BOARD OF EDUCATION

MIDDLETOWN, NEW YORK

JANUARY 8, 2009

A regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Enlarged City School District of Middletown, New York was held Thursday, January 8, 2009, at the Board of Education Office, 223 Wisner Avenue, Board President Nicholas Mauro, presiding.

Present: Mr. Geiger, Mrs. Isseks, Mrs. Knapp (left at 12:15 a.m.),
Mrs. Martinez (left at 11:35 p.m.), Dr. Mauro, Mr. Paul (left at 12:05 a.m.), Ms. Perkins, Mr. Perrino, Ms. Tobiassen (left at 12:12 a.m.) - 9.

Absent: None.

Others          Dr. Kenneth Eastwood, Superintendent of Schools
Attending:    Elizabeth McKean, School Business Administrator
                      Richard DelMoro, Director of Secondary Education
                      Paul Weir, Director for Personnel Services
                      Selena Fischer, Director for Pupil Personnel & Special Services
                      Thomas Scott, Superintendent of Buildings & Ground
                      Michael Tuttle, Chief Technology Officer

Dr. Mauro called the meeting to order at 6:40 p.m. Mrs. Martinez made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Isseks, to have an executive session to discuss employment history, or matters leading to the appointment or employment of a particular person.

Public session resumed at 7:40 p.m.

Mrs. Knapp led the pledge to the flag.

Mr. Paul made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Isseks, to approve the agenda with the following amendments: Table Presentation – Impact of Our New Affirmative Action Initiative; Move Opportunity to Address the Board to after Personnel Action Items; Move Recognitions/Announcements to after Affirmative Action Resolutions and Motions.

A discussion pursued.

Mrs. Knapp stated that a) Inclusion of Spanish on All Election Ballots that is listed under Affirmative Action Resolutions and Motions on the agenda, was not tabled at the 12/4/08 meeting and that it was tabled at the 12/18/08 meeting.

Mr. Geiger asked for a re-reading of the minutes to clarify.

Dr. Mauro stated his ruling to be that the “Inclusion of Spanish on All Election Ballots” was tabled at the 12/18/08 meeting. “Separation of Affirmative Action Officer from Director of Personnel Services” was tabled at the 12/18/08 meeting. “Voluntarily Adding Ethnic Status on the Application” was passed at the 12/18/08 meeting.

Dr. Eastwood confirmed from the July Re-Organization Appointment list that Michael Tuttle was appointed as Title IX Compliance Officer.

Ms. Tobiassen stated that she requested by email to receive backup material for Items 4 (Affirmative Action Resolutions) and 5 (Presentation-Impact of Our New Affirmative Action Initiative) on the agenda, but did not receive anything. Dr. Mauro replied that Mr. Donoghue is here at the meeting to answer any questions. Mrs. Knapp stated that she would like counsel to review these items of discussion.

Dr. Mauro called for a roll-call vote on the original motion and second to approve the agenda with the amendments as listed above:

Ayes: Mrs. Isseks, Mrs. Martinez, Mr. Paul, Ms. Perkins, Mr. Perrino,
Dr. Mauro – 5. Noes: Mr. Geiger, Mrs. Knapp, Mr. Perrino, Ms. Tobiassen - 4. Motion was declared approved.

Mr. Paul made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Knapp, to approve Personnel Memorandum #16.

Ayes: Mr. Geiger, Mrs. Isseks, Mrs. Knapp, Mrs. Martinez, Dr.
Mauro, Mr. Paul, Ms. Perkins, Mr. Perrino, Ms. Tobiassen – 9. Noes: None. Motion was unanimously approved.

OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE BOARD

• Patricia Turken – Commended programs going on in Middletown: PTO meeting and Safe Schools Healthy Student’s grant, Family Council of Occupations, Inc., Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council. Also commended the Wind Ensemble Band concert.
• Latisha Gillison – Read a letter appealing her son’s suspension.
• Andrew Warren – Thanked Dr. Eastwood for his leadership. Recognized the kids in National Honor Society and commended Robin Geiger for her work.

