MINUTES
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Regular Meeting Ð January 25, 2005
Riverhead High School Auditorium
PRESENT: President, Mrs. Lori H. Montefusco;
Mrs. Kathleen Berezny; Mr.Timothy Hubbard; and, Mrs. Christine Prete.
LATE: Mr. Timothy Griffing and Mrs. Mary
Ellen Harkin.
ABSENT: Mrs. Nancy G. Gassert.
ALSO PRESENT: Mr. Paul R. Doyle, Mr. Joseph
Singleton, Mr. Joseph Ogeka and Ms. Nancy Carney;
President, Mrs. Montefusco,
opened the meeting at 5:42 p.m. with the pledge of allegiance to the flag.
A motion was made by Mr.
Hubbard, seconded by Mrs. Prete, to recess to executive session to discuss RAA
contract negotiations, internship for 2005/06, search selection for Assistant
Superintendent for Business, acquisition of real property; board membersÕ travel
and conference expenses; and, interview auditing firm.
Board members, Mrs. Prete
and Mrs. Berezny, expressed their feelings that the topic of board member
travel and conference expenses should be a discussion held in open session as
referred to in the New York Open Meetings Law.
Yes
4 No 0
Motion
Carried.
The Board of Education
recessed to executive session at 5:43 p.m.
Mr. Griffing arrived at 5:55
p.m.
Mrs. Harkin arrived at 6:05
p.m.
A motion was made by Mrs.
Harkin, seconded by Mr. Griffing, to return to open session.
Yes
6 No 0
Motion
Carried.
The Board of Education
returned to open session at 7:01 p.m.
Pledge of Allegiance
Recess to
Executive Session
Return to
Open Session
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Minutes
Board of Education
January 25, 2005
Page 2
A brief recess followed.
The meeting resumed at 7:15
p.m.
There were about 150 other
people in attendance.
ALSO PRESENT: Mrs. Barbara OÕKula.
The recognition of
Sportsmanship Athlete Team Awards-Fall 2004 commenced with action on the
following resolutions extending commendations/certificates to each individual
team and their coaches.
A motion was made by Mr.
Hubbard, seconded by Mrs. Berezny, to approve the following resolution:
WHEREAS, the Riverhead GirlsÕ
JV Soccer Team qualified to
become a Sportsmanship Team in accordance with the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) criteria, and
WHEREAS, the students brought credit to themselves, their
parents and the Riverhead Central School District, be it
RESOLVED, that the Board of
Education and the Superintendent of Schools commends the students and their Coach,
Tim Page, on this
accomplishment.
Yes
6 No 0
Motion
Carried.
A motion was made by Mrs.
Harkin, seconded by Mr. Griffing, to approve the following resolution:
WHEREAS, the Riverhead BoysÕ
JV Soccer Team qualified to
become a Sportsmanship Team in accordance with the New York State Public High
School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) criteria, and
WHEREAS, the students
brought credit to themselves, their parents and the Riverhead Central School
District, be it
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Minutes
Board of Education
January 25, 2005
Page 3
RESOLVED, that the Board of
Education and the Superintendent of Schools commends the students and their Coach,
David Huey, on this
accomplishment.
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 GirlsÕ
Middle School Soccer Team
qualified to become a Sportsmanship Team in accordance with the New York State
Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) criteria, and
WHEREAS, the students
brought credit to themselves, their parents and the Riverhead Central School
District, be it
RESOLVED, that the Board of
Education and the Superintendent of Schools commends the students and their Coach,
Benjamin Butler, on this
accomplishment.
Yes
6 No 0
Motion
Carried.
A motion was made by Mrs.
Berezny, seconded by Mrs. Prete, to approve the following resolution:
WHEREAS, the Riverhead Middle
School Football Blue Team qualified to become a Sportsmanship Team in
accordance with the New York State Public High School Athletic Association
(NYSPHSAA) criteria, and
WHEREAS, the students
brought credit to themselves, their parents and the Riverhead Central School
District, be it
RESOLVED, that the Board of
Education and the Superintendent of Schools commends the students and their Coach,
Salvatore Loverde, on this
accomplishment.
Yes
6 No 0
Motion
Carried.
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Minutes
Board of
Education
January 25,
2005
Page 4
A motion was made by Mrs.
Harkin, seconded by Mr. Griffing, to amend the agenda to include and approve
the following resolution:
WHEREAS, the Riverhead Varsity
Tennis Team qualified to become
a Sportsmanship Team in accordance with the New York State Public High School
Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) criteria, and
WHEREAS, the students
brought credit to themselves, their parents and the Riverhead Central School
District, be it
RESOLVED, that the Board of
Education and the Superintendent of Schools commends the students and their Coaches, Jerry Duvall and Tom Zay, on this accomplishment.
Yes
6 No 0
Motion
Carried.
Essay winners from grades
4-8 read their prized essays in the Riverhead Central Faculty AssociationÕs
annual ÒWhy I Love My SchoolÓ essay contest for elementary students and
received $25 Borders gift certificates.
A motion was made by Mrs.
Harkin, seconded by Mr. Griffing, to approve the minutes of the following
meetings:
Regular Meeting Ð September
14, 2004
Special Meeting Ð September
27, 2004
Special Meeting Ð October 4,
2004
Regular Meeting Ð October
12, 2004
Yes
6 No 0
Motion
Carried.
