March 5, 2020

The Waterford-Halfmoon Union Free School District Board of Education Finance Committee Meeting dated March 5, 2020 was called to order at 6:13pm by Mr. Lee and ended at 6:49pm.

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

ALSO PRESENT: Patrick Pomerville, Rachel Schwendinger

ABSENT: Marcia Ricci, Tammi Dehler

Ms. Schwendinger presented the second draft of the preliminary 2020 - 2021 district budget.   Finance Cmt Presentation March 5, 2020.pdf

The next Finance meeting is scheduled for March 19, 2020 at 6:00pm and will include more budget details.  Mr. Lee initiated a conversation noting that historically, the district’s tax levy was kept under 2%.  He noted other issues impacting school taxes including recent Town of Waterford reassessments, Momentive tax certiorari litigation and recently approved construction projects.  Ms. Schwendinger recommended long term fiscal planning to ensure stability.  Increased costs in health insurance and salaries were noted.  Excessive budget trimming each year is not sustainable and could, if continued, lead to significant increases in the future.  The discussion continued on the topics of NYS recommendations pertaining to appropriated fund balances, the NYS Tax Cap formula, the impact of companies qualifying for Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT’s) and conservative long term fiscal planning for the future. 

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On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board went into executive session at 6:50 to discuss negotiations and a personnel matter.  The Board returned to regular session at 7:10.

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The Waterford-Halfmoon Union Free School District Board of Education Regular Meeting dated March 5, 2020 was called to order at 7:13pm by Mr. Lee.

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

ALSO PRESENT: Patrick Pomerville, Rachel Schwendinger, Christopher Scanlan, Paul Gervasio

ABSENT: Marcia Ricci, Tammi Dehler

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

Comments from Administration

Mr. Scanlan reported on the following items:
A Dodgeball Tournament was held on March 5, 2020 to benefit the Girls Soccer team.  Many thanks to Mrs. Reynolds for organizing the event and members of the NYS National Guard for refereeing.

The High School Semi Formal Dance held last weekend was attended by close to 50 students.  It has been a long time since the dance was held and those in attendance really wanted to participate.  Everyone had a lot of fun.  Many thanks to chaperones Mr. Ferrara and Mrs. Hornung.

Winter Sports Awards Night was held March 4, 2020 and recognized winter sports athletes for their achievements.  The Varsity Boys Basketball season has not yet ended.  The team will be playing for the Section 2 Class C Championship on Friday, March 6th at the Glens Fall Civic Center.  The basketball team will be recognized for their achievements this season at a later date.

A pep rally will be held the afternoon of Friday, March 6th to send the Varsity Boys Basketball team off in style as they prepare for the championship game.  
An orientation for incoming 9th grade students will be held on March 19, 2020.

The high school has been working with Curtis Lumber this year to promote employment in building trades.  Recently, Curtis Lumber made a substantial donation of lumber to our Drama Club to build sets for their upcoming production of Bye, Bye Birdie.  Many thanks to Curtis Lumber!

Mr. Pomerville reported on the following:

The elementary school is planning to support its Writing Workshop program by offering quality professional development to the K-6 faculty on March 30th and 31st.  Nationally recognized writing consultant, Leah Mermelstein will be on campus to work with our staff.  She will be hosting demonstration lessons while working with our students in the morning.  She will be working with our staff in the afternoon to help them improve their instructional skills and help them to develop their current Writing Workshop units. The afternoon workshops with the faculty will require that our students are not in attendance on those afternoons.  

Mr. Spretty put together an informational email account sheet for each Board member.  For those who have not yet started using their school email account, Mr. Spretty has included his phone number so that he can provide  support, if necessary.  

Ms. Crowder, a district resident, is requesting that the Board consider granting  tax relief for veterans living in our community.  A similar request was brought before the Board in March of 2016. At that time there were approximately 290 properties with potential veteran status. At that time, an additional exemption given to veterans would add an additional $64 per $100,000 of assessed value on all other tax payers in our community.  Mr. Pomerville believes the Town and County give an exemption to our veterans along with a STAR exemption that is received by all that qualify.  A survey completed by Mr. Pomerville in 2018, of the component school districts in WSWHE BOCES, indicated that 24 of the 31 do not give an additional exemption, 5 give a basic exemption, with no data from the remaining two districts.  Mr. Pomerville recommends that since the Board just received this request in their packets tonight, that Board members take time to read and review the request for discussion at the next Board meeting  on March 19, 2020.  

Coronavirus Update (COVID-19): District administrators are watching the developments related to the COVID19 virus. As a District we are following all information that is coming from the NYSDOH, Saratoga Office of Health Services, and the CDC.  To date, these are the steps that WHUFSD has in place:
An informational letter posted on our district’s website
An informational letter emailed to all K-12 families via our School Messenger communication platform
A disinfectant cleaning program in place using a disinfectant misting machine that sprays down individual classrooms.  Various wings/sections of the building are sprayed on a rotating basis.
Purell hand sanitation stations have been installed throughout the building
“If-Then” protocols have been established in collaboration with our safety specialist based on the guidelines provided by the NYSDOH and Saratoga Office of Health Services.  A copy of these protocols have been included in your packets.  
We continue to monitor all information related to COVID-19 and will now begin to review  Preparedness/Response/Recovery Checklists that will help us to plan and prepare, understand how to help prevent the transmission of COVID-19, help us to react quickly should a case be identified, and help our school administrators plan for the continuity of teaching and learning if there is a community spread of COVID-19.  

