by Alex Brooks
At its School Board meeting on November 16, New Lebanon Central School District announced that it has received results of lead testing for the Walter B Howard Elementary School. Of the 98 water outlets tested, 19 tested above the 15 parts per billion threshold established by NY State.[private] Most of the outlets which tested above the standard are not currently in use, such as in the old locker rooms, and those have been permanently disabled. The three classroom outlets which tested above the 15 ppb standard have been temporarily turned off. Those fixtures will be replaced and the water will be re-tested.
Lead testing was mandated by a State law passed in September. Samples were taken and sent to the lab for all outlets at the Walter B Howard Elementary School by the end of October, and results were just received in Mid-November. Samples have been taken of all water outlets at the Jr/Sr High School as well, and sent to the lab for testing. Those results have not yet been received, but they are expected soon.
In a letter to parents, Schools Superintendent Leslie Whitcomb said, “We are in the early stages of addressing the outlets that tested above the 15 ppb standard, and may find that in addition to fixtures, we may have to replace additional plumbing components. In any case, no student will have access to water from an outlet that tested above the required level.”
Whitcomb said the results of testing at the Jr/Sr High School will be posted as soon as they are received. The full lab report on the samples from Walter B Howard is available on the District’s web site.
District Business Administrator Michael Los discussed the External Audit Report for the previous school year. The report was very favorable. It said there were no deficiencies in internal controls and no material weaknesses in the District’s financial practices, and there were no incidents of non-compliance. The audit did make recommendations about how the district handles budget transfers.
Board member Sharon Putnam wondered why the Auditors did not come to the meeting themselves to present the results. Los said the auditor had a conflict with the particular night of the meeting. Superintendent Whitcomb said she would ask the Auditor to come to the next meeting so the Board could ask questions, and said if the Board can forward questions to the Superintendent’s office in advance, the auditors will be able to prepare a better answer.
Los also presented to the Board the idea of closing out one of the District’s existing reserve funds and transferring the funds that are in it to the Capital reserve fund. The reserve in question, called “Accrued Liabilities” has about $700,000 in it and it was started to cover anticipated costs of retiree health insurance. Since the District is paying those costs out of the operating budget, it has not needed to use this reserve. They are planning now for a renovation project, and would like to build up the Capital Reserve in anticipation of such a project. Los said there is currently $1.4 million in the Capital Reserve, and if the Accrued Liabilities reserve is added to it, it would be $2.1 million.
Los also said the pressure tanks for the water system in the Jr/Sr High School have been deteriorating. The District called in architects to assess the situation and recommend a solution. They got back a 90 page proposal of drawings and specifications. Los said, “It’s going to be a bigger deal than we thought.”
The current system has just one motor, so if that motor fails, the school has no water until it is fixed. The new system will have two motors, so if one fails the building still has water pressure. He recommended that it be declared an emergency project, so it can be fixed expeditiously, but he assured the Board that nothing has happened recently that would increase the District’s level of concern. He just feels it should be a very high priority. The project has to be submitted to the State Education Department for approval, including whether or not it can be treated as an emergency project.
Jr/Sr High School Assistant Principal Josh Noble said the winter sports season is underway. There are nine teams, and 7 of them require gym space, which has made scheduling of gym time challenging. Some of the teams are practicing for shorter periods of time than they used to. The two teams that don’t need gym space are wrestling and swimming. These are teams that are shared with the Berlin District. Noble said, “We send our wrestlers to Berlin, and Berlin sends its swimmers here.” Noble said he is concerned about the Girls Modified Basketball team, which has only 8 players. He said , “We are actively recruiting for girls modified.” He said they would like to have 10 players. If there were less than 8, they might have to discontinue the team.
Noble said the JV Girls Basketball team came into the season with no schedule. He has been arranging games and they currently have 10 games. He is trying to get it to 15 games. The schedule will be posted on the District web site.
WBH Principal Andrew Kourt reported on notable recent events at WBH. The Trunk or Treat event held October 31 was very well attended. There were about 60 cars participating and lots of foot traffic between them. Grandparent day was a fun event. The students invited a grandparent, a special friend or family member to the school for a visit and a special lunch. There were about 150 visitors who came to the school as part of the event. Kourt thanked the PTA for coordinating the event.
On Wednesday, November 16, WBH Elementary School held the 1st Annual Grandparents/Special Friend’s Day. Students and their loved ones spent part of the day having lunch together and touring their classrooms. A great time was shared by all who attended. Thank you to all our special guests and to the PTA for sponsoring this wonderful event.
Kourt also mentioned a reading program now in progress at Walter B Howard. In this program the incentive for the students is, when they achieve their goal they get to throw a pie in the principal’s face.[/private]