Hornell City School District > Board of Education > Meeting Minutes and Agenda > Meeting Minutes January 5, 2022

Meeting Minutes January 5, 2022

President Davis opened the meeting at 5:15 PM and led the Board/Public in the Pledge of Allegiance (the meeting was held in the High School Library).

ROLL CALL:

PRESENT: Kerry Davis, Jessica Hess, James Marino, Uzma Mehr, Christopher Clark, Joseph Liberto

ABSENT: Meghann Khork (excused)

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that the agenda be approved as presented: CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

PUBLIC COMMENT

None

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS PRESENTATIONS:

New GST BOCES Superintendent, Kelly Houch introduced herself to the Board and provided them with an overview of GST Services as well as information regarding an upcoming vote for capital improvements to some of the campuses. She was joined by HHS/Wildwood Criminal Justice student, Rae Acton, who shared some of her experiences as a student in the Criminal Justice Program.

REPORTS:

Construction Report: None

Celebrating Success:

Sean Gaffney, North Hornell Principal reported:

  • Thanks to the staff, students and the community it was an amazing holiday season at North Hornell:
    • The Seamstress Club made dolls and doll clothes for eleven North Hornell students;
    • One of our teachers donated a bike to a student;
    • We had five students participate in “Shop with a Cop”;
    • The Santa Hat Society helped two North Hornell families;
    • St. James Hospital helped eighteen of our students;
    • The Station Church helped thirty North Hornell students and provided holiday meals for 145 people;
    • The United Methodist Church helped one of our students;
    • The United Presbyterian Church helped seven students;
    • Our staff collected for the family of one of our students;
    • We collected six large boxes of food for donation to the Salvation Army;
    • We raised $85 for the Humane Society’s “Pennies for Paws” fund;
    • A total of seventy-five North Hornell students were supported by our community along with many family members.
  • We had a Holiday sing along with the HS show and Jazz choir and the band was a resounding success.
  • Our 4PK classes went to the movies. They also learned about Hanukkah, tried various foods, and played games.
  • On Spirit Day we all enjoyed wearing our favorite holiday attire, I was dressed as the Grinch! It was fun!

Julie Smith, Intermediate School Acting Principal reported:

  • I want to acknowledge the hard work by our Building Leadership Team. They’ve put a lot of effort into recognizing past traditions of both Intermediate School and Bryant School, while also looking at adapting and establishing new traditions. This was especially noticeable over the holidays.
  • Thank you to our counselors who organized so much charitable giving by our faculty and staff, as well as our community organizations. We have a very generous faculty and community…I was blown away!
  • It was fantastic to have a music concert in December. Sydney Scheirer and Ed Belin have been very flexible and innovative with rehearsals in order to maintain our music programs. It was magical!
  • A big shout out to Shelly McDaniels and a group of sixth grade students. You might know that Karen Kuhn traditionally organized Intermediate School’s annual “Pennies for Paws” campaign to raise items and money for the Hornell Area Humane Society. This year, Shelly took on the oversight, but really let the sixth graders take the lead. The students distributed the canisters to all homerooms, made morning announcements, came up with a reward for the whole school to earn if we met our goal (set at $500), they collected and counted all of the money. All together, the school raised $1000 for the Hornell Area Humane Society, along with some items for the animals. We celebrated with a movie in the auditorium the week before break, The Secret Life of Pets.

Scott Carroll, High School Principal reported:

