Sewanhaka Board of Ed Notebook: August 28

The Sewanhaka Board of Education held a meeting on Tuesday, August 28. Here are some of the things you may have missed.

Personnel

• Dr. Richard Faccio, the new principal for , held a principal’s open house on August 25 with 40 parents and students in attendance.
• Alice Bowman was appointed as assistant principal at Floral Park Memorial High School. Stan Johnson is retiring from the school. John’s last day is August 31. “There’s not much that anyone can say in terms of how valuable Stan has been to the district,” Dr. Ferrie said. “He is Floral Park Memorial High School.”
• An interim agreement was passed with the chairpersons’ association regarding the district supervisor of athletics/ athletic director and driver education and the coordinator of physical education and health. The collectively bargained agreement authorizes stipends on an interim basis pending the completion of contract negotiations.

Contracts

• The district will pay SCOPE Educational Services $425 to conduct a professional development program on the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) for DASA coordinators and members of the pupil personnel services department on August 30 at Sewanhaka High School.
• The purchase of 12 cafeteria tables for a total of $3,008 was approved off of state contracts.
• An agreement with the Uniondale School District for health and welfare services in the amount of $614.30 for two part-time students attending Kellenberg High School and one part-time student attending Hebrew Academy of Nassau County in 2011-12 in addition to students approved by the board at the June 26, 2012 meeting. These are resident students (grades 7-12) who attend private schools in the Uniondale School District, which is required to provide such services to all students.
• It is anticipated that the district will enter into an agreement with Answer Vending for the period of Sept. 1, 2012 to Aug. 31, 2013. Commission rates vary based on items sold, with a guarantee of $315,000 in commissions, $25,000 in athletic scholarships, $15,000 in scholarships and $5,000 for technology equipment. The total guarantee is $20,000 more than the 2011-12 guarantee.
• Timothy Green, a New York State Code Enforcement Official, will perform mandated annual visual inspections at a cost of $850, which is no increase over 2010-11, the last time inspections were required. Green will also conduct fire inspections at a cost of $2,150, which is no increase over 2011-12.
• Tel/Logic will procure textbooks on behalf of the district for purchases made in the 2012-13 school year, with an administrative fee of 15 percent of the total expense of textbooks purchased at an estimated total fee of $15,000. It is expected that the cost savings will exceed the cost of the service.
• The district has contracted with the for usage and permit fees for the use of for the New Hyde Park Memorial Fall 2012 Athletic teams at a cost not to exceed $130 per day for fields; $60 per tennis court per day; $270 for Sept.21, 2012 evening football game vs. H. Frank Carey; plus a permit fee for each sport in the amount of $50.

BOCES Contracts

• The final BOCES contract for the 2011-12 school year was approved in the amount of $8,976,156.96. The initial BOCES contract for the 2012-13 school year was approved in the amount of $8,596,386.48.
• The district has contracted with Nassau BOCES for wide area network services at a cost of $36,408 per year for the provision of BoTIE internet and voice services at a cost of $56,400 per year for a 5 year period beginning in 2012-13, plus BOCES coordination and support fees of $9,281 per year (10 percent of the cost). The fees do not include mandatory state and local surcharges of $6,961 per year. Total costs are anticipated to be $109,049 per year, an annual savings of $53,000.

Other Board News

• A donation of $1,000 from the Italian Americans for Community Affairs to Sewanhaka High School was accepted. The funds will help with the transportation cost for the Sewanhaka marching band to participate in the Whitestone Columbus Day Parade.
• The board passed a resolution opposing the enactment into law of a bill providing tenure status and seniority rights to non-competitive and labor classes of civil service employees. “In these... budgetary times, this is yet a major change in the civil service law,” attorney Douglas Libby said. “We don’t need any more problems in trying to deal with the fiscal crisis than we already have.” The resolution was recommended by the New York State School Boards Association.

The next meeting of the Sewanhaka Board of Education will take place on Thursday, September 27 at 8 p.m. at .