Board of Education Meeting Minutes November 7, 2019

Watervliet City School District
Watervliet, New York

Board of Education

Regular Meeting

Date: November 7, 2019
Type of Meeting: Regular Meeting
Meeting Opened: 6:00 P.M.
Where: Watervliet Jr. – Sr. High School

Board Members Present: President Sheri Senecal, Vice President Heather Soroka , Mary Beth Whited , Steven Hoffman, Amanda Cavanaugh

Superintendent: Dr. Lori S. Caplan

Student Council: Miranda Luck
The meeting was opened at 6 P.M., with President Senecal officiating.

Appointment of District Clerk Pro Tem

On a motion by Amanda Cavanaugh, seconded by Steven Hoffman and unanimously accepted, the Board approved appointment of Keith Heid as District Clerk Pro-Tem for the purpose of taking the minutes of the meeting.

Public Comment

Jennifer Weaver – 2420 10th Avenue, Watervliet, NY – noted that she is concerned about bullying issues and a lack of follow-through. Ms. Weaver said that, due to bullying issues, parents are pulling their children out of district to homeschool them.

Mrs. Senecal noted that there is a chain of command and, if someone has gone through it unsuccessfully, they can contact the Board of Education via Mrs. Boardman, Clerk of the Board.

Old Business

There was no old business to be discussed.

Administrative Reports/Presentations

  • Roundtable Discussions Presentation, David Wareing
  • Second Reading of Revised Policies:
    > Students with Life-threatening Health Conditions
    > Immunization of Students
    > Education of Students in Temporary Housing

Student Council Report

Miranda Luck shared the following:

  • Student pictures and ID’s have been distributed. Picture re-takes were done and will be distributed when they come in.
  • Student Council’s Game Night is on November 15, right after school.
  • Student Council will be meeting with Mr. Whited and Ms. DeMento on Thursday, November 14, to discuss lunches. Over the past few years, we have met with Mr. Whited to talk about the lunch program, state and local regulations, and ideas for new lunch items.
  • A representative from the New York State Publisher’s Association will be coming into Social Studies classes and to a Student Council meeting on Thursday, November 21, to discuss news literacy, bias, picking the proper news sources, and “fake news.” With the 2020 presidential election and the impeachment process underway, we thought it would be good for students to learn how to separate fact from fiction.

Board Discussion

There were no items brought up for discussion.

Items Requiring Board Action

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board adopted the following policies, as recommended by the Superintendent:

  • Students with Life-threatening Health Conditions
  • Immunization of Students
  • Education of Students in Temporary Housing

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the Board of Education Minutes for the meeting held October 10, 2019, submitted by Bernadette L. Boardman, Clerk of the Board, as recommended by the Superintendent.

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the Committee on Pre-School Special Education’s recommendations for the meeting held October 16, 2019, submitted by Janelle Yanni, CSE Chair, as recommended by the Superintendent.

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the Committee on Special Education’s recommendations for the meetings held September 27, October 9, October 18, October 21, October 24, and October 25, 2019, submitted by Janelle Yanni, CSE Chair, as recommended by the Superintendent.

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the Instruction Contract, 2018 – 2019 School Year and 2019 – 2020 School Year between the Watervliet City School District and the Menands Union Free School District, as recommended by the Superintendent.

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the Memorandum of Agreement with the Albany Community Action Partnership (ACAP) – Head Start Program, for the New York State Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program, effective September 23, 2019 – June 30, 2020, as recommended by the Superintendent.

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the following Treasurer’s Reports for the month of September, 2019, submitted by Keith Heid, Business Manager, as recommended by the Superintendent:

  • Schedule of Warrants & Payrolls
  • Revenue Status Report
  • Cash & Investments
  • Appropriation Status Report

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board accepted the External Auditors’ Annual Report for the period July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2019, prepared by Teal, Becker and Chiaramonte CPAs, P.C., and submitted by Keith Heid, Business Manager, as recommended by the Superintendent.

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board accepted the resignation of Sydney Slate from the position of Home Tutor for the Watervliet City School District, effective October 4, 2019, as recommended by the Superintendent.

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board rescinded the appointment of Tyler Ronan from the position of Modified Head Football Coach, and approve his appointment to the position of Assistant Varsity Football Coach, for the 2019–2020 school year, as recommended by the Superintendent.

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board rescinded the appointment of Bryan White from the position of Assistant Modified Football Coach, and approve his appointment to the position of Modified Head Football Coach, for the 2019–2020 school year, as recommended by the Superintendent.

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the emergency probationary appointment of Paige Jensen to the position of Cafeteria Worker, at the Watervliet Elementary School, for a probationary period beginning November 4, 2019 and ending November 4, 2020, at an hourly rate of $11.10, as recommended by the Superintendent.

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the appointment of Donna Cusack to the position of Long-Term Substitute Teacher, at the Watervliet Elementary School, beginning December 10, 2019, at a rate of $125.00 per diem, as recommended by the Superintendent.

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the appointment of Ashleigh Fraley to the position of ExTRA Program Study Tables Teacher, at the Watervliet Jr.–Sr. High School, for the 2019 – 2020 school year, at a rate per contract, as recommended by the Superintendent.

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the emergency appointment of William Gallagher to the position of Intramural Supervisor, at the Watervliet Jr.–Sr. High School, for the 2019–2020 school year, effective October 1, 2019, at a rate per contract, as recommended by the Superintendent.

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the emergency appointment of David Olszewski to the position of Intramural Supervisor, at the Watervliet Jr. – Sr. High School, for the 2019–2020 school year, effective October 1, 2019, at a rate per contract, as recommended by the Superintendent.

