December 12, 2019

The Waterford-Halfmoon Union Free School District Board of Education Regular Meeting dated December 12, 2019 was called to order by Mrs. Marcia Ricci at 6:00pm.

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

ALSO PRESENT:  Patrick Pomerville, Jennifer Bull, Joel Richardson, Christopher Scanlan, Rachel Schwendinger, Joseph Siracuse, Stacie Marszalek, Emily Clark

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

Comments from Administration (Happy Holidays to all)
Mr. Siracuse reported on the following:
First trimester ended November 18, 2019
Parent/Teacher conferences were held on November 22 & 26; sixth grade students attended with their parents.
F & P Benchmarks were reviewed.
PTO sponsored Santa’s Secret Shop 
The elementary band and chorus students performed for elementary students and staff this morning and will perform for their parents and community tonight at 7:00pm.  The musicians and their teachers Ms. Ricci and Ms. Dawson did an awesome job!
Young Scholars are working on their Shark Tank presentations.

Mr. Richardson reported on the following:
The high school holiday concert was held Monday, December 9, 2019; great crowd; wonderful performances by the band and chorus students.
On December 13th elementary and high school students will attend assemblies, scheduled throughout the day on Missing and Exploited Children.
Mr. Richardson thanked everyone who came out to vote in support of the district’s capital construction projects.

Mrs. Bull reported on the following:
K - 12 Curriculum Cabinet met on Next Generation Standards

Mr. Scanlan reported on the following:
The HS Student Government Association is interested in making changes to  Moving Up Day activities and would like to address the Board at the next meeting in January after further discuss with Mr. Scanlan.
Sophia Condon is working with the Leukemia Society to raise funds for this important cause.  Mr. Scanlan is very proud of Sophia as she works to build a team and set her goals.

Ms. Schwendinger reported on the following finance and transportation related topics:
Improving the monitoring and tracking of purchase requests using Google Docs in the Business Office.
Working with Durham Bus Company to evaluate cost savings by joining with other nearby districts to transport our smaller runs.
Ms. Schwendinger has started to develop a budget for the 2020 - 2021 school year.

Mr. Pomerville reported on the following:
Mr. Pomerville thanked the Board for being flexible with the 6:00pm start time for tonight’s BOE meeting, due to the elementary concert.
Mr. Pomerville was very pleased with the results of the Capital Construction vote noting a 72% favorable margin for proposition #1 and 68% for proposition #2.  (Past construction project votes in 2012: 60%, 2008 64% and 2006 70%).
Mr. Pomerville and the BOE Facilities Committee will be working with the architects, engineers, administrators, community members and faculty who work in the targeted areas.  The district’s programming will drive renovation decisions.   These meetings will begin in January.
Mr. Pomerville noted that many of our students and staff participated in the Town of Waterford Holiday Parade.

Second Reading: Policy #7110 Comprehensive Student Attendance
Second Reading: Policy #7221A Participation in Graduation Ceremonies and Activities

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board approved the minutes of the November 21, 2019 Board of Education meeting

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board approved the following warrants:
Special Aid #16 for $10,977.90
School Lunch #9 for $5,486.21
General Fund #38 for $53,869.45

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board approved the following policies:
Policy #7110 Comprehensive Student Attendance
Policy #7221A Participation in Graduation Ceremonies and Activities

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board approved the attached resolution regarding the Board of Education’s 2020 Advocacy Priorities.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board accepted, with regret, the resignation for the purpose of retirement from Cynthia Lagace, Bus Driver, after 10 years of service to the district; effective January 1, 2020.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board approved the appointment of Joel Richardson as Data Privacy Officer for the 2019 - 2020 school year; with an annual stipend of $4,000; prorated from November 1, 2019.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board approved the appointment of Scott O’Reilly as substitute teacher for the 2019 - 2020 school year; salary per the policy on substitute teacher pay.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board approved the appointment of Cynthia Lagace as substitute bus driver for the 2019 - 2020 school year; salary per the CSEA contract.

The Board reviewed CSE minutes dated 11/4/2019, 11/20/2019, 11/26/2019.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board approved a request from Heather MacDougall to investigate a trip for the US History students to Boston in the spring of 2020.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board approved a final request from Hollie Russo to take the 6th grade students to Mets Education Day (anti-bullying theme), Citi Field, NYC on June 10, 2020.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board approved the appointment of the following elementary substitute teachers for the 2019 - 2020 school year: Patricia Gallant, Zachary Funk, Cassie Waldron; salary per the policy on substitute teacher pay.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board approved the Treasurer’s Report ending November 2019.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board approved the Revenue Status Report ending November 2019.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board approved the Appropriation Status Report ending November 2019.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board approved the Student Funds Report ending November 2019.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board approved the Claims Auditor’s Report ending November 2019.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board accepted the results of the December 10, 2019 Capital Construction Vote:  
Total Votes Cast: 219
Proposition #1:  K-12 School Building site work - Passed 156 - 63
Proposition #2:  Athletic Fields - Passed 147 - 71

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board approved the following substitute teachers for the 2019 - 2020 school year; salary per the policy on substitute teacher pay: Richard Messier, Andrew Butryn.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board approved the appointment of Heather MacDougall as Consultant Teacher; two hours per week; effective January 6, 2020; salary per the WTA contract at $42 per hour.  Mrs. Ricci asked for clarification.  Consultant Teachers coordinate student curriculum between special education and regular education teachers both during school and after school planning.  In this case, a district student returned to WHHS from a BOCES program. 

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board approved a request from Mr. Robbins to investigate a field trip to Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, NY on May 15, 2020 for students in grades 7 - 12.  

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board approved the appointment of the following fall sports coaching positions for the 2020 - 2021 school year; salary per the WTA contract paid on a prorated basis as determined by the actual percentage of the season coached.  Mrs. Carutasu asked about boys modified soccer; Mr. Pomerville will ask Mr. Robbins.
Varsity Boys Soccer - Ryan Hardy
JV Boys Soccer - Jeff Stein
JV Volleyball - Heather Sowle
Modified Volleyball - Noreen Gervasio
Golf - Patrick Parker
Girls Tennis - Jodi Ancin
Varsity Girls Soccer - Meghan Reynolds
JV Girls Soccer - Allie Hornung
Modified Girls Soccer - Michelle Savoie

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board approved a 2019 - 2020 transportation contract with WSWHE BOCES for $564.39 to transport various students who attend WSWHE BOCES on related field trips.  Mrs. Ricci asked for clarification.  NYSED requires the signature of the BOE President and also requires the contract to be dated prior to the start of the services.  All WSWHE BOCES component districts share the cost.

On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Mrs. Dehler and by a vote of 7 - 0 the Board went into executive session to discuss negotiations.  They returned to regular session at 6:58 and adjourned. 


Julie Caulkins
District Clerk