The Waterford-Halfmoon Union Free School District Board of Education Regular Meeting dated January 21, 2021 was called to order at 7:01 by Mrs. Ricci, who then led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Present: Marcia Ricci, David Lee, Denise Carutasu, Jack Catanzarita, Caroline Bell
Also Present: (in person) Patrick Pomerville, Rachel Ingalsbe, Jennifer Bull, Chris Scanlan, Joel Richardson, Joseph Siracuse
Also Present: (via Webex) Jamie Maloney, Paul Gervasio, Deb Ryan-Campbell, Patrice King, C. Rich
There were no comments from the public regarding items on this evening’s agenda.
Comments from Administration
Mr. Scanlan reported the following:
- Mr. Scanlan was proud of the faculty, staff and students for their smooth transition into all virtual learning on such short notice. Mr. Scanlan was able to observe a class during this time, and was pleased with how it went overall considering the circumstances.
- Mr. Scanlan reported that two high school students, Sophia Condon and Isabella D’Ambro have written a virtual play to be performed by students. He has had an opportunity to read it and commented it is very well done and clever.
Mr. Richardson reported the following:
- Surveys have been sent to our all virtual families to get a sense if any of those students will be coming back for hybrid instruction. Twenty-seven students will be switching over as of February 1, 2021. Seven students with IEP’s will be going from a hybrid schedule to a daily in-school schedule. All students can be accommodated while still maintaining all safety protocols. Mr. Richardson thanked Brooke Shinski for her assistance calling the families that did not respond to the survey and Carol Burniche and Rachel Ingalsbe for adjusting the transportation schedule to make this possible.
Mr. Siracuse reported the following:
- Mr. Siracuse thanked all the faculty, staff and students that worked hard to make the transition to all virtual learning at the elementary level.
- A survey will be sent out to the families of all virtual students before the February break to get a feel for how many are interested in returning to the classroom for the third semester on March 15th. Some classrooms are close to the maximum number of students in order to maintain safety and time will be needed in order to accommodate any requests.
Ms. Bull reported the following:
- Kyle Williams will have a student teacher working with him and all health safety protocols will be followed.
- The district has two TA positions open. One at the elementary level and one at the high school level. The elementary level position is up for approval to hire at the current meeting and interviews will be taking place for the high school level in the near future.
Mr. Pomerville reported the following:
- COVID-19 Update: The district currently has 3 students in K-12 (0.005%) and 3 faculty/staff members (2%) who have tested positive for COVID-19. Currently 6% of our staff is on a precautionary quarantine. The district did need to move to full virtual learning from January 18-22 due to a number of kitchen staff being placed on precautionary quarantine. If the current numbers hold where they are now, and with precautionary quarantines ending at the end of the week, the district will be able to return to in-school learning on Monday, January 25th. Some of the staff has been able to begin the vaccination process and others have appointments scheduled in the upcoming months. Unfortunately, we are not able to schedule vaccinations for staff here at the district at this time. The district has not been designated to be in a Yellow, Orange or Red zone at this time, so possible testing for COVID-19 through Adirondack Health and Wellness has been rescheduled to February 4, 2021.
- Lead testing for drinking water was recently completed on the building’s drinking water sources. All the results have been posted on the website. Three locations were identified. These locations will be remediated and retested.
- Mr. Pomerville is currently finalizing the 2021-2022 Academic Calendar and it should be in front of the Board for approval at the February 11th Board of Education meeting. Also, a link has been shared on the website to the new Google Fundraising Calendar for viewing by all stakeholders. All fundraisers will be added to the calendar after being approved by the superintendent’s office.
Ms. Ingalsbee reported the following:
- School meal distribution during all virtual learning was not as successful as hoped for due to students or parents being unable to access the distribution sites during class time. Lessons have been learned to improve distribution if needed in the future.
