BCSD Drops Threat Of Board Member Removal

by Thaddeus Flint
A request in the cover letter of a petition from residents of the Berlin School District to have three members of the School Board who continue to block a Capitol Project bond authorization removed by the other four members will not be acted on. The matter was left for the residents to deal with themselves come the next election.
[private]Board President Jim Willis made the announcement at the monthly School Board meeting Tuesday night. Willis said that after thinking “long and hard about it,” he came to the conclusion that taking action – or attempting to take action – against Board Members John Nash, Bev Stewart and Alan Webster Jr. would “not be in the best interest of the District.”
“It’s a dilemma,” said Willis. On one hand the Board is supposed to “represent the majority of the residents” in the District. On the other hand, the majority of the residents voted the three on to the Board.
A case could possibly be made of “professional misconduct” against the three, pointed out Willis. The NYS Education Commissioner has removed board members in the past when the misconduct relates to a board member’s performance of official duties, either because of the allegedly unauthorized exercise of the member’s powers or the board member’s intentional failure to exercise those powers to the detriment of the school district.
A case could also be made, and probably would be made by the expellees, that the three are just voting their consciences. Whatever the outcome might be, there was little doubt it would be expensive for the District. Willis felt it more prudent to “use taxpayer money for education…not for litigation.”
Some of that education money though has already been spent. Stewart said she found it “alarming that we have now paid the attorney two times for advice on the same subject.” The District’s lawyer, Beth Bourassa, of Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna, was called to the September meeting to publicly explain the legality of removing Board members. “The last time, we had her sit through the Board of Education meeting at approximately $225 per hour,” said Stewart. “BCSD tax dollars hard at work.”
Stewart also had some words for those responsible for the petition which in the end accomplished little more than sending a check from the taxpayers of the District out to the law firm of Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna.
“I would like to thank the individuals who brought the petition forward with the ‘after the fact’ cover letter,” said Stewart.
The petition, which close to three hundred residents signed, read, “We, the taxpayers of The Berlin Central School District request that the bond authorization be passed without further delay and move forward to ensure a safe and healthy learning environment for our children.”
Nowhere on the petition itself was there any mention of having Board members removed.
A cover letter, however, was added to the petition just before it was presented to the School Board in September demanding that the bond authorization be passed no later than September 18. “If not passed by this deadline, we urge the President of the Board of Education [to] seek removal of the Board Members who have refused to acknowledge the voters, for dereliction of duty,” the cover letter urged. Nobody in particular took any responsibility for the cover letter. It was only signed “The Voters of BCSD.”
A copy of the petition obtained by The Eastwick Press shows the signature of one Frank Zwack. Frank Zwack is a sitting Board member. When the cover letter is attached to the petition it makes it appear that Zwack is actually petitioning himself to remove his fellow Board members.
“This, in itself, is a prime example of why I won’t support the bond. You sign your name on the dotted line thinking you are supporting one thing, only to find out afterwards that things were altered without your knowledge and you have now agreed to something else,” noted Stewart.
A vote on the bond proved Stewart was telling the truth. She didn’t support the Bond, nor did Webster Jr., and, as it has the previous seven months, the two-thirds super-majority needed for it to pass failed to materialize. Willis and Board Members Zwack and Katie Fiske voted for the resolution. Board Members Gina Goodermote and John Nash were absent.
The Capital Project is still going forward no matter what the vote is, just using less capital. The architectural firm behind the project, CS Arch, was on hand to update the Board on the completed schematic design phase. The portico at the Berlin Elementary School is being rebuilt, and an elevator and handicapped toilets will be added there as well. At the high school the stage in the cafeteria is to be removed.
The Board had two options on the portico – go back to the original 1936 design which had a flat roof or keep the gabled design that appeared sometime in the seventies – nobody seems to know when for sure – which is what is there now. The older design would cost $10,000 more. The Board voted to go with the current gabled look, with Willis, Zwack and Fiske voting for it.
Richard Peckham from CS Arch pointed out some new costs for the project. Asbestos was found in a crawl space at BES and will have to be removed. The construction costs of the project at the BES are now being budgeted to be over budget. The original budget was $3,291,668, and it is now at $3,344,323 without anything being constructed yet. Peckham tried to sooth those wondering if the project wasn’t going to turn into some kind of District money pit. Around $300,000 was budgeted for contingency costs. The $52,657 will come from this and still leave plenty for any other unexpected outlays which are to be expected when renovating a building this old.
Stewart was not so soothed. “We have yet to break ground on the BES construction yet we are already over budget and dipping into contingency funds. Do you wonder what will happen when we actually begin construction?” she asked right before the bond vote.
The high school project is currently under budget by almost $170,000, pointed out Peckham. Stewart would rather see all the money go to that facility. “We will likely see the one building that is in good condition, the middle/high school, begin to deteriorate because funds will need to be redirected to BES,” she said. ”I hate to think what will become of BCSD in future years as we try to recover from this mistake.”
Peckham also laid out an optional plan to replace the BES building’s windows and remove the asbestos. This would take place in 2014 and cost around $1.7 million. The Board voted to go forward with further planning on the windows and asbestos removal project, with Willis, Zwack and Fiske voting for it.
The District’s Superintendent, Dr. Stephen Young, updated the Board on Grafton and Stephentown Elementary schools. The Town of Stephentown has asked for an extension while they ponder further over whether or not they can afford taking on Stephentown Elementary for $1. This was granted. Grafton Elementary, which was turned down by the Town of Grafton, is back for sale. A realty firm has appraised the building and grounds at $272,000. “It’s a big difference from zero,” pointed out Stewart. However, before the District signs a contract with the realtors, Young is having the agreement looked over by legal. One item in the contract concerned him. Should the District decide to give the facility away at a later point, under the proposed contract, the District would still have to pay the realtor 10% of the listed selling price. “We don’t want to be liable for a future debt,” said Young.
District policy on study halls and transportation will be looked into at a future meeting. The Board would like to find a way to cut down on the number of study halls. Stewart said her son might have as many as five study halls in one day, which caused a murmur amongst the District’s administrators. They seemed to believe that this is impossible but would prepare statistics for the Board to look over.
Transportation policy will be examined when Goodermote returns, as she had raised questions over the transportation of sick students. Also nobody had a copy of the transportation policy with them. It might have come in handy as a parent got up and questioned the District’s policy of dropping kids off on secluded roads when smaller buses are driving around nearby. “I wouldn’t want to see any kid disappear,” she said.
The November meeting of the School Board will be on the road again; this time to Grafton. The meeting will take place Tuesday, November 20, at 7:15 pm at the Grafton Senior Center.[/private]