WINDHAM-ASHLAND-JEWETT CENTRAL SCHOOL
Board of Education Minutes
September 13, 2007
Regular Meeting
Presiding Officer A. J. Savasta, President
Members Present:
A. J. Savasta
William Haltermann
Teri Martin
Drew Shuster
John Wiktorko, Superintendent
Marge Curran, Treasurer
Members Absent:
Jacqueline Maier
Others Present:
John Gratto
Anne Rode
Mag Scarey
Michael Ryan
M/M Robert Pelham
M/M Oldknow
Board President, A. J. Savasta, called the meeting to order at 7:11 p.m.
Mr. Savasta led those assembled in the Pledge of Allegiance.
RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Minutes of the August 9, 2007 meeting were read, amended and approved on motion by Teri Martin and seconded by William Haltermann.
Yes Savasta, Haltermann, Martin and Shuster.
No 0 Motion Carried
RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Minutes of the August 31, 2007 special meeting were read, amended and approved on motion by Drew Shuster and seconded by Teri Martin.
Yes Savasta, Haltermann, Martin and Shuster.
No 0 Motion Carried
RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Audit Finance Committee and the Superintendent, the Treasurer’s Report for July 2007 was read and approved on motion by William Haltermann and seconded by Drew Shuster.
Yes Savasta, Haltermann, Martin and Shuster.
No 0 Motion Carried
RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Audit Finance Committee and the Superintendent, the Board approves the Bill Schedule for September 2007 as presented, on motion by William Haltermann and seconded by Teri Martin:
General Fund –Checks # 35243 to 35344 in the amount of $315,010.68
Federal Fund – Checks # 2103 to 2107 in the amount of $30,558.28
Capital Fund – Checks #1043 to 1053 in the amount of $1,542,966.91
Yes Savasta, Haltermann, Martin and Shuster.
No 0 Motion Carried
RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Audit Finance Committee and the Superintendent, the Superintendent’s Transfers were approved on motion by William Haltermann and seconded by Teri Martin.
Yes Savasta, Haltermann, Martin and Shuster.
No 0 Motion Carried
There was no correspondence.
There were no public comments.
Resolved, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, pursuant to Section 3012 of Education Law, and in compliance with Part 30.3 of the Rules of the Board of Regents, the Board appoints Nancy LaFever to a three (3) year probationary teaching position in the Special Education tenure area effective September 28, 2007 through August 31, 2010 and be it further resolved, that Ms. LaFever be paid on Step 2 as per the current W-A-J Teachers’ Association Contract pending a Clearance for Appointment from the Commissioner of Education.
RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Board appoints the following individuals to the extra curricular positions for the 2007-08 school year as presented on motion by Teri Martin and seconded by Drew Shuster:
Spanish Club Advisor – Stephanie Cecelia
Senior Class Co-Advisor – Lara McAneny
Literary Club Advisor (Pilot) – Lara McAneny
Soccer Scorekeeper/Clock Operator – Beth Verhoeven
Yes Savasta, Haltermann, Martin and Shuster.
No 0 Motion Carried
RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Board approves adding John Albert to the substitute bus driver’s list on motion by Teri Martin and seconded by William Haltermann.
Yes Savasta, Haltermann, Martin and Shuster.
No 0 Motion Carried
RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Board approves adding Susan Kleinfelder to the Substitute Teacher/Tutor list on motion by Drew Shuster and seconded by William Haltermann.
Yes Savasta, Haltermann, Martin and Shuster.
No 0 Motion Carried
RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Board approves adding Kristy Kleinfelder to the Substitute Teacher/Tutor list on motion by William Haltermann and seconded by Drew Shuster.
Yes Savasta, Haltermann, Martin and Shuster.
No 0 Motion Carried
RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Board approves adding Ellen Carr to the Substitute Teacher/Tutor list on motion by Teri Martin and seconded by William Haltermann.
Yes Savasta, Haltermann, Martin and Shuster.
No 0 Motion Carried
RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Board approves adding Joan Oldknow to the Substitute Teacher/Tutor list on motion by William Haltermann and seconded by Drew Shuster.
Yes Savasta, Haltermann, Martin and Shuster.
No 0 Motion Carried
RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Board approves adding Cathy Alpin to the Substitute Teacher/Tutor list on motion by Teri Martin and seconded by Drew Shuster.
Yes Savasta, Haltermann, Martin and Shuster.
