CALL MEETING TO ORDER                                                                                                                                 CALL TO ORDER

Meeting was called to order at 6:07 PM by Donald Kerr, Board Vice President.

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:                                                                                                                              QUORUM CHECK

                                                                David Dukler (arrived at 6:10 PM)

Kathleen Tobin Flusser

Steven Greenfield

Donaldald Kerr

Patrick Rausch

                                                                Edgar Rodriguez

                                                                Daniel Torres

ALSO PRESENT:                 Maria C. Rice, Superintendent of Schools

                                                                David Shaw, Attorney for the District

                                                                Steve Latino, Attorney for the District

ROLL CALL

The roll was called as reflected above.

PLEDGE TO THE FLAG

EXECUTIVE SESSION                                                                                                                                                      EXECUTIVE

Motion made by Steven Greenfield and seconded by Daniel Torres that the Board of                                            SESSION

Education move into Executive Session at 6:07 PM for the purpose of discussing the

employment history of particular individuals and pending litigation update from the district’s attorney.

Motion carried 6 - 0 with 6 members voting.

Out of Executive Session - Motion made byDonald Kerr and seconded by

Daniel Torres that the Board return to Public Session at 6:58 PM.

Motion carried 7 - 0 with 7 members voting.

CALL TO ORDER                                                                                                                                                     CALL TO ORDER

The Public Meeting was called to order at 7:10 PM by David Dukler, Board President.

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:                                                                                                                             QUORUM CHECK

                                                                David Dukler

Kathleen Tobin Flusser

Steven Greenfield

Donald Kerr

Patrick Rausch

                                                                Edgar Rodriguez

                                                                Daniel Torres

ALSO PRESENT:                 Maria Rice, Superintendent of Schools

                                                                Richard Linden, Assistant Superintendent for Business

                                                                Connie Hayes, Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Personnel Services

                                                                Barbara Clinton, Principal, New Paltz Central High School

                                                                Bill Richers, Director of Information & Communications Technology

                                                                Beverly Sickler, District Clerk

                                                                Members of the Public and Press

ROLL CALL                                                                                                                                                                        ROLL CALL

The roll was called as reflected above.

AGENDA CHANGES                                                                                                                                                          AGENDA

                                CHANGES

President Dukler   announced the following Addendum to the Agenda:                                                                  

Motion made byDonald Kerr and seconded by Daniel Torres that the Board of

Education accept the agenda as amended.

Motion carried 7 – 0 with 7 members voting.

PUBLIC COMMENTS                                                                                                                                                       PUBLIC

                                                                                                                                                                                                COMMENT

Superintendent Maria C. Rice commented on the preparations for the opening of school, noting that this district is fortunate to have talented and dedicated professional and support staff.  She also reported that New Paltz has the youngest Latino board member in the state of New York with the seating of Daniel Torres.  Also of note is the fact that New Paltz is one of two districts that have two Latino members – Daniel Torres and Edgar Rodriguez.

Rachel Busher, NPUT President – Thankful that NPUT is a part of moving into the 21^st century educational process in New Paltz.

BOARD COMMUNICATIONS

1. BOARD EMAILS AND THE LAW – David Shaw, Attorney for the District, provided members with guidelines regarding the use of email, phone, and letters in communicating with one another.  The concern has been that email in particular may be an area in which members need to be guarded against violating the Open Meetings Law.  Mr. Shaw explained the law as well as “best practices” in governing the behavior of members when communicating.  He made a distinction between deliberation and seeking more information to make informed decisions.  Disseminating information is not deliberation and doesn’t require a vote.  It is permissible as long as members are not communicating their personal position or how they plan to vote on an issue. When members asked about the inference of such communications, Mr. Shaw stated that this should not be a concern.  Just because one’s position on an issue is known to other members, it should not be inferred that the member is promoting his/her position by simply passing information along to other members. When the communication starts to read as discussion and members begin to respond to each other, then a line has been crossed. One on one email discussion is a grey area so members should be careful to use “best practices” so as not to violate the Open Meeting Law.

