Results Of The New Lebanon School District Election

by Phillip Zema
The New Lebanon School budget passed 279-125. Incumbents JoAnn Gavrity (300 votes) and Raymond Sowalski (289) were re-elected to three year terms. BOE member Susan Downy-Luhrmann did not run again, and her seat was taken by David Kroboth, who received 320 votes. At its meeting on Wednesday, June 2, the Board officially approved actions to reduce two full time positions to part time. The Board voted 5-2 (Sowalski and Smith dissenting) to make the business teacher’s position a .6; also, the BOE voted 6-1 (Lambert dissenting) to make a physical education teacher’s position a .45. These decisions were already factored into the 2010-2011 budget.
Union Free School Eligible for Grants
The Committee to Save the Union Free School (UFSC), a subcommittee of the Lebanon Valley Historical Society, has been tirelessly striving to preserve/renovate the historic school building. The ultimate goal is to rehabilitate the building so that it can serve some community function. Earlier this year, they applied for a National Trust for Historic Preservation/Lowe’s grant, which would be worth $42,818. It would cost nearly $1.2m to rehabilitate the building – the estimate includes the cost of making it handicap accessible. If awarded, the money would go towards stabilizing the building, the necessary first step in the restoration process. The committee will find out by June 30 whether it received the grant.
On Wednesday, June 2 the UFSC informed the BOE that it will apply for another grant – the NYS Environmental Protection Fund Acquisition grant, which is a reimbursement grant. Up to 75% of any rehabilitation costs are reimbursable. It was said that reimbursement usually takes between two weeks and a month. The grant’s application is due by July 12 and must be signed by the building’s owner, New Lebanon Central School. The committee, however, will complete the application and take on full responsibility for the project. The District, although uninterested in any future use of the building, is required to sign the application.
It was asked whether the committee was likely to receive the grant. The response was that grants are typically awarded according to three factors – significance (the historical and practical value of preserving the building), urgency (how soon funding is needed) and viability (likelihood the restoration plan will succeed). Also, if grant agencies receive too many funding applications from a region, then the likelihood of success decreases because such agencies like to spread monetary awards throughout a state or region.
As of yet, the game plan is for the UFSC to begin fundraising immediately, as the District has little interest in bearing any renovation costs. If the committee fails to generate sufficient funding, the District will not be financially accountable in any way. If the grant is awarded and the UFSC does not fulfill its fiscal obligations, the District can simply return the grant. It may take a year before the committee knows if it receives the grant.
The Board made no decision about the grant or the building’s future. The Union Free School will be on the next BOE meeting’s agenda, however. Before the next meeting, the BOE wanted the administration to discuss two issues with the District’s lawyers – (1) if they signed the grant application, what scenarios would make the District financially liable for the building, and (2) if it decided to support the renovation process, what would its relationship with the UFSC look like?
New Lebanon is searching for a new Athletic Director but is also looking to cut costs. Accordingly, Superintendent Karen McGraw suggested that the new Assistant Principal assume the Athletic Director’s duties. The additional duties would require the Assistant Principal to work five additional days to attend conferences, meetings and schedule sporting events, and he would receive appropriate compensation. Most of the Board liked McGraw’s idea, and there was a motion to pass it. But wanting to make a fully informed decision (i.e. consult with past Athletic Directors about the job’s requirements), the BOE decided to postpone the vote until the next meeting.
There was discussion about repairing the District’s bus garage, which is located at the elementary school. The garage needs renovations, especially a new roof. One option is to build a new garage and reuse the current building’s metal beams. This route has problems, for most of the school’s land falls within the Kinderhook flood plain – last July’s heavy rainstorm caused the garage to flood. The building’s foundation, however, could be raised above the flood plain. Another option is to simply repair the roof in two phases. Doing so, the District could use one half of the garage while the other side gets repaired. The Board will discuss this topic further in the near future.