Pine Bush Board of Education –Tuesday, January 28, 2020 

REGULAR MEETING – Circleville MS  

Members Present:

• Gretchen Meier, President
• Kristin Graessle
• Kristi Kheiralla                                                                                 
• Matthew Watkins

 

Members Absent:

• Dori Johnson
• Cara Robertson, Vice President
• Ross Tompkins

 

Others Present:

• Tim Mains, Superintendent of Schools 
• Donna Geidel, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction              
• Michael Pacella, Assistant Superintendent for Business                                              
• Deborah June, District Clerk
• Approximately 16 residents/students/staff members

 

Welcome and Pledge of Allegiance

President Gretchen Meier welcomed those in attendance for public session of the regular meeting. She asked those in attendance to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, noting the time at approx. 7:05 PM.

 

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by President Gretchen Meier with the following motion offered:

MOVED by Trustee Graessle, second by Trustee Kheiralla, that the Board of Education open the regular meeting at approximately 7:06 PM

YES – 4           NO – 0    MOTION CARRIED

 

Approval of Minutes

MOVED by Trustee Graessle, second by Trustee Watkins, that the Board of Education approve the minutes from

the January 14, 2020 regular board meeting as submitted by the District Clerk.

YES – 4     NO – 0    MOTION CARRIED

 

Reports, Recommendations of the Superintendent of Schools

Consent Agenda

MOVED by Trustee Watkins, second by Trustee Kheiralla, that the Board of Education approve the following Consent Agenda (and addition to the consent agenda) as submitted by the Superintendent of Schools:

The consent agenda included the appointment of the following new personnel: Caitlin Murphy – Teacher, Amy Thomas – Teacher.

Leaves of Absence

Instructional

• Meghan Isaacs, request for an unpaid leave of absence from her position as a 1.0 FTE Teacher-Special Education effective February 10, 2020 through June 30, 2020.  
• Christina Parsons, request for an unpaid leave of absence from her position as a 6.5 hours/day Teaching Assistant effective January 23, 2020 through March 4, 2020.  
• Melissa Algarin, request for an unpaid leave of absence from her position as a 6.0 hours/day Teaching Assistant, effective February 10, 2020 through February 28, 2020.  

 

Appointments

Instructional

• Caitlin Murphy, who holds a Initial certificate in Physical Education, be appointed to the position of 1.0 FTE Permanent Substitute Teacher in the Physical Education and Recreation tenure area, for the period of January 29, 2020 and ending June 30, 2020.  Salary Level BA, Step 1of the salary schedule (pro-rated). 
• Amy Thomas, who holds a Permanent certificate in Special Education, be appointed to the position of 1.0 FTE Permanent Substitute Teacher in the Special Education (General) tenure area, for the period of February 10, 2020 and ending June 30, 2020.  Salary Level MA, Step 1 of the salary schedule (pro-rated). 

 

Per Diem Substitutes

Board approval for the appointment of the following individuals as per diem substitutes effective January 29, 2020 (or as noted) at board approved per diem substitute rates:

• Tariq Cilione
• Rose Clark
• Amy Colella (addition to consent agenda)
• Beth Ebert (effective 12/3/2019)
• Dylan Eller
• Paul Fernandez
• Robert Finan
• Lisa Gorman
• Jeanne Marino
• Kelly McCartney
• John Parsells
• Alexandra Steinberg
• Lynda Storgion
• Carissa Woulfe (addition to consent agenda)

YES – 4     NO – 0    MOTION CARRIED

 

CSE and CPSE Placement Recommendation                                       

MOVED by Trustee Watkins, second by Trustee Kheiralla, that the Board of Education approve all IEPs of the Committee on Special Education and the Committee on Preschool Special Education as submitted by the CSE and CPSE Chairperson and reviewed by Trustee Watkins.

YES – 4     NO – 0    MOTION CARRIED

 

Presentation:  District Communications Plan

Linda Smith, Pine Bush CSD Communications Coordinator (through Capital Region BOCES) presented a PowerPoint and provided to the board members a Communications Plan for Pine Bush CSD. She began her presentation thanking the board members and administration for their support since she came to Pine Bush CSD in September 2017. She noted the launching of the new district website in 2018 (which is accessible and user friendly), as well as consideration of a Facebook Page and further consideration of an App. Some of the highlights of her PowerPoint presentation included a review of the following:

COMMUNICATIONS PLAN

 WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE WANT TO BE:

• CRB Communications Team – 30 years of expertise in school public relations
• 75 team members in 55 districts across New York State
• Help school leaders build trust and credibility with their public through a planned, strategic program of  two-way communication aligned with district goals and priorities
• Produce annual Communications Plan

