OCTORARA AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT
PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
January 18, 2010 – 7:30 p.m.
Middle School Multi-Purpose Room
AGENDA
1. Lord’s Prayer
2. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
3. Roll Call
Mr. McCarter absent.
4.Approval of Minutes from the Reorganization Meeting of December 7, 2009, the Work Session of December 7, 2009, and the Regular Meeting of December 14, 2009.
Approved.
5. Presentations
None.
6.Information Items
None.
7.Treasurer’s Report
A. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the General Fund Report for period ending December 31, 2009.
Mr. Malone gave the Treasurer’s report
8.Business Manager’s Report:
A.Approval of Bills for Payment
Mr. Carsley gave the Business Manager’s report.
Mr. Stoltzfus asked about the Charter School payments on Page 6. There were 9 schools at a cost of $ 336,957.74 . He wanted to know how many students this covered. Mr. Carsley will check for him. This is a monthly amount. He stated that the numbers change constantly. They saw an increase last year as the economy got worse. There were parents who pulled their kids from private schools & placed them in charter schools.
Mrs. Bicking asked who verifies that the students are actually going there. Mr. Carsley replied that the District checks.
9.Visitors’ Comments - Agenda Items Only
None.
10. Recommended Action Items:
(Italicized items are new; they were not on the January 11, 2010 agenda.)
A. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the attached annual financial audit report of the school district for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009 as prepared by the auditing firm of Herbein & Company.
Approved.
B.That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the following change orders to Frey Lutz for the High School renovation and addition project:
Change Order 402-01 Plumbing fixture modifications ($7,959.51)
Change Order 402-02 Provide insulation for existing PVC $3,024.00
Approved.
C.That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the attached 2010-2011 school calendar.
Mr. Ganow asked if this was changed from last week. Dr. Newcome stated that is was. The State changed the testing window to begin March 14 and the calendar was adjusted to reflect that.
Approved.
Resignation Approvals:
D. That the Octorara Board of School Directors accept Ms. Billie Lynn Stanley’s resignation as a bus duty aide at the Octorara Intermediate School effective January 15, 2010. (Hired December 2009)
Approved.
Hiring Approvals:
E.That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the employment of Ms. Virginia McBride as a part-time accounts payable clerk for 69 days effective January 11, 2010 at a rate of $15.89 per hour. (Replacing Susan Thieroff part-time.)
Approved.
F. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the employment of Ms. Karen Williamson as a mid-range substitute second grade teacher at the Primary Learning Center effective approximately March 17, 2010 through approximately May 21, 2010 at the rate of $140 per day. (Ms. Williamson is currently an approved substitute for the District and will replace Holly Conte who will be on child-rearing leave.)
Approved.
G. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the employment of Ms. Lisa Gerber as a mid-range substitute second grade teacher at the Primary Learning Center effective November 23, 2009 through December 23, 2009 at the rate of $140 per day. (Ms. Gerber is currently an approved substitute for the District and was replacing Maria Scarfo’s medical leave.)
Approved.
H. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the employment of Ms. Paulette Moffa as a mid-range substitute guidance counselor at the Primary Learning Center pending completion of employee related documents required by law and the District. Ms. Moffa’s rate will be $140 per day effective approximately March 10, 2010 through June 11, 2010. (Replacing Lisa Steiner who will be on child-rearing leave.)
Approved.
I. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the following substitute teachers for the 2009-2010 school year:
Jean Coldiron (Elementary, Special Education, Middle Level English)
Jessica Cummings (Social Studies)
Dawn Munion (Emergency)
Verna Trainor (Emergency)
Lisa Rohrer (Elementary)
Susan Engel (Elementary, Special Education)
Approved.
J. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the following substitute support staff for the 2009-2010 school year:
Teresa Cassell (Instructional, playground, nurse, library)
Approved.
K. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the following changes in salary due to graduate credits earned:
Patrick Lauletta From B+15 ($51,027) to M ($52,807) Step 7
Richard Baker From M+45 ($69,813) to M+60 ($72,495) Step 14
Amanda Kieffer From M+45 ($68,309) to M+60 ($71,095) Step 13
Nicole Pulaski From B+15 ($51,027) to M ($52,807) Step 7
Approved.
L. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve Mr. Jeff Thomas as a set design and construction volunteer for the high school musical.
Approved.
M. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve Ms Cortney Rieck as substitute support staff for the 2009-2010 school year at a rate of $8.25 per hour.
Approved.
N. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the attached new course offerings and course description changes for 2010-2011 for the Octorara Area High School.
Approved.
O. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the following change order to Eastern Shore Services, Inc. for the High School renovation and addition project:
Change Order 404-02 Provide and install power to duplex pumps $2,632.00
Approved.
P. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve the contract between Dr. Thomas L. Newcome II and the Board of Education effective July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2015.
Approved.
Q. That the Octorara Board of School Directors approve Scott Forman as a volunteer girl’s basketballs coach.
Approved.