No 0 Motion Carried
RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Board agrees that it will permit, to the extent of its ability, and upon request of the Red Cross, the use of the Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School by Red Cross as mass shelters or service centers for victims of disasters as presented under separate cover on motion William Haltermann and seconded by Drew Shuster.
Yes Savasta, Haltermann, Martin and Shuster.
No 0 Motion Carried
Resolved, that the Board of Education hereby accepts the 2007-2008 Free and Reduced Price Meal Program Policy Statement, including Family Income Eligibility Criteria and all attachments, as prescribed by the State Education Department, and authorizes the President of the Board to execute the prescribed Certificate of Acceptance on behalf of the District; and that the Assistant Superintendent, John Gratto, be appointed as the Hearing Official and Felicia Senigo as the Reviewing Official and Verification Official in connection with the Free and Reduced Price Meal program on motion by William Haltermann and seconded by Drew Shuster.
Yes Savasta, Haltermann, Martin and Shuster.
No 0 Motion Carried
RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Board accepts a donation to the school from Susan Valentine as presented under separate cover on motion by Drew Shuster and seconded by Teri Martin.
Yes Savasta, Haltermann, Martin and Shuster.
No 0 Motion Carried
Important dates were read.
The Assistant Superintendent gave his report:
Recent Academic Improvement and School Administration Activities:
The Academic Committee met before the Board meeting. Reports and discussion occurred regarding Formulating of a Comprehensive District Education Plan
The K-6 teacher schedule has several features that hold the potential for greater student achievement:
English Language Arts is taught twice a day.
During one of those periods, an additional teacher will teach, thus reducing the student to teacher ratio.
Math classes also have an additional teacher, thus reducing the student to teacher ratio.
The schedule permits acceleration in English Language Arts and Math both within grade and at another grade level if warranted.
Science in grades 4-6 will be taught by a teacher who will teach only Science.
The Advisory Program for students in grades 7-12 is underway
I will be meeting with teachers in September to establish goals for this school year.
Probationary teachers will be evaluated in September.
Notes of Interest:
Summer school finished August 17th. Thirty-seven students in grades 1-8 attended to improve their skills in English Language Arts and math.
Columbia-Greene Community College is being offered for the first time this year—4 students are enrolled. Enrollment is AP courses is as follows: AP English – 10, AP Calculus – 4, AP US History - 15
The Alternate Education program in place last school year has been disbanded. The students who were previously in that program have transitioned into regular classes and/or BOCES vocational programs.
Anne Rode, the Principal in her report gave the Board a list of her priorities and goals to ensure that the students have a good day:
Safety -Check classrooms and bathrooms for anything unusual before the students arrive
Greet the buses
Perform building checks throughout the day
Handle discipline issue
Make progress everyday
Cultivate the “WAJ” family
Encourage lunch monitors to roam the Café
Use the Peer Buddy program
Make sure school aides circulate around the playground in order to be visible and vigilant
Mr. Wiktorko gave his report:
Everyone did a great job getting the school ready for its first day which meant custodians and teachers alike were here for a good part of the holiday weekend
Thank you to the Audit Finance Committee for the great job it is doing
The Capital Project Committee continues to meet regularly. We are on budget and on schedule with the project
Wellness Committee is meeting again to discuss breakfast and lunch menus
Water hook-up with the Town of Windham is complete and the town will reimburse us for one half of the cost
Creamery Pond is still on schedule. Its’ use will allow for multiple games at the same time.
Entrance and Strategic Plan is included in the Board packet to help the Board and administration identify a range of goals.
Mr. Savasta stated that the major goal will be to improve student academic performance. Mr. Haltermann suggested that we have a workshop for this plan. A special Board meeting will be called on October 4, 2008 at 6:15 p.m. in the school library for this purpose. The meeting will be open to the public.
There were no additions to the Agenda.
Mr. Savasta called for public comments; there were none.
RESOLVED, that the Board go into Executive Session at 8:36 p.m. for the purposes of discussing collective bargaining on motion by William Haltermann and seconded by Drew Shuster.
Yes Savasta, Haltermann, Martin and Shuster.
No 0 Motion Carried
The items discussed during the Executive Session will be made public as appropriate at future meetings of the Board of Education.
The Board reconvened into regular session at 10:30 p.m. on motion by William Haltermann, seconded by Drew Shuster, and carried by those present.
Felicia Senigo, Clerk of the Board
John Wiktorko, Clerk Pro Tem