HFCS Terminates DiMaggio

by Alex Brooks
The Hoosick Falls School board voted unanimously to “terminate Kathleen DiMaggio as cheerleading advisor,” effective January 7, 2013. There was no Board discussion in the meeting about why this action was taken, and Superintendent Ken Facin said after the meeting that he is not allowed to comment publicly on personnel matters.
[private]Board President Greg Laurin introduced public comment time by saying that the Board cannot comment on or discuss personnel matters. No one spoke during the public comment time.
The Board appointed Marchell Leva as Cheerleading Advisor, effective January 8, 2013.
Lacrosse
Athletic Director Brett Lamy made a presentation about initiating lacrosse as a varsity sport this spring. The Board had previously made the decision to go ahead with the program, using a windfall additional State aid payment of about $15,000 that came in last Fall.
Lamy tried to assemble all the figures for what the program would cost, but uncertainties remain. Coaches’ salaries have not yet been determined, so those were left out, and a contract negotiation with the referees is in progress so those fees are also uncertain.
In addition, there has been a shortage of players signing up to play lacrosse on the boys side, so HFCS may not be able to field a varsity team. Superintendent Facin said the boys program may begin with JV only.
To buy equipment to outfit the boys was estimated at about $6,100, but actual expense may be only 2/3 of that if the program is only a JV team. Equipment to outfit the girls teams, varsity and JV, was estimated at only $650, because the girls program already has a lot of equipment, after playing as a club team for three seasons. Purchase of goals and balls for the program was estimated at about $1,000 and the cost of officials at $5,000.
There will probably be some expense for field space, but arrangements have not been completed, so that cost is not yet known.
Budget Time
Now that the Governor has put forward a State Budget, and the time for formulating next year’s school budget is upon us, some of the challenges of this budget season are appearing. The Governor proposes an overall increase in school aid of about 4.4%, but some of that will be allocated to a “one-time fiscal stabilization fund” and some to a competitive grants program. Regular school aid will increase by about 3% statewide, but individual districts may be higher or lower than that because of complicated school aid formulas. Superintendent Ken Facin said the Hoosick Falls District has been told it would see an increase of $319,000 under the Governor’s budget. The trouble is increases proposed in retirement contributions to the State pension system would increase the District’s costs by about the same amount so the State is taking back with one hand what it is giving with the other.
Contribution rates for the State retirement system have spiked in recent years. Apparently the pension funds are not getting good returns on their invested funds recently and so must make up for it from School District contributions. The contribution rate last year was just under 12% of payroll for teachers and just under 19% of payroll for non-teaching employees. These are proposed to be 16.5% and 20.9% respectively for the upcoming year.
The Governor has proposed a stabilization scheme that would allow the District to pay 12.5% and 12% this year and pay more later  to make up for this year’s discount. Facin said he and his staff have to analyze how the proposed stabilization program will work to see if they want to use it.
Chinese Students
Facin said he had met with a delegation from China to continue working out the details of a program to bring Chinese students here to study in the Hoosick Falls District. He said they plan to start by sending five students here starting next fall, who will be hosted by five local families. These students will pay tuition to study at the Hoosick Falls school.
Facin said he hopes that eventually this exchange would allow some students from Hoosick Falls to go study in China also.
Capital Project
Facin said it looks like there will be some grant funding for school safety projects which could pay for some components of the Capital Project the District is considering.
Some Board members have been visiting school heating systems fueled by wood chips to see if such a system might be feasible for Hoosick Falls. The first analysis suggested that the problem is finding enough space on the campus for a large wood burning facility, including adequate space for storing supplies of wood chips and for access for the large trucks which make the deliveries. Under the leadership of Board Member Don Skott, the District is taking another look. The meeting took place in the middle of the recent cold snap, and Facin said ruefully that the District burns 600-700 gallons of fuel in a 24 hour period when it is this cold.
In Other News…
• The Board accepted resignations for retirement purposes from Custodian Andy Kipp and Food Service Helper Janet Willbrant, “with deep regret.”
• The Board approved the usual winter “Walk-the Halls” program, which will open the school for recreational walking on Mondays and Thursdays from 6 to 8 pm through April.
• The Board accepted a donation of $1,000 for the Elementary School Library from the Estate of Norma Cunningham.
The next regular meeting of the Hoosick Falls School Board will be at 7 pm on February 14 in the High School Library.[/private]