  • Happy New Year! It was a great December and start to the new year!
  • A shout-out to Mr. Bialecki, Mr. Neff and Mr. vanLeeuwen for their wonderful concerts and sharing the holiday spirit.
  • Congratulations to Trey Woolvine for being selected to Area All State
  • Congratulations to the HHS Wildwood students of the Month:
    • Nick Hurlburt-Building Construction
    • Rae Acton-Criminal Justice
    • Thomas Jimerson-Digital Media Arts
  • Congratulations to the Senior Class for winning the 2021 Deck the Halls contest and also to the 7th graders who outdid themselves and did an awesome job making it very close contest.
  • We had numerous students from Hornell participate in the Regional DECA Competition held at Alfred State College on Monday, December 20. Hornell Senior Kenneth Robinson placed second overall among all schools, with 8th grader Mia Nasca and Senior Caylin Young placing second and third on the Marketing cluster exam. All three students are now eligible to participate in the state competition held in Rochester, NY on March 9-11.
  • A big thank you to our BLT – for organizing our Holiday Themes – it was a nice treat to our lead up to the holidays.
  • Thank you to all of the members who adopted a senior and collected gifts helping with Turning point.

  • Thank you to our Main Office staff, Jen Bixby, Victoria Plank and Dee Haynes for helping with extra duties!

    Amy Feeley, Director of Pupil Personnel reported:

  • Thank you to our districtwide Guidance Staff for going above and beyond to support our families during the holidays!!
  • Thank you to the North Hornell team for their hard work with our meetings during December.
  • We are holding our meetings for second through fourth grades this month at the Intermediate School.

Ted Illi, Director of Secondary Curriculum reported:

  • We are busy working on planning the agenda for our upcoming Superintendent’s Conference Day.
  • We have upcoming professional development planned for G&R and Writer’s Workshop (to be held virtually).

Shannon Davis, Director of Facilities and Grounds reported:

  • Want to thank the team for working hard to keep the lights and heat on…there is a lot of work behind the scenes going on and they are steadfast! The other day they had a call before 6:00 AM that there was no heat at the Intermediate School, they moved into action and fixed the problem before the school day began.
  • We are working on the second bathroom makeover using stock on hand in the Baseball Stadium. Last year we did the boy’s bathroom and we are currently working on the girl’s.
  • We took delivery of our new dump truck, it was ordered in May – we are retiring our 18 year old one.
  • Recently attended the NYS Facilities Director Academy, thank you for this great opportunity to collaborate and network with peers from around the state.

Superintendent’s Report Superintendent Palotti reported:

  • Would like to echo the accolades about our busy and positive month of December, with concerts, the generosity of our students, staff and community….it is amazing and noteworthy!
  • We are looking forward to some positive changes in the guidance from Public Health in the next few days regarding quarantine lengths, etc. We are awaiting school specific guidance, we will relay information as it is published.

ROUTINE ITEMS

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Palotti to approves/accepts the following Consent Agenda items:

  • Approves of the minutes for the meetings of December 1, 2021.
  • Acceptance of Claims Auditor/Warrant Reports for the period ending November 30, 2021.
  • Acceptance of the Student Activities Report of November 30, 2021.
  • Acceptance of General Fund Budget Transfer Report of November 30, 2021.
  • Acceptance of Revenue Report of November 30, 2021.
  • Acceptance of Treasurer’s Report of November 30, 2021.
  • Acceptance of Appropriations Report of November 30, 2021.
  • Acceptance of the Federal Budget Transfer Reports of July 1 – November 30, 2021.
  • Has no objections to the recommendations of the Committee on Special Education and approves the authorization of funds to implement the special education programs and services consistent with such recommendations for the CSE meeting of December 1, 2, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 16, 20 and 21, 2021. The CPSE meeting of December 1, 2, 9, 16, 20, 21 and 22, 2021 and the 504 meetings of December 15 and 20, 2021.

CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

OLD BUSINESS

None

NEW BUSINESS

POLICY/PROCEDURE

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Palotti, the Board authorizes Patrick Flaitz to dispose of the Technology items on the list dated January 5, 2022.

CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Palotti, the Board authorizes Patrick Flaitz to dispose of the following vehicle:

  • 2002 Chevy Dump Truck – VIN: 1GBJK34UX2E26796

CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Palotti, the Board approves the overnight trips requests of the Wrestling Team to travel to the Sectional Tournament in TBD , NY on February 4 and 5, 2022, to the State Qualifier in Brockport, NY on February 11 and 12, 2022 and for those who advance to travel to Albany, NY on February 18 and 19, 2022 for the State Finals.

CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

FINANCE

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Palotti, the Board accepts the generous donation to the High School Library from Gene and Cheryl Mastin in Memory of Josie Ciancaglini in the amount of $100.

CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

The Board thanked the Mastin’s for their generous donation.

PERSONNEL

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Palotti, the Board accepts the resignation of Kristen Hazard as Modified Swimming Coach for the 2021/22 season.

CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Palotti, the Board accepts the resignation of Susan Thompson as Teacher Aide effective on December 21, 2021, and furthermore approve her placement on the substitute list for Teacher Aide.

CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Palotti, the Board accepts the resignation of Timothy Schultz as School Bus Driver effective on December 13, 2021.

CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Palotti, the Board approves the probationary (re)appointment of Theresa Rhude as Teacher Aide, effective December 13, 2021, 10 months, 6.5 hours per day at the starting rate specified in the HPA Contract.

CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Palotti, the Board approves the probationary appointment of Matthew Gardner as Cleaner, effective December 27, 2021, 12 months, 8.0 hours per day at the starting rate stated in the HESSA Contract.

CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Palotti, the Board approves the probationary appointment of Brandon Burritt as Teacher Aide, effective January 3, 2022, 10 months, 6.5 hours per day at the starting rate stated in the HPA Contract.

CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Palotti, the Board approves the appointment of Makayla Kriner as a Student Lifeguard.

CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Palotti, the Board approves Brandon Burritt as a volunteer to work with the Intermediate School Drumline.

CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Palotti, the Board approves the following substitutes for the Intermediate School After School Program:

  • Jamie Morris- effective December 7, 2021
  • Emily Haynes – effective January 4, 2022

CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Palotti, the Board approves the appointment of Nicole Miller as Modified Swimming Coach for the 2021/22 season.

CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Palotti, the Board approves the three- year probationary appointment of James Welch as Elementary Teacher, effective February 28, 2022 at a starting salary as defined in the HEA Contract. Eligibility for tenure at the end of the probationary period is dependent on the employee receiving APPR ratings of H or E in 3 of the 4 preceding years (and no I rating in the final year). (BS in Childhood Education with Mathematics Concentration form SUNY Oswego, MS in Literacy (B-12) from SUNY Geneseo – NYS Professional Certification in Childhood Education (1-6), Literacy (B-6) and Literacy (5-12).

CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Palotti, the Board accepts the resignation for the purpose of retirement of Mary Mauro as Physical Education / Health Teacher effective June 30, 2022. (33 years of service in the District)

CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

The Board congratulated Mary and thanked her for her many years of dedicated service to the District.

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Palotti, the Board accepts the resignation for the purpose of retirement of Damian DeMarco as English Teacher effective June 30, 2022. (30 years of service in the District (NYS) – 37 years in education – (NYS, FL and PA) CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

The Board congratulated Damian and thanked him for his many years of dedicated service to the District.

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Palotti, the Board approves the following changes to the substitute roster and other assignments, pending successful fingerprint clearance through the New York State Education Department and approval through DMV and or Civil Service if applicable:

Substitute Additions:

  • Mary Campbell – Teacher Aide, Typist
  • Laura Conley – Bus Attendant, Food Service Helper, Laborer, Teacher Aide, Typist
  • William Didas – Bus Driver
  • Jamie Morris – Laborer
  • David Browne – Uncertified Teacher (eff. 12/17/2021)

CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

INFORMATIONAL:

The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Wednesday, February 2, 2022 at 5:15 PM in the High School Library located at 134 Seneca Street, Hornell, NY.

RESOLVED: BY: HESS/MEHR that, at 5:53 PM made motion to move to Executive Session to discuss contract negotiations.

CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

RESOLVED: BY: DAVIS/MEHR that, at 6:24 PM made motion to return to Regular Session and adjourn meeting.

CARRIED – 6 AYES – ALL

Respectfully submitted,
Carol Eaton, District Clerk