WHERE WE STAND:

The Nuts and Bolts

• Three days of service each week
• 150 additional hours per year
• Accessible, organized website
• Accurate, timely news and announcements online and in the media

WE COMMUNICATE –SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS:

• Create announcements for upcoming events
• Cover events in each of our seven schools
• Write stories about student accomplishments, new initiatives in schools
• Disseminate news to local media

HOW WE GET THE WORD OUT:

• Pine Bush Central School District Website
• Calendar
• Three newsletters – fall, winter, spring (budget)
• Local media
• School Messenger
• Mr. Mains’ Twitter

Opportunities to Grow:

• Tell more of our stories and elicit positive reactions
• Increase the number of accessible, fillable forms on our website
• Reach more of our public

How Do We Get There – Time and Tools

Time:

• To report more of our stories
• To process more photos
• To take and post videos
• To share with local media

Tools:  Social Media – Facebook

• Portable
• Direct – Goes right to them
• Meets the needs of younger parents
• Interactive

We Have Made Much Progress…

• Producing more news
• Covering more events
• Building relationships within the community
• Increasing accessibility

…There is more to do

Great things are happening -Terrific opportunities await

Our Goal:

To better connect with our public and share the innovative programs in our district and the accomplishments of our students and staff. There is always room to grow.

In conclusion, a few comments and questions were offered, mostly specific to a Facebook page. Linda was thanked for her informative presentation.

 

Long Range Planning Study Report / Demographics Update

Mike Pacella, Assistant Superintendent for Business provided a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the Long Range Planning Study / Demographic Update for 2020. Copies of the presentation were available to all. Some of

the highlights of the presentation included the following:

Births

• There were 3,791,712 nationally recorded births in 2018 which is 2% lower than 2017.  This same percentage decline has continued now for the past several years
• The number of births continue to be low for our district at 330, up very slightly from last year. 
• Lower births have been linked to several factors, including lower starting salaries, significant student loan debt and higher rental costs.  Young people are living with parents longer thereby delaying marriage and child bearing

Census/Population Data

• NYS actually had a net gain in population of 164,000 people since the 2010 Census.  However; last year lead the nation again in domestic migration at -180,306.  This decrease was offset by international migration increase and natural increase for an overall decrease of -109,931
• PBCSD decreased by 66 for a total of 33,245 in 2018
• Between 2010-2017, Orange County increased by 9,138 (2.5%); Ulster County decreased by 3,894 (-2.1%); Sullivan County decreased by 2,049 (-2.6%)

District Housing

• Home sales in our district remained steady at 315 units sold in 2018
• Median sales prices increased to $244,000 (3.8%) from the prior year
• 87% of all housing is occupied while 13% is vacant

• 76% of the housing is owner occupied
• 24% is renter occupied

         Local Planning Departments reported:

• Bloomingburg – No new construction – Chestnut Ridge still 110 COs
• Wallkill – Saddle Hill development includes: 120 rental units, 95 condos and 58 single family units – no permits have been issued
• Crawford – Farmhood Fields – preliminary approval for 31 single family homes

District Enrollment

• We have experienced losses in 9 of the last 10 years of 924 students, or 15.8% from 2008
• More losses are projected in 9 of the next 10 years of 370 students, or 7.5% from current enrollment
• The current enrollment is 4,926, 112 less than last year
• Current K-5 enrollment is 2,002
• Current 6-8 enrollment is 1,258
• Current 9-12 enrollment is 1,666

The accuracy of these projections has averaged approximately 99.1% over the past few years.

 

The presentation continued with a review of the 10 year Enrollment Change; 5 year Projected Enrollment (actual 2019 through projected 2024-2025; 10 year enrollment chart illustrating change (actual vs. projected) 2015-2016 to 2024-2025.  In conclusion, the following brief summary was provided:

SUMMARY:

• The district recorded a loss of 924 students between 2009 and 2019 spread out in all grades
• Over the next 5 year period to 2024-2025, all grade levels are projected to continue losing students. 
• In years after, grades K-5 are expected to gain students, grades 6-8 remain stable while high school grades are expected to continue losing students
• New York is the fourth most populous state in the country, with 19.5 million people trailing behind California (39.6m), Texas (28.7m) and Florida (21.3m).  Prior to 2014, New York was third.

Mr. Pacella was thanked for his presentation.

