by David Flint
Interim Schools Superintendent Brian Howard started off the Berlin School Board meeting Tuesday with a mostly positive report on blood lead screening and lead stabilization at Berlin Elementary School. Howard said that screening of students at the school was completed on January 28. Of the 128 students checked, none were found to have elevated levels of lead. Another 160 or more students had their blood tested by Rensselaer County and, according to Howard, no one in this group showed elevated lead levels. Howard said the District could be thankful for these results.
Regarding the stabilization project conducted over the Christmas break, Howard said that the outside woodwork at the north portico and the main entry was scraped and cleaned as was one window leading into each classroom. On the inside, windows and other areas were scraped and encapsulated. One window in each classroom was treated so as to provide a safe, lead free, emergency exit from the building. This also provides one window in each classroom that can be opened for fresh air. The cost, he said, was $280,000. With this intermediate step complete, the Board must now work out a plan for a long-term solution.
Howard introduced lead expert Don Alfred of Professional Service Industries, Inc. (PSI) who acted as design consultant and oversaw the project. Alfred said a full and complete remediation had been done on the interior of the building with affected surfaces coated with an encapsulating paint approved to last for 20 years. On the exterior the aim was to prevent any lead chips from being tracked into and around the school. A very extensive testing was then done to ensure that standards were met. Encapsulation could not be done on the outside because a temperature of at least 50 degrees is required for curing, but surfaces were scraped and washed with a lead detergent. The focus was on entryways and rescue windows. A second phase on the exterior would be needed, he said, to permanently eliminate the hazard, which would probably entail replacing the windows and encapsulating or replacing the columns at the main entrance.
Budget Woes
Interim Business Manager William Burke presented a first look at the budget for the school year 2011-12. Not knowing what State aid will be, Burke assumed it would be the same as in the current year, an assumption he termed very optimistic. Looking at the past four years he found expenditures and tax levies to be fairly stable. The biggest expense is of course in salaries and benefits – 72% of the budget. Next is the BOCES bill which makes up about 11% of the budget, although most of that is aidable.
Burke projected a total budget of $18,719,274, an increase of 2.4% over the current year. An expected one time infusion of federal aid in the amount of $420,076 from the Education Jobs Fund will help, but, on the other hand, the federal stimulus support – $501,000 in the current budget – has ended. There is some good news in that projected health insurance costs, overestimated in the current budget, are down by about $220,000. This good news is more than offset, however, by substantial increases in required contributions to the State retirement systems, a 31% increase for teachers and 44% for other employees. The tentative bottom line is a tax levy increase of 6.9%.
Superintendent Howard interjected a warning that the assumption of State aid being the same as last year is very unlikely. He thought it more likely that the District might well suffer a decrease similar to the $634,000 decrease last year. One advantage the District has, he said, is its poverty level which might make it less likely to get clobbered as much as more wealthy suburban districts.
Another complicating factor is the 2% property tax cap proposed by the Governor. That could result in a shortfall of a half million dollars or more that would have to be made up from cuts in programs and/or staff.
Howard distributed a handout that showed staffing levels in the District by employment area since 2005. There were 222 total employees in 2005. That is now down to 195, a decrease of 12%. Howard commented that although most of the money is in its people, he believed that the District is fairly lean now in regard to staff. He said he would provide itemized information on the savings from closing the two outlying elementary schools for the next Board meeting. He also said, somewhat mysteriously, that maybe he could pull a rabbit out of a hat and would present a unique approach that could result in substantial savings to the District.
Board Vacancy Remains Unfilled
The Board discussed what to do about the vacancy on the Board left by the resignation of John Greene at the end of November, but they were not able to arrive at any consensus. John Nash, Alan Webster Jr. and presiding Vice President Beverly Stewart were of the opinion that the Board should appoint someone to fill the position. It was said that four people have expressed interest in serving, but their names were not disclosed. John Nash said the Board has some large and serious decisions to make and a seventh member might make it a little less difficult. Stewart feared that with only six members it was very likely the Board would not be able to adopt a budget on time. Gina Goodermote, Elizabeth Miller and Frank Zwack felt a special election would be too expensive and it would take a new Board member a considerable amount of time to come up to speed. Feeling that the Board was working together somewhat amicably recently and being hesitant to disturb that, they thought it better to wait until the regularly scheduled Board election in May. Finding the discussion futile, Stewart said she would just lay the matter to rest and would not put it back on the agenda.
