Schools
Board of Education Meeting Highlights
Board members discussed Race to the Top Funds, the county guarantee, and honored students in the Siemens Science competition.
In case you missed this week's Board of Education meeting, here are some of the items that were discussed:
New student government officers and class presidents were introduced:
- Kevin Remy — President of SGA
- Chris Delbello — First VP, SGA
- Kasey Ng — Second VP, SGA
- Maria Passarelli — Secretary, SGA
- Madison Bondy — Treasurer, SGA
- Brendan Principato — President, senior class
- Taylor Schwarting — President, junior class
- Michael Garcia — President, sophomore class
- Briar Rose DeTommaso — President, freshman class
The school board also recognized seven students who participated in the Siemens Science competition — Ben Hawriluk, Emily Passarelli and Lauren Joyce, Rachel Shenker, Jesse Chait, Kyle Holzgruber, Zachary Gottehrer-Cohen and Kelsey McKenna. McKenna is a semi-finalist in the competition.
Items for Information
- Superintendent Dr. William Johnson discussed Race to the Top Funds and how the district, if it chose to participate, would receive $34,000 over four years. Johnson explained, however, that accepting the money would cost the district more than it would actually receive in the long run. He noted that if they chose to accept the money, the district would have to hire a network team — comprised of three administrators for instruction, curriculum development and testing — and that the team would cost $16,000 per school. With seven schools, the district would nearly pay out more than $400,000 in administrative costs. "It just doesn't make sense to participate at this time," Johnson said.
- District officials also discussed possibly bonding renovations to district schools. The district will undergo a state, mandatory five-year building review, in which recommended upgrades or renovations will be underscored in the assessment.
- County Executive Ed Mangano's plan to "shave" $100 million from the county budget by shifting tax certiorari settlements to local school district and municipalities was a topic of debate among administrators and board members. Johnson said if the plan is approved, it could devastate school districts, who would have to find a way to fund a reserve to pay the settlements, along with incurred legal fees. He said the decision will probably be announced today. "This is truly a problem," he said. "It's not cutting expenses. It's shifting the costs from the county to the school districts."
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