Board of Education Discusses Ashokan, Five-Year Building Study and Earth Science Portal

Board of Education trustees reviewed a five-year, state-mandated buildings survey report, detailed how the new — an electronic textbook — works, and debated the idea of parents independently fundraising to send fifth graders to Ashokan at its public meeting at on Wednesday night.

Trustees also recognized seven high school science students who participated in the Intel Science Competition, including who was named a semifinalist in the prestigious national competition.

Facilities Study 

Fred Seeba, a New York State licensed engineer, presented a 65-page facilities study of the district's eight buildings to the board, underscoring which upgrades are mandatory by state guidelines and others that are suggested. Seeba detailed the process by which he compiled his data: building staff and principals filled out a 120-page questionnaire; he conducted a walk-through of the facilities, reviewed the 2005 study and then interviewed head custodians.

Seeba explained that the district's buildings were denoted as satisfactory in his conditions building survey, and that some of the upgrades outlined in the facilities study could be done in-house. Each upgrade was prioritized on a one through five scale, one being a mandatory fix and five being an aesthetic suggestion.

Seeba noted that some of the upgrades, which have a dollar amount associated with them in the facilities study, may appear to be high, but that's because it is under the assumption that those upgrades would be capital projects that need to be bid out and bonded. The district could see some savings if it combined projects that are needed at separate schools, Seeba said.

Assistant Superintendent for Business, Robert Bartells, said that there are some items in the facilities study that the district is currently doing — a natural gas conversion and energy-savings initiatives — that will be removed from the list of upgrades. The reason those projects were included, he explained, was because the school was reviewed last fall, before the projects began.

Parents questioned whether their suggestions for school upgrades would be considered, and board secretary Mark Masin made it clear that this process is in its nascent stages. "We are at the beginning of this process," Masin said. "We are at step 1A."

Superintendent Dr. William Johnson said that he would meet with the district's compact committees to discuss their ideas for upgrades. 

Earth Science Portal

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Chris Pellettieri, conducted a presentation on the newly-piloted . The electronic textbook offers audio, images, links to pertinent articles and its content can also be translated into nine different languages. 

He explained that the portal will help students learn in a unique way. "It will help them construct knowledge rather than it being spoon fed," Pellettieri said. 

The district will start using the portal this Monday.

Ashokan

The upstate, overnight trip for fifth-graders was removed from the district's budget two years ago, but some parents want to bring it back. Johnson explained that two parents from Covert approached him about independently fundraising for the trip, but explained that it's either "all or none," meaning that if all schools couldn't afford to do it, then no schools would go. As of now, parents do not have permission from the board to independently fundraise for the trip.

Board President Liz Dion said, "we're wrestling with this," and Johnson added that he is not recommending putting the trip back into the district's budget, explaining that it would cost up to $100,000. Johnson did say he would meet with parents who wanted to fundraise and listen to their ideas.