Minutes November 29, 2011

Date:

November 29, 2011

Time:

8:15 p.m.

Place:

Horace Greeley High School

Present:

Board of Education
Alyson Kiesel, President
Jeffrey Mester, Vice President
Randall Katchis
Vicky Tipp
Karen Visser

Staff Members
Present:

Dr. Lyn McKay, Superintendent

Mr. Eric Byrne, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction

Mr. John Chow, Assistant Superintendent for Business

Theresa Markley, District Clerk / Adm. Asst. to Superintendent

Visitors Present:

Representatives of the Chappaqua PTA, school PTAs, building administrators, faculty, and other interested citizens.

President Alyson Kiesel convened the public session at 7:00 p.m. Vicky Tipp moved to enter into Executive Session for the purpose of contract negotiations and legal discussion. Karen Visser seconded. The motion passed unanimously. At 8:30 p.m. Randall Katchis moved to adjourn the Executive Session. Vicky Tipp seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

At 8:35 p.m. Jeffrey Mester moved to reconvene the public session. Vicky Tipp seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

President Kiesel welcomed the community.

Presentations:

Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES
- Tom Higgins, Asst. Dist. Supt.

District Superintendent Jim Langlois could not be with us this evening, but Assistant District Superintendent Tom Higgins presented the Capital Projects proposal of $19,050,000. He listed the projects: Roofs, HVAC, therapy pool, fire alarm/PA system and associated costs. Districts would share $18,150,000, the rest would come from BOCES capital budget. Chappaqua's share would be $1,537,194. It is suggested that borrowing be done in three installments. It was noted that although the district's share of debt service is excluded from the 2% tax cap, the BOCES portion is not excluded. John Chow asserted that it will not affect our budget until 2015.

P/NWBOCES was built in Yorktown 40 years ago by the component school districts that are bound by NY State law to repair them. The BOCES Board and component districts boards enter into an agreement setting for the nature and cost of the projects and apportionment of cost among the districts. Since it is a reconstruction project, authorization is required by the Boards of Education not a public vote. All 18 districts must vote by January 13; a unanimous vote is required to pass the bond. However, if it does not pass, as repairs are needed, BOCES will complete the repairs and bill the districts. Allocation is based on Education Law 1950 (4,b,7,i) using True value (property wealth) and/or Resident Weighted Average Daily Attendance similar to enrollment (RWADA). BOCES allocates using 50% TV and 50% RWADA. The Chappaqua district ranks third of the 18 component school districts in property wealth, sixth in population. Dr. McKay noted that we do use PNWBOCES quite extensively for our staff development.

Central Office Structure
- Dr. Lyn McKay

Dr. McKay noted that with Tom Cardellichio's passing last spring, our former Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, the board appointed Paul Citarella as an interim. Although the structure of central office remains the same, the name of the position has changed to reflect the added responsibilities, including the new annual professional performance review (APPR) based on the new state requirements and additional staff development work. Dr. McKay announced there is one person who is uniquely qualified for this position, Andrew Selesnick. Mr. Selesnick has been with the district for twenty years, as teacher and principal, leading the school through a number of significant changes and difficulty over the years. He is an excellent communicator and understands the importance of balance. Andrew has the skills for this demanding position and he brings a sense of continuity and a historical perspective to the position. Therefore, she did not feel that an extensive search was necessary, but required someone who could hit the pavement running. However, she outlined the extensive search process that is needed for the two open principalships of Horace Greeley and Roaring Brook.

Jeffrey Mester moved to appoint Andrew Selesnick, Assistant Superintendent for Leadership Development and Human Resources, Education Center, effective July 1, 2012, in the tenure of Assistant Superintendent for Leadership Development and Human Resources, probationary period ends June 30, 2015. Randall Katchis seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Andrew expressed his gratitude for the opportunities that he has been given over the past twenty years and looks forward to this new challenge. It has been a privilege to work in a district that values education.

How are elementary schools addressing the BOE teaching and learning question?

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Eric Byrne introduced the three Principals Mike Kirsch and Jim Skoog and Interim Principal Peter Berendt to present how they are focusing on three areas using differentiation to meet the needs of all their students. Elementary students bring a wide range of abilities and needs. Jim Skoog explained the framework of teaching, namely, the teacher explains, models or demonstrates, and then guides. The student works independently with feedback. Peter Berendt explained that New York State Regulations, an unfunded mandate, define Response to Intervention (RTI) as "a school district's process to determine if a student responds to scientific, research-based instruction." Each of our schools has created a process of addressing each of the components that comprises the RTI model. Mike Kirsch stated the importance of continuing professional development and explained the variety of staff development opportunities available and the effort made to provide differentiated instruction for students. He provided a chart of the structure and programs available in each of the buildings that are being used to help meet state requirements.

1.

Information Business Affairs

2.

Organization

3.

Approvals

4.

Recommended Action: Personnel

Dr. McKay made the following recommendations (with the exception of Mr. Selesnick's appointment that was confirmed earlier).

5.

Recommended Action: Other

6.

Facilities

7.

Financials

8.

President Kiesel gave Notice of Future Meetings -

Wednesday, November 30, 2011, Board tours at Seven Bridges Middle School, 7:00 a.m.and Westorchard Elementary School 7:45 a.m.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011at Horace Greeley High School - 8:15 p.m.

9.

Adjournment

At 10:35 p.m. Jeffrey Mester moved to adjourn. Vicky Tipp seconded. The motion passed unanimously.