 

Budget Work Session Segment

Presentations – Building a Budget

•  – 2020-2021 Budget Rollover Projections
•   – Projected State Aid / Establish BOE Guidance

 

Mr. Pacella presented a review of the following first of many budget presentations to come: 2020-2021

“Rollover” Budget, 2020-2021 Property Tax Cap Calculation, and 2020-2021 Preliminary State Aid Analysis. Some of the highlights of this presentation included the following: Explanation of a Rollover Budget… It’s the current year’s programs calculated into next year’s dollars.  Since this is a very preliminary look at a future cost of the current program, there are still best guess estimates as some factors are not known at this point in our budget building phase. It will also include programs that had prior year’s BOE approval to increase in future years (e.g. Foreign Language at Middle Schools). The presentation continued with a review of the following:

MAJOR CHANGES TO THE BUDGET:

• The majority of the line item budgets are not materially changed;
• The major changes are expected in Salaries and Benefits, BOCES programs and tuition for special needs;
• The budget codes have been expanded to show “per building” spending and reflect equitable distribution of non-salary expenditures.

 

CURRENT BUDGET to “ROLLOVER” BUDGET

• 2019-2020 Approved Budget       $118,775,551
• 2020-2021 “Rollover” Budget      $121,866,153
• Dollar Change                                    $    3,090,602
• Percentage Change                         2.60 %

 

The presentation continued with a review of the “Rollover budget breakdown,” as well as a Comparison of Governor’s proposed aid to budgeted aid, review of Tax Levy to support the budget and Tax Cap Calculation.

IN CONCLUSION, the following “Unknowns” were reviewed:

• We are still analyzing all current programs’ staffing levels and class sizes for 2020-2021;
• We will be monitoring Albany for possible state aid adjustments;
• BOCES has not finalized all of next year’s rates.
   

Mr. Pacella was thanked for his presentation.

 

Public Participation

President Meier opened the first public participation at approx. 7:55 PM requesting no personal references.  No comments/questions/concerns were raised.

 

Designation & Disposition of Books

MOVED by Trustee Graessle, second by Trustee Kheiralla, that the Board of Education authorize the following designation and disposition of books:

Designation of the following request lists of surplus library books as submitted at the request of Robin Renahan (acknowledged by CVMS Principal Lisa Hankinson) as unusable in accordance with Policy #5250 SUBJECT:

Disposition of Surplus Property, and authorize the disposition of the books outdated and/or in poor condition under the direction of Michael Pacella, Assistant Superintendent for Business. (List to be attached to the minutes).

YES – 4     NO – 0    MOTION CARRIED

 

Upcoming Board Meetings, Events / Old, New Business / Updates

Upcoming board meetings and events announced Tuesday evening:

The start time for the regular sessions of our board meetings – 7:00 p.m., unless otherwise noted.

Regular Board Meetings:

Important: Locations for February Regular Board Meetings (reversed):

• Tuesday, February 11, 2020, 7:00 PM at Circleville Middle School
• Tuesday, February 25, 2020, 7:00 PM at Pine Bush High School
• Tuesday, March 10, 2020, 7:00 PM at Pine Bush High School
• Tuesday, March 24, 2020, 7:00 PM at Circleville Middle School (student recognition at 6:45 PM)

 

Other Important Dates

Date Change – Crispell MS Drama – FROZEN, JR. (previously listed as January 17 and 18, 2020)

• Friday, January 31, 2020, 7 PM at Pine Bush HS
• Saturday, February 1, 2020, 11 AM & 5 PM at Pine Bush HS

 

Circleville MS Drama – THE LION KING, JR.

•  Thursday, February 27, 2020, 7 PM at Circleville MS
• Friday, February 28, 2020, 7 PM at Circleville MS
• Saturday, February 29, 2020, 11 AM & 7 PM at Circleville MS

 

School Board Member Petition Packets –Available first week in March at District Office.

(See Debbie June, District Clerk)

 

Prospective School Board Member Workshop

Saturday, March 28, 2020, 9:00 AM – 12:00 noon

Orange- Ulster BOCES – Administrative Conference Room in the Administrative Building

Register via to email Karyn Meier, OCSBA at karyn.meier@ocsba.com registration forms available on the back table or contact Debbie June.

 

OCSBA Announcement: Mandated Training for New School Board Members–School District Governance

Part 1 –Tuesday, June 9, 2020 at 5: 30 PM,  Part 2 –Thursday, June 11, 2020 at 5:30 PM

(Dinner provided)  Informational form on the back table. Debbie June will register any new board members who would like to attend.

 

Updates

Superintendent Mains asked for additional input from the board members regarding a Facebook page. A conversation ensued with various comments and suggestions. In conclusion, the board requested that the District’s Communications Coordinator provide an update presentation specific to a Facebook page. Superintendent Mains agreed to have a presentation forthcoming.

