Cohoes City School District
Board of Education Business Meeting
Cohoes, New York May 17, 2023
Library, Cohoes Middle School 6:00pm
(The Board of Education may entertain a motion to enter into an executive session subject to Board approval.)
MINUTES
The Meeting was called to Order by the President, Mrs. Giller at 6:00pm
ROLL CALL
Present:
- Mrs. Carey
- Mr. Jackson – excused
- Mrs. Snyder
- Mrs. Gendron – excused
- Mrs. Paradis
- Mrs. Giller
Also Present:
- Ms. Peggy O’Shea, Superintendent of Schools
- Mrs. Stacy Mackey, School Business Official
Certification of the May 16, 2023 Budget and Election Results – Addenda Item VI (F)
- Moved by: Mrs. Snyder
- Second by: Mrs. Carey
- All Voted “Aye”
- Motion carried 4-0
District Clerk Mrs. Rumsey administered the Oath of Faithful Performance in Office to newly-elected Board of Education Member David Jarosz. Mr. Jarosz’s term will begin effective May 17, 2023 filling the vacancy created by Mr. Nadeau’s completion of his tenure on the Board.
DISTRICT REPORTS
Cohoes High School Science Research – Mr. Kloczko shared information regarding the three (3) year program and partnership with SUNY. Students in the Science Research class introduced themselves and gave a description of their area of study. The Science Research Symposium will be held on June 8, 2023 at the high school at 6 pm.
Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) – Mrs. Marcil shared the three (3) main objectives of grants received through the Office of Mental Health. 1. Increase Referrals to Community based services. 2. Develop and Disburse Resource Directory. 3. Establish, enhance and implement a Multi-Tiered System of Supports. Mrs. Giller commented that this is an area that we have
needed for a long time, these lessons could be life changing and have the potential to change our community. She also shared numerous community resources that are available for students and parents.
Mrs. Marcil also discussed steps in progress to enhance and create interventions to bolster student social emotional and behavioral skills. She also shared a number of upcoming presentations for students and parents including Thomas Riodl, retired NYS Trooper who will give presentations on cybersecurity on May 23, 2023 throughout the district.
Mrs. Giller inquired as to the best way to point parents/families/community members to Mrs. Marcil. She replied she is always accessible, willing to help and could be reached at her Page Avenue office. Mrs. Paradis thanked Mrs. Marcil for her hard work and suggested a section of the district webpage could be dedicated to the MTSS resources. Mrs. Giller expressed her appreciation for Mrs. Marcil hard work.
Ms. O’Shea stated that Mrs. Marcil’s presentation is very timely as it speaks to prevention and intervention of behavior then proceeded to discuss the recent fight at Cohoes Middle School involving several students during dismissal. She shared that she could not discuss the specifics of the incident, except that disciplinary action was being followed in accordance with the Code of
Conduct and that matters such as these are taken very seriously.
Ms. O’Shea shared some of the steps currently in process, such as the hiring of additional staff to assist with student’s social emotional needs, the review of the District Code of Conduct, hiring additional safety officers and shifting their schedules to meet building needs and the creation of Campus Safety Monitor positions. In addition to other efforts, the middle school will be exploring a grant-funded in school support model for the upcoming year. Ms. O’Shea shared that the District is fortunate to have such wonderful collaboration with the police department who are always ready to assist.
Mrs. Carey stated that she started to take a deeper dive into some of our publicly available data and saw that although our number of incidents have decreased the types of incidents are more significant. However, the data is showing us that there are still students who need more intensive interventions. It is showing our interventions are starting to work at the first level for most students and that the community collaboration as outlined in the grant will move us forward as well. She wanted the District to be able to explore additional steps we need to take to ensure that all of our students and staff are safe and supported and asked the Board to consider committing
to a budget line specifically for this in the future.
Mrs. Giller agreed that a long-term sustainable response is needed and also discussed the need for more immediate solutions as shared above. She mentioned the review of the Code of Conduct as a method to provide additional support to administrators.
