffing, to approve the following resolution:
RESOLVED, that the Board of
Education of the Riverhead Central School District authorizes the agreement
between the Riverhead Central School District and the NYSARC, Inc., Suffolk
Chapter (AHRC) to provide educational services for one (1) student with a 1:1
aide for the period July 1, 2004-June 30, 2005. The rate/tuition
will be the latest approved
by the New York State Department of Education; and, authorizes the President of
the Board of Education to sign such contract.
Yes
6 No 0
Motion
Carried.
A motion was made by Mrs.
Prete, seconded by Mrs. Gassert, to approve the following resolution:
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education
of the Riverhead Central School District approves the 2005-06 Budget
Development Calendar.
Dr. Laria stated that these
dates are amenable to change by the new Superintendent, Paul Doyle.
Yes
6 No 0
Motion
Carried.
A motion was made by Mrs.
Berezny, seconded by Mrs. Gassert, to approve the following resolution:
-Approved
-Approved
-Approved
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Minutes
Board of Education
November 16, 2004
Page 8
RESOLVED, that the Board of
Education of the Riverhead Central School District gratefully accepts the
donation of $5,000 from the Aquebogue PTO for two (2) front stage curtain
panels and one (1) front valance panel for the stage area in the cafeteria at
the Aquebogue Elementary School.
RESOLVED, that the Board of
Education of the Riverhead Central School District gratefully accepts the
donation of $500 from Adnan Kiriscioglu, on behalf of the ExxonMobil
Educational Alliance Program, to be used for the Council for Unity program.
RESOLVED, that the Board of
Education of the Riverhead Central School District gratefully accepts the
donation of a new fax machine from the Pulaski Street PTO for use at the
Pulaski Street School.
Yes
6 No 0
Motion
Carried.
A motion was made by Mrs.
Gassert, seconded by Mrs. Berezny, to approve the following resolution:
RESOLVED, that the Board of
Education of the Riverhead Central School District approves that the substitute
nurses’ per diem salary is established at $140 per diem and the part-time
substitute hourly rate is established at $20.
Yes
6 No 0
Motion
Carried.
A motion was made by Mrs.
Gassert, seconded by Mr. Hubbard, to approve the following resolution:
RESOLVED, that the Board of
Education of the Riverhead Central School District approves the appointments of
the following consultants:
Steven Gardner, M.D. -
Psychiatric evaluations – est. year, $2,000.
Ilene Morris, MT-BC – Music
therapist for autistic children - $95.00
per session, $3,000 per year.
Kaarin Anderson Ryan, MA –
Positive behavioral consultant for
autistic children-$95.00 per hour – est. $20,000 for
year.
-Approved
-Approved
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Minutes
Board of Education
November 16, 2004
Page 9
Joan Sedita – Math
Consultant – workshop “Master Notebook” &
“Key Three Study Skills” - $1,583.78 including travel
from
Boxford, Massachusetts.
Yes
6 No 0
Motion
Carried.
A motion was made by Mrs.
Gassert, seconded by Mrs. Prete, to approve the following resolution:
RESOLVED, that the Board of
Education of the Riverhead Central School District approves the appointment of
Dr. Rogelio S. Lao as school physician for the 2004-05 school year. The fee schedule is as follows:
Physical – in school -
$12.00
Sport Physical – in school -
$12.00
Sport Physical – in office –
$15.00
Sport re-certification – in
office - $15.00
Working papers - $12.00
Yes
6 No 0
Motion
Carried.
A motion was made by Mrs.
Prete, seconded by Mrs. Berezny, to approve the following resolution:
RESOLVED, that the Board of Ed