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the appointment of the following individuals to the position of ExTRA Program Substitutes for the 2019–2020 school year, as recommended by the Superintendent:

  • Monique Anastahas
  • Kimberleigh Barkamian
  • Daniel Ciaramella
  • Kate Choi
  • Denise Cusack
  • Michele DeGuire
  • Amanda Gabrione
  • Victoria Eddy-Helenek
  • Shelly Palkovic
  • Janice Sogoian
  • Lisa Suders
  • Stephanie Sutton

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the following Student Teacher/Observer request at the Watervliet Jr. – Sr. High School, as outlined below, as recommended by the Superintendent:

  • Name: Rebecca Jones
    Role: Observer
    Cooperating Teacher(s): Allison Novotarski
    Dates: October 28 – December 20, 2019

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the home schooling request of Joanne Moore for her child, Michael Moore, Grade 10, for the 2019 – 2020 school year, as recommended by the Superintendent.

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the home schooling request of Kayla Fitzgerald for her child, Emma Bonano, Grade K, for the 2019 – 2020 school year, as recommended by the Superintendent.

On a motion by Sheri Senecal, seconded by Steven Hoffman and unanimously accepted, the Board postponed indefinitely the home schooling request of Ramel Miller for his/her child, Christopher Miller, Grade K, for the 2019 – 2020 school year, as recommended by the Superintendent.

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the excision of the following broken/irreparable equipment from the Watervliet City School District, as recommended by the Superintendent:

  • Smart Boards (75)
  • Old Computers (100)
  • Old Laptops (90)
  • Broken Printers (5)

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the excision of damaged or outdated books, as outlined in the attached, from the Watervliet City School District, as recommended by the Superintendent.

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board accepted, with thanks the donation of $2,500 from Phillip H. Morse, to be used to support outreach programs in the Watervliet City School District, as recommended by the Superintendent.

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited and unanimously accepted, the Board accepted, with thanks the donation of $500.00 from Arsenal City Kids, to the Watervliet Wrestling Program, as recommended by the Superintendent.

New Business

The December Board of Education meeting has been moved to Tuesday, December 10, 2019.

Mrs. Senecal noted that she participated in the Mix-It-Up Lunch.

Mrs. Whited and Mrs. Soroka attended an event with Max Schachter on Monday, October 28. Max’s son Alex was the first child murdered during the Parkland School massacre.

Mrs. Whited noted that New York State is way ahead of the game compared to Florida.

Mrs. Soroka noted that the video that they played was heartbreaking, especially the timing – law enforcement could have helped more if they had gotten there sooner.

Mr. Hoffman noted that he registered to go, but saw a YouTube video and realized we were doing all we could do.

Mrs. Soroka noted that we can do more, some ideas are free and some will cost the district money.

Mrs. Whited noted that they are doing “Stop the Bleed” at WES.

Mrs. Soroka noted that she recently attended the NYSSBA convention. She attended three days full of seminars, networks and workshops. She also noted that being there confirmed that we are on top of things with what we are doing here.

Mrs. Senecal noted that she recently attended the Vendor Fair at WJSHS. It was a good event with lots of involved parents in that class.

Mrs. Cavanaugh stated that the WES book fair is being held until tomorrow. The Halloween dance was amazing, there were no issues and it was a well-attended event.

Administrators’ Comments

Mrs. Webster shared the following:

  • I would like to invite you all to our Harvest Breakfast, which will be held November 13–22, each day from 9:00–9:30 a.m.
  • A huge thank you to everyone who came out to support our Halloween festivities. Both the dance and the parade were a huge success.
  • Tomorrow is our last day of Operation Gratitude, in which we are collecting Halloween candy for our troops. As of right now, we have collected over 60 lbs.
  • Staff was recently trained on “Stop the Bleed,” with the WPD. It was very worthwhile. Training at WJSHS will be held in two weeks.

    Ms. DeMento noted the following:

  • The December break is two weeks long. During that time, breakfast and lunch will be served for any students who want it.
  • The district is taking proactive steps to implement Education Law 2D, which will be implemented in 2020, in an effort to protect data and student privacy.

Mr. Groat noted that Thursday is Report Card Night. The Wellness Fair will be held in the cafeteria on the same night.

Mr. Wareing noted that 14 football players were recognized for 1st and 2nd team in the south division. Kareem Dunkin was named First Offensive Player and Nick McNulty First Defensive player.

Janelle Yanni noted that Anita Murphy, BOCES District Superintendent, was in-district for professional development. She presented on the regulations pertaining to special education and she is going to help support us in IEP writing and creating a continuum of services to meet the various needs of our students.

Mr. Stevens noted that during Tuesday’s professional development, after lunch, there will be a viewing of the documentary, “Teach Us All.” There will be a follow-up discussion on the movie.

Superintendent’s Report

Dr. Caplan shared the following:

  • Recently attended the Capital Region Legislative Committee to outline this year’s legislative agenda.
  • On Thanksgiving morning, I will be volunteering at Equinox, along with some of our staff members. I am working in conjunction with Chief Geraci to get Watervliet families signed up for Thanksgiving dinners.
  • I recently provided staff with SED updates.
  • Free breakfasts and lunches will be served to all enrolled students over the December break.
  • Congratulations to Donna Belokopitsky on receiving the “Friends of CASDA” award, in recognition for all that she does for our students.
  • Erin Gruwell, author of “Freedom Writers” was at Cohoes High School on October 28, 2019. Our 9th graders were invited to attend the event, which shared a powerful message that falls directly in line with all that we’re doing in WCSD surrounding diversity.

Adjournment

On a motion by Steven Hoffman, seconded by Mary Beth Whited, and unanimously accepted, the Board adjourned the meeting at 7:35 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Bernadette L. Boardman, Clerk of the Board