Second Reading:
- Policy 1330 Appointments and Designations by the Board
- Policy 1620 Annual Organizational Meeting
- Policy 5681 School Safety Plans
- Policy 6411 Use of Email in the District
- Policy 7420 Sports and the Athletic Program
On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Jack Catanzarita, and by a vote of 6-0, the Board approved the Minutes of the January 7, 2021 Board of Education Meeting.
On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Jack Catanzarita, and by a vote of 6-0, the Board approved the following Warrants and Corresponding Claims Audits
- General Fund 35 for $154,116.79
- Special Aid 11 for $1,606.00
On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Jack Catanzarita, and by a vote of 6-0, the Board approved the Treasurer’s Report ending December 2020.
On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Jack Catanzarita, and by a vote of 6-0, the Board approved the Appropriations Report ending December 2020.
On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Jack Catanzarita, and by a vote of 6-0, the Board approved the Revenue Report ending December 2020
On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Jack Catanzarita, and by a vote of 6-0, the Board approved the following policies:
- Policy 1330 Appointments and Designations by the Board
- Policy 1620 Annual Organizational Meeting
- Policy 5681 School Safety Plans
- Policy 6411 Use of Email in the District
- Policy 7420 Sports and the Athletic Program
On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Jack Catanzarita, and by a vote of 6-0, the Board approved the four year probationary appointment of Carly Gaudette as Teaching Assistant effective January 22, 2021 until January 22, 2025; six hours per day; salary per the CSEA contract.
On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Jack Catanzarita, and by a vote of 6-0, the Board approved the transfer of $100,000 to the Retirement Contribution Reserve for the Employees Retirement System from unrestricted fund balance.
On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Jack Catanzarita, and by a vote of 6-0, the Board approved the transfer of $135,000 to the Retirement Contribution Reserve for the Teachers Retirement System from unrestricted fund balance.
On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Jack Catanzarita, and by a vote of 6-0, the Board approved the Extra Classroom Fund Report ending December 2020
On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Jack Catanzarita, and by a vote of 6-0, the Board approved the following elementary substitute teachers for the 2020-2021 school year; salary per the policy on substitute teacher pay; effective January 22, 2021: Samantha Casale, James Fox, John Frechette, Eileen Gallagher, Michael Gregory, Emily Mottolese, Cassie Owens, Kanika Pompey, Michael Testa, and Daniel Westman
On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Jack Catanzarita, and by a vote of 6-0, the Board approved the first request from Hollie Russo for a student trip to the NY Mets Education Day on May 27th, 2021 for 5th and 6th grade students pending world events. Mrs. Carutasu asked if this field trip would be taking place in New York and Mr. Siracuse replied that it would.
COMMENTS from the Board of education, residents and staff.
- Mrs. Carutasu asked if staff was being paid to receive their COVID-19 vaccine shots and Mr. Pomerville responded that they were using their own time. Mrs. Carutasu also asked what it would cost to have someone come in to provide the vaccines for staff and Mr. Pomerville responded that while the vaccine itself would be provided free of charge from the DOH, there would be a fee to have an outside contractor give the injections. He added at this time however, it is not clear when the vaccine would become available to hold such a clinic here at the district.
On motion by Mr. Lee, seconded by Jack Catanzarita, and by a vote of 6-0, the Board went into executive session at 7:21pm to discuss negotiations and a personnel matter. They returned to regular session at 8:40 and adjourned.
Donna Cramer District Clerk
Policy 1330 Appointments and designations by the Board.pdf
Policy 1620 Annual Organizational Meeting.pdf
Policy 5681 School Safety Plans.pdf
Policy 6411 Use of Email in the District.pdf
Policy 7420 Sports and the Athletic Program.pdf
General Fund 011221.pdf
Special Aid 011221.pdf
Claims Audits.pdf
December Treasurer's Report.pdf
Appropriation Status Dec 2020.pdf
Revenue Status Dec 2020.pdf
Extra Classroom Report ending December 2020.pdf