Mr. Paul made a motion, seconded by Ms. Perkins, to approve the following resolution read by Mr. Paul – Inclusion of Spanish on All Election Ballots:

Whereas, the Board of Education of the Enlarged City School District of Middletown, recognizes the progress made by the District to embrace diversity in people of all races and ethnic groups in the District.

Resolved, that all ballots printed for the purposes of receiving voter approval within the Enlarged City School District of Middletown be printed in both Spanish and English and that the District provide at least one bilingual poll worker at each election site.

A discussion pursued. Ms. Tobiassen and Mrs. Knapp stated that it would have been helpful to have these resolutions in their packet so they could have reviewed them first. Mr. Geiger questioned if the attorney had seen this resolution. Mr. Donoghue stated that he had not seen the motion.

Mr. Perrino made a motion, seconded by Ms. Tobiassen, to amend the original motion to approve the resolution – Inclusion of Spanish on All Election Ballots, to include Italian on the election ballot.

A discussion pursued. Mr. Paul stated that we have no documentation on who would be impacted as to who speaks only Italian, whereas, we have numbers for people who speak Spanish.

By roll-call vote:

Ayes: Mr. Geiger, Mrs. Knapp, Mrs. Martinez, Ms. Perkins, Mr. Perrino, Ms. Tobiassen, Dr. Mauro – 7. Noes: Mrs. Isseks, Mr. Paul – 2. Motion was declared approved.

Mr. Geiger made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Knapp, that this amendment to include Italian on the election ballot be tabled until the attorney gives his official opinion. Mr. Donoghue confirmed that a motion to table does not require a vote, however, a roll-call vote was taken:

By roll-call vote:

Ayes: Mr. Geiger, Mrs. Knapp, Mr. Perrino, Ms. Tobiassen – 4. Noes:
Mrs. Isseks, Mrs. Martinez, Mr. Paul, Ms. Perkins, Dr. Mauro – 5. Motion was defeated.

Mr. Geiger made a motion, seconded by Mr. Perrino, to include both Italian and Spanish on the election ballot as per the following amended resolution:

Whereas, the Board of Education of the Enlarged City School District of Middletown, recognizes the progress made by the District to embrace diversity in people of all races and ethnic groups in the District.

Resolved, that all ballots printed for the purposes of receiving voter approval within the Enlarged City School District of Middletown be printed in Spanish, Italian and English and that the District provide at least one bilingual poll worker at each election site.

A discussion pursued. Mr. Paul stated that adding Italian dilutes what the original motion was. Ms. Tobiassen questioned whether a Board member or the attorney wrote the resolution. Dr. Mauro stated it was written by a Board member. Mrs. Knapp advised that it wasn’t shared with the rest of the Board. Mr. Geiger questioned if this resolution will be given to the attorney for review and what the costs might be to the district for translation and hiring additional people. It was answered that there are on-line websites that can translate for free into any language and that translation can also be done in-house, through the ESL Department.

A roll-call vote was taken on the original motion and second to include both Italian and Spanish on the election ballot:

By roll-call vote:

Ayes: Mr. Geiger, Mrs. Isseks, Mrs. Knapp, Mrs. Martinez, Mr. Paul,
Ms. Perkins, Mr. Perrino, Dr. Mauro – 8. Noes: Ms. Tobiassen (reasoning stated was that it was not against the purpose of having it on the ballot, but is voting no because the attorney did not review) – 1. Motion was declared approved.

Mr. Paul made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Knapp to approve the following resolution read by Mr. Paul – Separation of Affirmative Action Officer from Director of Personnel Services:

Resolved, that the Board of Education create the position of Equal Employment Officer, also known as Title IX Officer, also known as Affirmative Action Officer, Independent of the Personnel Office.

Dr. Mauro requested to amend the resolution to exclude “Also Known As Title IX Officer”, and the resolution was reread as follows:

Resolved, that the Board of Education create the position of Equal Employment Officer, also known as Affirmative Action Officer, Independent of the Personnel Office.

A discussion pursued. The following questions were raised in regard to the above resolution: How long will the person serve in this position and is it a part-time or full-time position? Did counsel review this resolution? How many counties separate the Affirmative Action Officer and if this position is created, what is the cost impact? (Mrs. McKean answered that the Board will have to determine what they want to do, and then the cost will be determined). What is the rationale in doing this?