 

Business & Finance

Claim Auditor’s Reports

MOVED by Trustee Kheiralla, second by Trustee Watkins, that the Board of Education acknowledge receipt and acceptance of the following Claims Auditor’s Reports as submitted: 

  Claims Auditor’s Report covering Warrant #0041 dated 12/20/2019 payroll authorizing payments in the amount of $ 1,110,840.83

• Trust & Agency Acct. (15 checks 004048-004062)       $    1,110,840.83

      Total            $         1,110,840.83

 

Claims Auditor’s Report covering Warrant #0043 dated 1/10/2020 payroll authorizing payments in the amount of $ 899,288.23

• Trust & Agency Acct. (7 checks 004063-004069)     $      899,288.23

       Total            $         899,288.23

 

Claims Auditor’s Report covering Warrant # 0044 dated 1/10/2020 check run authorizing payments in the amount of $ 1,401,530.44

• Cafeteria Fund (12 checks 005068-005079)         $   55,833.35
• Crispell SAF (2 checks (002318-002319)     $    1,044.92
• HS Activity Fund (6 checks 003978-003983)     $    6,528.00
• Trust & Agency Acct. (1 checks 004070)     $      16,342.76
• Federal Fund Acct. (6 checks 002494-002499)    $     15,185.74
• Capital Fund (1 check 001796)        $    6,371.44
• General Fund (162 checks 061706 -061867)    $      1,290,080.92
• District Activity AC (6 checks 004714-004719)    $    10,143.31

                  Total       $         1,401,530.44

 

Claims Auditor’s Report covering Warrant # 0045 Void & Reissue 11/18-1/13/2020 authorizing payments in the amount of $ 3,020.12

• HS Activity Fund (1 checks 003937)              $         42.00
• Federal Fund Acct. (1 check 002485)  $     195.00                                  
• General Fund (15 checks 060892 -061872)    $   2,649.12
• District Activity AC (1 check 004698)     $      134.00

              Total     $       3,020.12

 

Claims Auditor’s Report covering Warrant # 0046 Void & Reissue 1/13/2020 authorizing payments in the amount of $ 977.00

• General Fund (6 checks 061873 -061878)  $     843.00
• District Activity AC (1 check 004720)    $   134.00

                 Total       $      977.00

 

Claims Auditor’s Report covering Warrant # 0047 dated 1/17/2020 check run authorizing payments in the amount of $ 3,621,753.68

• Cafeteria Fund (14 checks 005080-005093)       $    73,709.80  
• HS Activity Fund (1 check 003984)   $       250.00
• Trust & Agency Acct. (1 check 004071)   $    522.33
• CVMS Activity Fund (1 check 1653)     $    108.14
• Federal Fund Acct. (1 check 002500)   $      2,921.44
• Capital Fund (1 check 001797)    $   42,971.67
• General Fund (88 checks 061879-061966)     $      3,497,788.08
• District Activity AC (2 checks 004721-004722)      $   3,482.22

                Total        $         3,621,753.68

YES – 4     NO – 0    MOTION CARRIED

 

Approval / Establishment of Non-Resident Tuition Rates

MOVED by Trustee Kheiralla, second by Trustee Graessle, that the Board of Education approve the following estimated rates for the 2019-2020 school year (the 2018-2019 and 2017-2018 actual rates are also noted for comparison):

 

                                                      Estimated                           Actual                                   Actual                                                   2019-2020                           2018-2019                  2017-2018 

Regular Education

• Grade K-6                            $7,677                                   $6,676                                   $5,733
• Grade 7-12                          $8,256                                   $7,955                                   $6,763  

 

Special Education

• Grade K-6                            $26,076                 $24,791                 $22,971                
• Grade 7-12                          $26,655                 $26,070                 $24,001

YES – 4     NO – 0    MOTION CARRIED

 

Public Participation

President Meier opened the second participation at approx. 8:15 PM requesting no personal references.  No comments/questions/concerns were raised.

 

Consideration of Executive Session

Hearing no matters for executive session, President Meier called for a motion to adjourn.

 

Adjournment

MOVED by Trustee Graessle, second by Trustee Kheiralla, that the Board of Education adjourn the regular meeting, noting the time at approx. 8:16 PM.

YES – 4     NO – 0    MOTION CARRIED

 

Note: BOARD MEETINGS are video recorded and  can be viewed at www.pinebushschools.org            

Deborah A. June, District Clerk

 Pine Bush CSD