White Creek Bridge Repair Delay May Affect HFCS Bus Operations

by Alex Brooks
Hoosick Falls School Board President Greg Laurin told his Board at last week’s meeting that he was concerned about the Town delaying action to get the White Creek bridge replaced, and he urged the School Board to open up lines of communication with the Hoosick Town Board about the issue.
The bridge’s load rating was reduced to 16 tons a year ago after deterioration was detected and evaluated. Laurin was concerned that if there is further deterioration and the load rating is lowered again, school buses might not be able to use it, which would impair the school’s bus operations.
The matter came to the public’s attention this month when Hoosick Town Highway Superintendent Bill Shiland asked the Board to sign a contract for engineering of the bridge, and the Board declined to do so. The bridge, which was built in 1935, is slated to be replaced in the 2014 construction season. Shiland said he thought delay in signing the contract for engineering could jeopardize the scheduled replacement, but Town Supervisor Cipperly said he had been assured that the Town has another year before they have to sign the contract.
Several of the School Board members were reluctant to get involved in Town politics, but they agreed that if the District’s buses were unable to use that bridge, it would have a significant impact. The Board asked School Superintendent Ken Facin to do some research to determine how big that impact might be.
Rick Ferrannini wondered if the members of the School Board knew enough to take a position on what the Town ought to do about the bridge. Laurin replied that he didn’t see how anything could be gained by delay. “Prices go up; the bridge continues to deteriorate, and the problem gets bigger,” he said.
The Board agreed unanimously that it would be a good idea to write a letter pointing out that the District depends on that bridge for their transportation system, urging the Town to do whatever is necessary to keep it open to their buses. Laurin said he would draft a letter and circulate it for the Board’s approval or edits.
New Math Teacher
The Board approved the creation of a k-12 math position effective October 1. This is in response to disappointing scores on the seventh and eighth grade math tests that were given last April. The scores were not reported to the District until August, when the budget was already set. The passing rate on these tests two years ago was 80-90%, and this year they were just under 60%. The school is required to provide AIS services when they are needed, and Facin feels the test results clearly demonstrate the need. The new teacher will teach AIS math to kids in third to eighth grades.
While creating one new position, the Board also abolished a half time position, which will partially offset the cost of the new position. The school’s half time teacher of the deaf and hearing impaired, Marcia Keefe, resigned her position to take a full time position at another school. Facin said he was able to arrange to have the school’s interpreter put in some extra hours to cover for Keefe’s duties so her half time position can be abolished. Facin estimated this arrangement will save the District $9,000 to $10,000 this year.
Superintendent Facin said he has become interested in the finances of Section II athletics. He said because Hoosick Falls sports teams are very successful and are involved in a lot of post-season games, the District pays a lot to Section II athletics, and he wonders why they need to collect all that money and what they use it for. He is particularly unhappy with the idea that students from the school have to pay $6 each to go see their friends and classmates play in games. He feels that students should be able to see teams from their school without charge. Facin said he is gathering information and will write a letter to the leaders of Section II athletics when he has learned more about it.
Feeding The Pigs Not Allowed
Facin was very happy last month to make an arrangement with local farmers to have them feed food waste from the District’s kitchen to their pigs but was disappointed since then to learn that such an arrangement is against the law and had to be scrapped before it even began. He said the District will begin a composting program instead.
Staying Under 4%
The Board transferred $34,000 from the unreserved fund balance into an existing reserve account, the Debt Service Fund, in order to keep the District’s unreserved fund balance under the statutory limit of 4% of the annual budget.
Upcoming Meetings
A Special Board Meeting and Workshop will be held on October 13 at 6:30 pm. The regular meeting will be on October 20 at 7 pm.