Mr. Weir reported the following statistics from the most recent BED’s completed in October:

Total number of Instructional Staff: 13%
Minorities Among All District Employees: 24%
Minorities Hired Over Last 3 years: 31%

Mr. Donoghue reminded the Board that the motion is to create a position right now. A roll-call vote was taken on the original motion and second for the Separation of Affirmative Action Officer from Director of Personnel Services, and as amended above.

By roll-call vote:

Ayes: Mrs. Isseks, Mrs. Martinez, Mr. Paul, Ms. Perkins, Dr. Mauro – 5.
Noes: Mr. Geiger, Mrs. Knapp, Mr. Perrino, Ms. Tobiasen – 4. Motion was declared approved.

Mr. Paul made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Martinez, as read by Dr. Mauro - to approve Requirement of On-Line Application for All Teaching and Administrative Positions.

Dr. Eastwood advised that the District has been working on a new on-line application system for the past year. It was stated that it is mandatory for teaching and administrative positions to apply on-line, and clerical can as well, although not mandatory. It was asked how secure is the site. Mr. Tuttle explained that the District contracts with a company called School Stream to ensure security and assured that the website is very secure.

A roll-call vote was taken on the original motion and second to approve Requirement of On-Line Application for All Teaching and Administrative Positions.

By roll-call vote:

Ayes: Mr. Geiger, Mrs. Isseks, Mrs. Knapp, Mrs. Martinez, Mr. Paul,
Ms. Perkins, Mr. Perrino, Ms. Tobiassen, Dr. Mauro – 9. Noes: None. Motion was unanimously approved.

Mr. Paul stated that he would like to revisit the Board packets being provided on-line.

Dr. Mauro made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Martinez, to approve the following resolution, read by Dr. Mauro - Inclusion of Affirmative Action Statistics on Recommendation Form for Employment:

Inclusion of affirmative action statistics on recommendation form for employment, namely the total number of applicants, number of self-identified minority applicants, and number of self-identified minority applicants interviewed, and total interviewed.

A discussion pursued. Ms. Tobiassen asked if counsel has seen this resolution. Mr. Donoghue responded that it has been discussed with him, and that he has not seen the motion. Mr. Donoghue advised that this is a policy matter and is up to the Board to decide on.

Ms. Tobiassen made a motion, seconded by Ms. Perkins, to read the last paragraph of a confidential letter that was provided to the Board by Mr. Donoghue, regarding “Diversity Employment Issue”.

By roll-call vote:

Ayes: Mr. Geiger, Mrs. Isseks, Mrs. Knapp, Mrs. Martinez, Ms. Perkins, Mr. Perrino, Ms. Tobiassen – 7. Noes: Mr. Paul, Dr. Mauro – 2. Motion was declared approved.

Ms. Tobiassen read the last paragraph in the letter from Mr. Donoghue’s office.

A roll-call vote was taken on the original motion and second to approve Inclusion of Affirmative Action Statistics on Recommendation Form for Employment.

Ayes: Mrs. Isseks, Mr. Paul, Ms. Perkins, Dr. Mauro – 4. Noes: Mr. Geiger, Mrs. Knapp (stated reasoning: should wait until we have Affirmative Action Officer in place), Mrs. Martinez, Mr. Perrino, Ms. Tobiassen – 5. Motion was defeated.

Dr. Mauro made a motion, seconded by Mr. Paul to approve Modification of Interview and Recommendation Process, read by Dr. Mauro as follows:

All applications to be given to committee, and that the committee and principal of various schools, work to select those candidates for interviews, rather than they be pre-selected as they currently are done now. That we need to have all applications reviewed by the selection committee in conjunction with the principals rather than be pre-selected.

Mr. Paul made a motion, seconded by Ms. Perkins, to table Modification of Interview and Recommendation Process until the Board can receive further information on this matter.