Mrs. Snyder shared the importance of this discussion for middle school parents and students to know that their voices are being heard and the importance of continuing this discussion.
Mrs. Paradis felt the review of the Code of Conduct and support of the staff was very important and wanted to know more about the steps that were taken prior to this point to show that this behavior is not acceptable. She mentioned that we are looking at unprecedented times emerging from a pandemic.
Ms. O’Shea agreed that this important topic should be part of an ongoing discussion, including review of data, review of support and sustainability. She mentioned this could include an assessment of some of the items in place prior to previous budget cuts including mediators for conflict resolution, mentoring, and alternative programming.
Digital Citizenship – Mr. McFarland shared that the Middle School just completed a week of lessons geared toward 6th-8th grade on digital citizenship. The lessons were taught in a sequential order and built on each other throughout the week. Positive feedback was received from the students. Mrs. Giller inquired if the lessons could be shared with the elementary principals . Mr. McFarland said he will share them. Ms. O’Shea stated this will continue to be discussed at future meetings.
A. BOARD OF EDUCATION DISCUSSION OF AGENDA ITEMS
B. COMMUNITY DISCUSSION OF AGENDA ITEMS
C. OLD BUSINESS – None
VI. REPORT FROM MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
A. THAT the Board of Education accepts the Minutes of the Board of Education Meeting of May 3, 2023
B. THAT the Board of Education accepts the minutes for the Committee on Special Education and the Committee on Pre-School Special Education for the
following dates: 1/12/23, 1/26/23, 2/13/23, 3/6/23, 3/7/23, 3/8/23, 3/9/23, 3/10/23, 3/13/23, 3/15/23, 3/16/23, 3/20/23, 3/21/23, 3/22/23, 3/23/23,
3/28/23, 3/29/23, 3/30/23, 3/31/23, 4/3/23, 4/5/23, 4/6/23, 4/19/23,
4/24/23, 4/26/23, 4/28/23, 5/2/23
C. THAT the Board of Education approves a contract between Cohoes City School District and the North Colonie Central School District to provide health and welfare services to students residing in Cohoes and attending a school within the North Colonie Central School District during the 2022-2023 school year at a rate of $ 956.24 per student in accordance with the terms and conditions herein.
D. THAT the Board of Education awards the Food Services bid dated May 17, 2023 to Aramark Educational Services, LLC. In the amount of $1,026,142.80 for the period of July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024.
E. THAT the Board of Education approves the renewal agreement with the CSEA Employee Benefit fund for dental and vision benefits for the term of July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2025
VII. RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT – PERSONNEL
INSTRUCTIONAL
A. THAT the Board of Education amend item VII (C) of the March 1, 2023 Agenda to read as follows:
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Board of Education of the Cohoes City School
District appoints the following individual as a Long-Term Substitute Teacher.
Kelly Burtnick
- Position: Long-Term Substitute Elementary Teacher
- Tenure: Area Elementary
- Effective Date:
May 4, 2023May 1, 2023 through June 23, 2023 - Salary: Step 1 of the current CTA contract
B. THAT the Board of Education appoint the Melissa Lowden as Elementary
Summer Success Coordinator (grant-funded) for the 2023 Elementary Summer Success program effective July 10 – August 10, 2023.
C. THAT the Board of Education appoint Colleen Duff as Middle School Summer Learning Academy Coordinator (grant-funded) for the 2023 Middle School
Summer Learning Academy effective July 10 – August 10, 2023
NON-INSTRUCTIONAL
D. THAT the Board of Education accept the resignation of William Shatraw, Jr. from his position as Custodian/Groundskeeper (DW).
Effective May 17, 2023
A. THAT the Board of Education authorizes hours not to exceed forty (40)
at the per diem rate of $20/hour for Dianna Mendoza as substitute clerical
in the Business Office.
Effective: May 1, 2023 through May 31, 2023
B. BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Board of Education of the Cohoes City School
District hereby appoints Terrance M. Burns to the position of full-time Teacher
Aide, subject to the rules of the Cohoes Civil Service Commission, such
appointment is a probationary appointment.