Mr. Doyle
commented on the issue of focus Ð focus on studentsÉ focus on instruction - and the
approach (inclusive of community, staff and students) to develop a
comprehensive way to deal with focus.
With the
pervasive problem on Long Island of fraudulent practices, his mission is to
regain public trust that may have been lost in terms of focus and make legitimate attempts to
improve instruction for our children.
The SuperintendentÕs major focus lies in four areas: people, programs,
funds and facilities. Additionally, he thanked the staff in Buildings and Grounds for the splendid job they did in the cleanup
of facilities during the recent blizzard.
-Approved
Opportunity for
Superintendent
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Minutes
Board of Education
January 25, 2005
Page 5
Mr. Doyle prefaced a power
point presentation by stating that an accountability report released by the
State Education Department on January 11th states that the district
is in good standing based on performance data required under the No Child Left
Behind Act. However, the district
is at risk of being classified as a school in need of improvement if test scores arenÕt raised in student test scores
among elementary level English Language Arts (ELA) and Math test scores, middle
school ELA for students with disabilities, high school level ELA test scores
for African-American and impoverished students, and secondary-level math for
students with disabilities and African-Americans who are at an economic
disadvantage. An action plan is
being developed using NCLB guidelines to prevent the school from being
designated in need of improvement
and face the possibility of losing federal Title I funding (approximately
$1,300,000). A new plan will
include a balanced literacy program in Every-day Math curriculum at the
elementary level, as well as, reading/writing assessments and improved math
curriculum in grades 5-8 to align with state standards. More professional development for
teachers, aides and principals will be provided and resources shifted to
curriculum areas and buildings in need the most. All plans will be included in the preliminary budget for
2005/06. His report is made part
of the Supplemental File of the Minutes and is available to the public upon
request.
On behalf of the Board of
Education, Mrs. Montefusco extended get-well wishes to Donna Boscola who was
recently hospitalized following a car accident. The Transportation Department was commended for their care
and safe transportation of our children during the inclement weather. The state auditors are near completion
of their audit of the district and will make their findings available to the
Board soon. Further, the following
dates are now half-days of instruction for the students:
January 28
March 23
May 27
Full days of instruction
are:
May 26
June 22
Opportunity for
Board Members
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Minutes
Board of Education
January 25, 2005
Page 6
The Board of Education held
discussion of the following Board Policies:
6700
- Purchasing
6700-R Ð Purchasing
Regulation
6700-E.1 Ð Purchasing Exhibit
6700-E.2 Ð Explanations of ÒOtherÓ Methods of
Competition to Be
Used For Non-Bid Procurements
6710
Ð Purchasing Authority (the Purchasing Agent is the only
one
authorized to spend money) Board members, Mrs. Prete and Mrs. Berezny suggested to lower the amount allowed
to spend by the Purchasing Agent without Board approval from $10,000 to
$1,500. Mr. Singleton
recommended that any methods and levels of purchasing be considered following
completion and report of findings from the internal
auditor in
the next couple of months.
6720
Ð Bidding Requirements
6720-R Ð Competitive Bidding
Procedures Regulation
7360
Ð Construction Contracts, Bidding and Awards
7700 Ð Facilities Renovations (Recent renovations at the District
Office and associated costs were in question by Mrs. Prete and Mrs. Berezny. Mr. Singleton stated that the
renovations were done to accommodate the logistics and safety of the district
office (toilets must be modified, handicapped accessible to meet compliance
with ADA, etc.) below the $10,000 limit to procure bids and within board
policy.
Mrs. Berezny requested the
courtesy of communication to the Board of Education of current
renovations. Mr. Doyle accepted
responsibility and stated that every effort will be made to share such
information with the Board.
Comments from the community
included:
-that criteria for Assistant
Superintendent for Business is a
public matter and calls for discussion in open session
(Mrs. Montefusco stated that the criteria was public via the
advertisement for the position)
-issue of interview with Ken
Zahler (Mrs. Montefusco stated that
discussion for potential land acquisition for a new building
was
sensitive to value of property and that Mr. Zahler would give
a future presentation with the Space Planning Committee to
the public).
Community
Comments
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Minutes
Board of Education
January 25, 2005
Page 7
-reassessment of need for
teacher aides versus teacher assistants
-appropriate disposal of
surplus equipment (Mr. Singleton stated
that the Board will be notified of what can be awarded
within quotable bids after declaration of surplus versus
ÒjunkÓ with
no value).
-statement that Professional
Development should be funded by
the educators and not the taxpayers
-criticism of second grade
Everyday Math Program (Mrs. Montefusco stated that research supports
effectiveness of this program that will progress to higher levels).
-request for block
scheduling at the Middle School
-request for vocational
training for 9th and 10th grade students at
risk of dropping out
A motion was made by Mr.
Hubbard, seconded by Mr. Griffing, to approve 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:
CSE
MEETING STUDENT
NUMBERS
12-09-2004
212000,
212039, 213013, 213541, 214016,
214317, 214572, 217117
12-21-2004 214140,
216153, 215234
01-04-2005
213646
CPSE MEETING &n