11. I.U./C.A.T. Board Representative’s Report
Mr. Stoltzfus stated that the I.U./C.A.T. Board meets this Wednesday. He will forward the report when he can.
12. Old Business
None.
13. New Business
Dr. Newcome said that this is School Board Director Appreciation Month. He gave out certificates of appreciation.
Mr. Malone reported that the Finance Committee met earlier and went over the audit report. This District was given an unqualified opinion.
14. Other Items and Announcements
None.
15. Visitors’ Comments – General
None.
16. Board Comments
Mr. Norris spoke about the Intermediate School Winter Concert. There was a lot of participation and an extraordinary effort by those participating.
Mr. Hume thanked the Middle School for the music provided for the Senior Citizens.
17. Adjournment
Executive Session for personnel Monday, January 18, 2010 – following the Board Meeting in the Octorara District Office Conference Room.
Facility Committee Meeting – Monday, February 8, 2010 – 6:00 p.m. in the Octorara District Office Conference Room
Next regularly scheduled Work Session – Monday, February 8, 2010 – 7:30 p.m. in the Octorara Middle School Multi-Purpose Room
Policy Committee Meeting – Monday, February 15, 2010 – 6:30 p.m. in the Octorara District Office Conference Room
Next regularly scheduled Board Meeting – Monday, February 15, 2010 – 7:30 p.m. in the Octorara Middle School Multi-Purpose Room
Monday, January 18, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
I have to say I am a little bit bothered by Dr. Newcome's new contract being slipped into tonight's agenda at the last minute (on a holiday). It wasn't on last week's agenda. It doesn't take effect until July 1. It left absolutely no time for any public comment. This isn't meant to be a reflection about the renewal of the contract, but simply the procedure that was followed and the perception it gives.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised and disappointed on the lack of interest on the part of the board when the topic of payments to charter schools surfaced. One board member asked the question of how the school district ensures that the student actually attends the charter school. Another board member responded that the school district checks attendance of all students in the charter schools. That was essentially the extent of discussion on that topic. I was surprised that after seeing months of debate about facility usage fees and sports activity fees amounting to relatively small amounts of dollars the board only invested about a minute on this topic which for this month was a $337,000 line item.
ReplyDeleteThe December total expenditure from the general fund was $2,705,998.06 and the total in that amount to charter schools was about $337K. It’s a bad comparison because cash timing differences can make December’s total lower than a straight line amount of the total budget allocated over each month of the year. A quick calculation of the total budget for next year of $44 million compared to an estimate of $3 million ($300K for 10 months - an assumption) for charter schools is almost 7% of the total! I’m hoping my estimate of total payments to charter schools is high!
I would expect the board to be asking questions such as:
* Why are student families opting to send their children to charter schools, how can we as a school district compete with those offerings?
* What programs are the charter schools offering and can we offer similar programs at Octorara?
* Would these programs benefit the broader student population as well?
I often think that topics should be discussed & questioned more than they are. I expected that first question about charter schools last night to open up a whole discussion - and it didn't. I expected there to be more discussion last week about the Race to the Top. All we got was a vote. I expected discussion over the months about the Keystone Exams - None. I'm not sure why - whether they discuss these things behind closed doors ...or they just take whatever information is handed to them...or what.
ReplyDeleteI am appalled that the board voted on a new contract for Dr. Newcome without public input also. Are they so fearful of public reaction to continuing his less than stellar leadership that they have to sneak it in? Maybe they think he's doing a fine job but it seems to me the District is facing many challenges, new and old, that Dr. Newcome has allowed to fester without longterm plans to meet those challenges.
ReplyDeleteI frankly am not surprised though. The board has not had to deal with much public opinion questioning the way they operate. They think Dr. Newcome is great.
I do wonder if new faces will begin to show up at meetings.........
I commend the School Board for giving Dr. Newcome a new contract for five years. I have watched his rise from Assistant Pricipal to Superintendent over these many years. I know that Dr. Newcome has not used Octorara as a stepping stone to a larger and higher paying District and I am sure that he has etertained offers. I have heard the criticisms that he does not live in the District and he does not pay taxes here. He probably puts more hours into his job than anyone I know and quite frequently can be found somewhere on campus until 10 p.m on some nights. He has made himself available to the public both through town meetings or a simple one on one in his office. Octorara is in a tough location. we have to be competitive with the larger schools while operating on a small business/industry tax base. From his support on mantaining the Lord's Prayer at the start of Board meetings to his "nationally recognized" Advanced Placement programs, I believewe have an advocate for education of our children plus a listener of the public. He also assembled vey nicely thetax summitt meeting a fewyearsago, something that no other School District ventured to do. As a bonus, he has also been very cooperative with the Avian flu pandemic. I don't ALWAYS agree with him but I commend him for the overall job he has done and I wish him good fortune (and OASD) over the forthcoming half decade and then, into his retirement. Jack Mariano
ReplyDelete