Terrance M. Burns
- Position: 1.0 FTE Teacher Aide (ALS)
- Effective Date: May 10, 2023
- Probation Period: January 22, 2024
- Salary: Entry-level per current CSEA contract
C. BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Board of Education of the Cohoes City School
District hereby appoints Raymond DeCenzo to the position of Custodian, subject to the rules of the Cohoes Civil Service Commission on a conditional basis; such appointment is a provisional appointment.
Raymond DeCenzo
- Position: Custodian (Provisional) (HH)
- Effective Date: May 18, 2023
- Salary: Per current CSEA contract
ADDENDA
VI. REPORT FROM MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
F. THAT the Board of Education accepts the following results of the May 16, 2023 Budget and Board of Education Election Vote.
| Building |
Budget Results |
BOE Member Results | ||||
| Abram Lansing | Yes | No | Guy | Giller | Jarosz | Primeau |
| Machine | 120 | 43 | 60 | 78 | 90 | 61 |
| Absentee | 13 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 11 | 16 |
| Subtotal | 133 | 53 | 61 | 89 | 101 | 77 |
| Building | Budget Results |
BOE Member Results |
||||
| Harmony Hill | Yes | No | Guy | Giller | Jarosz | Primeau |
| Machine | 220 | 48 | 100 | 158 | 127 | 78 |
| Absentee | 23 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 8 | 26 |
| Subtotal | 243 | 61 | 107 | 180 | 135 | 104 |
| Building | Budget Results | BOE Member Results | ||||
| Van Schaick | Yes | No | Guy | Giller | Jarocz | Primeau |
| Machine | 45 | 27 | 20 | 41 | 19 | 23 |
| Absentee | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Subtotal | 51 | 29 | 22 | 45 | 22 | 27 |
| TOTALS | 427 | 143 | 190 | 314 | 258 | 208 |
G. THAT the Board of Education awards the Abram Lansing Roof BID (SED project # 01-05-00-01-0-002-017) to Greenwood Industries, Inc., 4 Locust St., Hudson Falls, NY with a base BID of $673,000 and Alt 1 – Warranty Extension of $9,000 for a total BID award of $682,000 in accordance with the terms and conditions herein.
DESIGNATION OF CONSENT AGENDA: THAT the Board of Education adopts the following resolutions of the May 17, 2023 Agenda:
VI (A-G), VII (A-G) and IX (A)
- Moved by: Mrs. Carey
- Second by: Mrs. Paradis
- All voted “Aye”
- Motion carried: 5-0
VIII. RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT – BUSINESS/FINANCE
IX. FINANCIAL REPORTS (Recommended by the Superintendent)
A. I recommend that the following reports be accepted by the Board of Education:
- Warrants – April 2023
- Budget Transfers – April 2023
- Budget Status Report – April 2023
- Revenue Status Report – April 2023
- Bank Reconciliation Report – April 2023
- Internal Claims Audit Report – N/A
X. INFORMATION AND CONSIDERATION
XI. COMMENTS FROM BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS
Mrs. Giller on behalf of the board thanked the administrators and directors for their hard work preparing the buildings and grounds for the budget vote and wished all athletic teams good luck!
XII. QUESTIONS AND STATEMENTS FROM AUDIENCE
Ms. Marta Smith re: incident at Cohoes Middle School
XIII. BOARD POLICY REVIEW – None
XIV. DATES FOR FUTURE MEETINGS
- June 7, 2023, Library, Cohoes Middle School at 6pm
- June 21, 2023, Library, Cohoes Middle School at 6pm
XV. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION: To enter into Executive Session at 7:25pm
To discuss matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion,
demotion, discipline, suspension, dismissal or removal of a particular
person; and to pending ligation
- Moved by: Mrs. Snyder
- Second by: Mrs. Paradis
- All voted “Aye”
- Motion carried: 5-0
MOTION: To adjourn at 7:50pm
- Moved by: Mrs. Snyder
- Second by: Mrs. Paradis
- All voted “Aye”
- Motion carried: 5-0