Hoosick School Board Action – Positions Eliminated

by Alex Brooks
At its April 22 meeting, the Hoosick Falls School Board voted to abolish the positions of two Special Education teachers, two Elementary Education teachers, two Reading teachers, one Home and Careers teacher, and ten Teaching Assistants. The vote on this motion was 6-0, with Rye Mausert abstaining. These staff reductions had previously been proposed and debated as part of the District’s budget deliberations, and this action is simply the final implementation.
The Board also approved a new labor contract with the support staff for the period from July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2011. Superintendent Ken Facin said there was 1% more in “new money” for the 2009-10 school year, and 1.5% for the 2010-2011 year. He also said an odd 2-year step in the old contract was changed to a one year step in the new contact.
Contract negotiations with the HFTA on a new contract with the teachers are in progress, and the HFTA President said the talks are “productive.”
The Board approved a motion to have the Hoosick Falls School District be the lead applicant for a joint application among four school districts for a grant to pay for distance learning equipment. This will be for about $500,000 between the four districts. Superintendent Facin said this is state-of-the-art equipment, much better than the devices being used a few years ago, with very large clear pictures. He said it opens up a lot of possibilities for such things as virtual field trips, professional development opportunities, peer consulting on best practices, enriching curriculum offerings, and many other creative uses that can be developed once the equipment is actually here.
The Board accepted a Financial Risk Assessment completed by Stacy Mackey, an internal controls auditor from the Rensselaer City School District. These services are provided under a cooperative arrangement involving a dozen or more schools. Financial audit professionals are employed by the Rensselaer City School District, and rented out to the participating school districts as needed, with considerable savings to the participating districts. The Board also approved at this meeting a motion for an agreement to purchase at least ten days of internal auditing services from this cooperative at a cost of $680 per day during the upcoming school year. Business Manager Pam Hatfield said the Hoosick Falls District used to pay over $12,000 annually for these services.
Masterminds
David Coffey, coach of the Hoosick Falls Masterminds team, gave a vivid presentation describing the very exciting and very competitive contests that his team engages in with other schools. His team has been competing since the 05-06 school year. They have won one division title. This year they finished second in their division, but are still alive in the post-season “playoffs,” so stay tuned. In the competitions the students answer questions on a wide range of subjects and score points based on how quickly and correctly they can supply the answers. The team practices once a week and competes about once a month. They host one meet a year.
School Newspaper
Coffey also gave a presentation about how the student-run school newspaper puts together an issue of the Panther Post.
There are about 20 kids involved, and they spend a lot of time and effort putting the paper together, with impressive results.
It was clear from Coffey’s description that the kids involved get an enormous educational benefit from this activity.
ADAPT
The After-Prom committee gave a report on their plans for the big event. The Prom will be on a boat on Lake George. The students will return from there by bus, and will be at the school from midnight to 3 am, when they will board buses to go to Six Flags in New Jersey. Arriving in Jersey, they will eat breakfast and then on to the amusement park, boarding the buses again at 4:30 in the afternoon to return home. All of these post-Prom activities are paid for by fundraising. The Committee has raised about $6,400 so far, and has several more big fundraising events yet to go.
The Board accepted a $525 donation from the Hoosick Falls Performing Arts Booster Club to help fund students attending the All American Music Festival in Orlando Florida. The students had a great time there and won several awards.
Graduation Contracts
During the “Board Forum,” the Board discussed “graduation contracts” that seniors and their parents are required to sign this year, agreeing to maintain good behavior through graduation in order to be allowed to participate in the ceremonies. Facin said in the past some leverage over student behavior has been lost after sports teams are done at the end of May and seniors start thinking prematurely that they are done with school. He said “this is about the safety and health of our students.” Laurie Gormley and Don Skott both made statements in support of these contracts.
Other Actions:
• The board accepted proposals from Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy professionals. Hatfield explained that The District contracts with independent providers for these services because BOCES prices for these services are “exorbitant.”
• The Board accepted resignations from Reading Teacher Devon Paterson and Math Teacher Susan Huber.