By roll-call vote:

Ayes: Mr. Geiger, Mrs. Isseks, Mrs. Knapp, Mrs. Martinez, Mr. Paul, Ms. Perkins, Mr. Perrino, Ms. Tobiassen, Dr. Mauro – 9. Noes: None. Motion was unanimously approved.

At 10:10 p.m., Dr. Mauro called for a break.

At 10:25 p.m., the meeting resumed.

PRESENTATIONS

Jeff Smith – Municipal Solutions, Inc. – Presented Three-Year Projection of Revenue and Expenditures for General Fund.

Mr. Smith advised that Middletown School District’s MOODY’S rating is A-2, which is a very good rating.

RECOGNITIONS/ANNOUNCEMENTS/COMMUNITY REPORTS

Mr. Perrino reported on the following: Lobbying of MTA at last meeting; Winter Concert held at High School; Student who achieved Doctorate at Columbia University; Commended Tom Scott and staff for handling boiler mishap at Maple Hill; Requested transplanting a small tree at the new Chorley building that was planted by Mr. Gennarelli to commemorate a student being killed in a fire.

Ms. Tobiassen made recognition to students who recently performed at Carnegie Hall. Mr. DelMoro advised that the selection process details will be presented at the January meeting.

Ms. Tobiassen made a motion, seconded by Mr. Perrino, to approve Special Services Memorandum #11.

Ayes: Mr. Geiger, Mrs. Isseks, Mrs. Knapp, Mrs. Martinez, Mr. Paul,
Ms. Perkins, Mr. Perrino, Ms. Tobiassen, Dr. Mauro – 9. Noes: None. Motion was unanimously approved.

Ms. Perkins made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Martinez, to table Financial Memorandum #13 until the next meeting. Mrs. McKean explained that by not voting on this memorandum, two of the Orange County contracts will not be able to provide services for pre-school students.

Ms. Perkins requested to amend her motion and separate out #6 and #7, vote on them, and table the rest of Financial Memorandum #13.

Mrs. Martinez withdrew her second to the original motion.

There was no second to Ms. Perkins’ motion to separate out #6 and #7 from Financial Memorandum #13.

Ms. Perkins made a motion, seconded by Mr. Paul, to adjourn the meeting.

By roll-call vote:

Ayes: Ms. Perkins – 1. Noes: Mr. Geiger, Mrs. Isseks, Mrs. Knapp,
Mrs. Martinez, Mr. Paul, Mr. Perrino, Ms. Tobiassen, Dr. Mauro – 8. Motion was defeated.

Mrs. Martinez left the meeting and was not present for the proceeding action items.

Mr. Paul made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Isseks, to separate items line-by-line on Financial Memorandum #13.

By roll-call vote:

Ayes: Mrs. Isseks, Mr. Paul, Ms. Perkins, Dr. Mauro – 4. Noes: Mr. Geiger, Mrs. Knapp, Mr. Perrino, Ms. Tobiassen – 4. Motion was defeated.

A discussion pursued and Ms. Tobiassen called the question, seconded by Mrs. Knapp, to vote on Financial Memorandum #13.

By roll-call vote:

Ayes: Mr. Geiger, Mrs. Knapp, Mr. Paul, Mr. Perrino, Ms. Tobiassen,
Dr. Mauro – 6. Noes: Mrs. Isseks, Ms. Perkins – 2. Motion was declared approved.

OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE BOARD

• Ed Estrada – Reviewed topics discussed this evening.
• John Gennarelli – Questioned matters concerning residency, a previous FOIL request that he submitted, attorney fees.

ROUNDTABLE

Ms. Tobiassen expressed concerns regarding how the agenda is established and changes that get made to the agenda without the entire Board and Superintendent being aware. She stated that the Board does not receive the backup material they need and that the Board needs to be informed.

Mr. Perrino stated that the Board needs to restructure the Board meetings and to consider the people who have to work in the morning and who have a far drive home from meetings. Mr. Perrino asked for a report in the future on hiring practices.

There being no further business, at 12:25 a.m., Mrs. Isseks made a motion, seconded by Mr. Perrino, to adjourn the meeting. Motion was unanimously approved.

Respectfully submitted,

Michelle K. Towle

District Clerk