March 19, 2020

The Waterford-Halfmoon Union Free School District Board of Education Regular Meeting dated March 19, 2020 was called to order at 7:00pm by Mrs. Ricci.

PRESENT: Marcia Ricci, David Lee, Jamie Maloney, Jack Catanzarita, Carolyn Bell, Denise Carutasu

ALSO PRESENT: Patrick Pomerville, Rachel Schwendinger
ATTENDING VIA WEBEX: Jennifer Bull, Annemarie Strife, Kelly Denvir, Colleen Rishel

There were no comments from the public regarding items on this evening’s action agenda.

Comments from the Administration

Mr. Pomerville announced that this Board of Education meeting was held with the use of Webex. The meeting being held in the school library was closed to public.

COVID-19 Update: Governor Cuomo officially closed all public schools until Wednesday, April 1, 2020. The Governor’s office notes that they will make decisions on whether to extend this closure as we get closer to April 1st.  As a component district of WSWHE BOCES the 31 districts will make decisions on the closure of our building based on direction given by the Governor’s Office. If he says we can open, we will open, if he extends the closure, we will continue.  The Governor made specific notations in regard to the 180-waiver and stated it only applied to his closure, not ours.  The WSWHE BOCES districts are working in collaboration with each other to be as consistent as possible throughout this pandemic and its impact.

The staff has been terrific throughout this ordeal.  The faculty has worked
hard to prepare educational activities, reading lists, educational links and more to support the continuity of education. This week and next week have been weeks of review of material. As we look to future weeks, beginning March 30th we have asked our teachers to begin introducing new material to our students.  This will be their focus of planning starting next week. The 10-month hourly employees have stepped up to the plate and have been coming in each morning starting at 7 a.m. to prepare the meals that we distribute each day. This has gone well.  Our custodial team has started a specific cleaning regimen of each room in our building and has gone above and beyond to meet our requests each day. The administrators have been true leaders and have assisted me greatly as we make numerous decisions each day on items that we have never had to consider before in our careers. 

A written request from Ms. Crowder requesting the district consider granting
school tax relief for veterans that qualify and who reside in our community.  Mr. Pomerville presented to each Board member, her letter at our last meeting and stated there would be a chance for discussion this week. Mr. Pomerville asked Board members for their thoughts on the subject stating the options of voting tonight, holding a discussion on the subject, or not holding a vote.  Board members said they understood the request and appreciate the service of all veterans.  Board members also noted the tax burden to the community at a time when the district is facing increased tax obligations due to the Momentive tax certiorari case and recent property tax reassessments.  The Board felt they could possibly revisit the issue in the future and that the issue would not be put up for a vote at this time.  Mr. Pomerville and Mrs. Ricci will draft a response letter to Mrs. Crowder.

The adult meal price was raised as a result of a review by the NYS Child Nutrition program.

Ms. Schwendinger will present an update on our 2020-2021 budget.

Momentive Tax Certiorari update: Official appraisal exchanges happened on March 10, 2020.  As expected, our assessed value of the property was vastly different than their assessment. A Court date is set for April 15, 2020.  Mr. Pomerville, along with Town of Waterford officials and attorney’s representing the District and the Town, would like to meet with Momentive for a discussion which may lead to a potential settlement prior to the court date.

ACTION

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved the minutes of the March 5, 2020 Board of Education Meeting.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved the Treasurer’s Report ending February 2020.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved the Revenue Status Report ending February 2020.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved the Appropriation Status Report ending February 2020.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved the Student Fund Report ending February 2020.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved the following warrants:
Capital Fund #17 for $14,361.06
Special Aid #24 for $325.86
School Lunch #15 for $10,615.45
General Fund #55 for $521,812.20

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved the cross contract with Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES for On Line Application Services (OLAS) for the 2020 - 2021 school year in the estimated amount of $2,500.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved the cross contract with Erie I BOCES for Policy Services for the 2020-2021 school year in the amount of $1,750

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved the Annual Meeting Notice for the May 19, 2020 Budget Vote and Board of Education Election.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved the following people to work the polls for the May 19, 2020 Budget Vote and Board of Education Election for a stipend of $100 each: Mary Comitale, May Neary, Irene Sylvester, James Robitaille.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved the appointment of Mark Bell as Voting Machine Inspector for the May 19, 2020 Budget Vote and Board of Education election; for a stipend of $300.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved the appointment of Sam Carson as a substitute teacher for the 2019 - 2020 school year; salary per the policy on substitute teacher pay.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved a special meeting of the Board of Education on April 21, 2020 at 7:30AM for the purpose of voting on the WSWHE BOCES Board of Education Budget and Election.  It may be possible to conduct this meeting via phone or Internet.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved the following construction change orders:
CO #1-008 Bast Hatfield Construction, for a total credit of $7,149.00 painting of auditorium canopy
CO #1-01 Gallo Construction Corp, $6,273.07 as described in revised cost proposal
CO #5-01 $6,763.98 Gallo Construction Corp. for cafeteria doors

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved  the appointment of Marilyn Carson as substitute custodian for the 2019 - 2020 school year; salary per the CSEA contract.


On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved the appointment of Daniel Carson as substitute custodian for the 2019 - 2020 school year; salary per the CSEA contract.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved  the appointment of Liam Eubanks as substitute custodian for the 2019 - 2020 school year; salary per the CSEA contract.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved  the appointment of Judith LaBarge as substitute custodian for the 2019 - 2020 school year; pending fingerprint approval; salary per the CSEA contract.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved the appointment of Naven Fowler as substitute custodian for the 2019 - 2020 school year; salary per the CSEA contract.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved the appointment of Dejanae Cruz as substitute custodian for the 2019 - 2020 school year; salary per the CSEA contract.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved the implementation of the new adult meal price of $4.18, including tax, as recommended by the NYSED Child Nutrition Program.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved the appointments of the following coaches for the 2019 - 2020 school year; salary per the WTA contract; paid on a prorated basis as determined by the actual percentage of the season coached:
Meghan Reynolds - Boys Varsity Tennis (retro-active to March 9, 2020)
Kale Rodrigues - JV Softball (changed from modified softball) 

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board approved the final request from Hollie Russo for a student trip to Italy in the Spring of 2021 pending world events.

Ms. Schwendinger noted the postponement of tonight’s finance committee meeting.  She has rescheduled the review of the 2020-2021 Budget Part I until the next Board meeting when both Part 1 and Part 2 will be detailed.  Ms. Schwendinger noted the development of a strong district budget and is awaiting a positive outcome from the NYS Legislature.

Comments from the Board of Education, residents and staff
Ms. Schwendinger repeated her summary for those linked through Webex.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Maloney and by a vote of 6 - 0 the Board went into executive session at 7:25pm to discuss a legal issue.  They returned to regular session at 8:22 and adjourned.



Julie Caulkins
District Clerk