Tax Certiorari update:  The official tax certiorari appraisal exchange was pushed back to next Tuesday, March 10th and the official hearing is still set for April 6th.  In the last several months there had been some communication between Momentive and the Town/School on working towards a potential out-of-court settlement but as of the last several weeks, those negotiations have stalled.  

Mr. Pomerville is very excited about our varsity basketball team playing for the Section 2 Class C crown tomorrow at 5 pm in Glens Falls.  


ACTION

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved the minutes of the February 12, 2020 Board of Education meeting.

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved the Treasurer’s Report ending January 2020.

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved the Revenue Status Report ending January 2020.

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved the Appropriation Status Report ending January 2020.

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved the Student Funds Report ending January 2020.

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved the following warrants:
Capital Fund #12 for $17,689.54
School Lunch #14 for $4,459.67
General Fund #50 for $40,764.07
Capital Fund #13 for $68,556.06
Special Aid #23 for $11,209.14
General Fund #52 for $354,669.56

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved the appointment of Stephanie Hammond as substitute teacher for the 2019 - 2020 school year; salary per the policy on substitute teacher pay.

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved the appointment of Stephanie Hammond as long term substitute special education teacher to fill the position held by Kaitlyn Nardino who has been granted a leave of absence.  Ms. Hammond’s appointment will be effective on or about March 9, 2020 and is intended to continue for the term of Mrs. Nardino’s leave, but no later than June 25, 2020.   No term of employment is conferred by this resolution of appointment and Ms. Hammond’s employment may be terminated at any time.

The Board reviewed CSE minutes dated 1/31/2020.

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved the appointment of Louann Tetrault of Tetrault Consulting, LLC as part time Interim Account Clerk effective January 31, 2020; salary of $25 per hour.

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved the four year probationary appointment of Jennifer Lembo as Teaching Assistant effective March 16, 2020 through March 16, 2024; salary per the CSEA contract. 

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved the following resolution:  
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education of the Waterford-Halfmoon UFSD hereby creates the following position, effective March 5, 2020.  The salary will be determined dependent on the qualifications and experience of the successful candidate:  Executive Assistant to the Business Manager.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the qualifications for and the duties of this position have been determined by the Superintendent of Schools, in consultation with the Saratoga County Civil Service Department.

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved the Executive Assistant to the Business Manager job description.

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved the appointment of Kale Rodrigues as modified softball coach 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.

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved the appointments of the following elementary substitute teachers for the 2019 - 2020 school year; salary per the policy on substitute teacher pay: Shane DeCanio, Hannah Feldman, Tessa Filberto, Claudia Howes, Nurettin Ipek, Katie McCann, Nursel Metin, Thomas Nicholson, Alex Graham, Mitchell Jordon, Merissa Morano, Amanda Morris, Jean Spiegel, Lisa Zima.

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved the Claims Audit ending February 2020.

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved the one year probationary appointment of Kimberly Thomas as High School Hall Monitor; 7 hours per day; pending fingerprint approval; salary per the CSEA contract.

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board authorized participation in the Cooperative Purchasing Program coordinated by Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex counties BOCES for bids awarded in the 2020 - 2021 school year for the following commodities: bread, ice cream, milk, canned-frozen meat, NOI (net-off invoice food products), produce, cafeteria paper products, USDA commodity-fee for service (FFS), custodial products, copy paper & envelopes.

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved a change in the 2019 - 2020 school district calendar:
One-half day (early dismissal) for students in grades K - 6, Monday, March 30, 2020
One-half day (early dismissal) for students in grades K - 6, Tuesday, March 31, 2020

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board accepted the resignation of Seth Tolbert as Custodian effective March 10, 2020.

The Board reviewed CSE minutes dated 2/11/2020, 2/14/2020.

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved the first request from Mrs. Russo for a student trip to Italy in the spring of 2021.


On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved the one year probationary appointment of Daniel Carson as bus driver for 6 hours per day; effective March 9, 2020; salary per the CSEA contract.

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved the appointment of Juan Ardziewicz as substitute custodian for the 2019 - 2020 school year; salary per the CSEA contract; pending fingerprint approval.

On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board approved the use of the General Consent for Limited Queries of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMSCA) Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse form.


Comments from the Board of Education, residents and staff

Mr. Scanlan commented on the recent High School Pops Concert and congratulated all of the musicians and vocalists along with their teachers.  Mr. Scanlan is so pleased with all of the positive and enjoyable events in our school.


On motion by Mrs. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Catanzarita and by a vote of 5 - 0 the Board adjourned at 7:40pm.




Julie Caulkins
District Clerk