Race To The Top Questioned
Board Member Webster presented a packet of information and arguments to the Board regarding acceptance of Race To The Top funds. Included was a proffered resolution that the Board decline the funds and opt out of the agreement. Webster argued that the program constituted just one more ill funded mandate and its criteria and requirements were in fact in direct conflict with the educational vision of the District. It would mean, he said, “Giving up more local accountability and control to federal bureaucrats who tell us what we can and can’t do with our curriculum.” The data driven, test driven curriculum being pushed, he added, would continue to erode local curriculum and accountability, focusing on math and English alone and encouraging teachers to teach to the test-based curriculum.
Zwack said he disagreed with some of Webster’s data especially the part regarding BOCES and grant money. BOCES grants, he said, reduce costs to the local taxpayer and they also generate aid in the following year. Miller agreed that there is too much testing but said the District had applied for Race to the Top money last spring and she felt it would not be prudent to reject the money even though certain parts were earmarked for certain uses. In any case, she said, the system for evaluating teachers has changed and training will be needed for doing these evaluations. Race to the Top money can be used, 25%, for this purpose. Whether the money is accepted or not, the District will still have to pay for the training.
John Nash said that with the District tied in with BOCES, the Race to the Top money coming to Berlin would not amount to much anyway but would tie the District into a significant commitment to more testing and a cycle of additional expenditures. He believed that Webster had come up with significant information that supports his contention that it would not be in the best interest of the District. He noted that other districts, too, are contemplating opting out of the program.
Stewart said she had read articles that indicate the program could cost districts a lot more that what they receive. She wanted greater clarification on the District’s obligations. At a recent NYSSBA conference, she said, many were advocating declining the funds.
Howard said the Board could request additional information on this but he cautioned the Board that in challenging New York State on this, they would not have a lot of credibility because they are at the moment a district in a state of chaos. Howard felt this type of philosophical discussion is appropriate but it is not a topic for one night and it would be best held with a new permanent superintendent on board. Beyond that he reminded the Board that they had four things facing them that already require more time than they have, namely an extremely difficult budget year, the superintendent search, resolving a long term plan for the District’s facilities and, finally, union negotiations. If they wanted to choose one thing to wait until after a new superintendent is hired, this issue of Race to the Top is the one.
In any case, the District’s attorney, Beth Bourassa, was asked whether a contract was in force. She replied that if they had not yet submitted the final scope of work, they were not committed. If they have, they may be committed, but Bourassa will check the legal status and how they might be able to opt out of the program. Stewart said she would put it on the agenda for the next meeting.
Curriculum Regeneration
Webster presented the Board with another resolution, this one to form a Local Curriculum Regeneration Subcommittee to explore with teachers the educational needs of the children in the District, with attention to motivation, evaluation, reform and improvement. An objective would be to develop curricula “that respects and seeks out the opinions of the teachers and students” of the District. The subcommittee would see what academic subjects might be provided that are unique to this District, courses that students want and that teachers want to teach. It would be expected to “explore alternative educational philosophies and curricula models extending from, but not limited to, Montessori, Waldorf, Private/Boarding and Parochial schools.”
Nash supported the resolution saying it was a good opportunity to begin a dialogue with teachers, community members and students and still meet State requirements. Goodermote and Miller thought it would be better to wait until there was a new superintendent. Miller suggested it might be given to the Leadership Advisory Committee to consider.
Howard expressed his opinion that by passing such a resolution at this time the Board would be “getting out in front” and they would make the District less attractive to potential candidates for the superintendent job. Candidates would think, he said, that the District is not interested in what they think is the best way to address the curriculum. Howard advised the Board that after they have solved the big four problems facing them, that would be the time to engage a new superintendent on this issue. The new superintendent would want to come in, get familiar with the District and then address the curriculum. Howard suggested they speak with the Superintendent Search consultant and advise him that this is something important to them and would be one of their first expectations of the person selected, but they would want him or her to be part of it. Webster agreed to this, and Stewart said she would speak with the consultant.
Superintendent Search
Stewart reported that Robert Heinkel of Orion Educational Consulting LLC is continuing with the search for candidates. The Board will need to decide soon on a salary range. Goodermote volunteered with the assistance of the Interim Business Manager to research salaries paid by comparable districts in the area.
A forum on the superintendent search held on January 5 resulted in a list of ten Community Expectations for the new superintendent. They have been posted on the District’s website at berlincentral.org. The Board passed a resolution adopting the Expectations as Board policy.
Next Meeting
The Board set Monday, February 7 for a tour of all the buildings in the District, led by Howard and Buildings & Grounds Superintendent Cyril Grant. Howard offered to conduct a tour also on Saturday, February 5 for any Board Members who can’t make the Monday tour. The Board set its next regular meeting for Tuesday, February 15, at 7:15 at the High School in Cherry Plain.