1. EXCEL PROJECT REPORT  – Roy Herford from the Greenwood Corporation reported on the EXCEL Project.  At present it is 99.5% complete.  The district has come in on time, under budget and with no change orders.

1. MIDDLE SCHOOL PROJECT – Louis Turpin from Rhinebeck Architects & Planning – Mr. Turpin provided a PowerPoint presentation of the Middle School Master Plan. He described the various components of the plan including the space needs analysis, educational program analysis, existing site and building analysis along with preliminary site concepts, building concepts and alternatives.  He went on to provide information on the preliminary project costs and schedule. He spoke about the tax impact of the project over twenty years depending on the course of action taken. Mr. Turpin provided members with SEQRA documents which contain environmental assessment for the middle school and the high school. It provides questions which the district as lead agency needs to address.  Questions and discussion followed. The board will be meeting as a committee of the whole on a regular basis.  The entire board will meet at the district office on September 9^th  as a committee of the whole.

1. NYSSBA RESOLUTION RATIONALE REBUTTAL – Steve Greenfield drafted a rebuttal to NYSSBA’s refusal of this board’s resolution to the  NYSSBA Resolution Committee.  Members had opportunity to review the rebuttal prior to this evening.  Mr. Greenfield commented on NYSSBA’s opposition and his rationale to refute NYSSBA’s position.  Discussion followed.  President Dukler called the question.

Motion made by Steve Greenfield and seconded by Donald Kerr that the Board of Education authorize Steve Greenfield to submit the following rebuttal to NYSSBA’s Resolution Committee by September 5, 2009 (The deadline was September 4, 2009) for presentation at NYSSBA’s Annual Convention.

             REBUTTAL TO NYSSBA’S RESOLUTION COMMITTEE

The statement in opposition from the NYSSBA Resolutions Committee is perplexing.

Its first paragraph raises the specter of phantom State legislation that does not exist, is not pending, and even if it did or were, would have no relation to existing federal USDA policy that subsidizes low-grade food at the expense of high-grade food, and then incentivizes school districts to accept large quantities of low-grade food and buy yet more due to the price disparity federal policy creates in the marketplace. The Resolutions Committee's objection fails to substantively address the text of the resolution.

The first paragraph's second argument is particularly vexing. "(F)ederal incentives to purchase certain products would no longer allow cost to override nutritional benefit in the operation of school nutrition programs." This is not the reason for objecting to the resolution -- quite the contrary, this statement encapsulates the need for it. NYSBBA is telling us that it's better for the federal government to incentivize us to buy foods we know to be less beneficial, and even harmful, than those we could buy if the subsidies to the lower-grade food were removed. But if the "certain products" referred to were textbooks and not food, along with the implication that it's a good idea for the federal government to make available to us low-priced textbooks that are only 65% factual in case we prefer to place cost over maximum accuracy of the book's content, we'd only have to decide whether to laugh or cry. But in the case of food going into our students' bodies and contributing to their short and long term health and well-being, lifespans, quality of life, and educational performance, we're being told that taking the short money to poor health is an option we should take care to preserve. On the basis of educational as well as health science, and in our role as advocates for students, we respectfully disagree.

The first clause of the Statement of Opposition's second paragraph is dependent upon its first paragraph. It extends from its own argument from the first paragraph -- an argument already shown to not be connected to the resolution itself, or any existing or pending state legislation. That state funding may not be available for state nutrition mandates that have neither been created, nor, if ever created, would be related to the United States Department of Agriculture issues contained in this resolution have no bearing on the strength and utility of the resolution. The paragraph concludes by conflating advocacy for the USDA to eliminate subsidies to industrial agriculture that make healthy foods uncompetitive in food service bidding with advocacy for elimination of the school nutrition program. This, too, is not contained in the resolution and is both illogical and unfair to raise as a source of objection to the resolution. The text clearly refers only to districts' own purchasing of food and makes no reference to any other source of food acquisition by schools under any existing program.

The Statement of Opposition's third paragraph is paradoxical. On the one hand it acknowledges that school food service is often the primary sustenance of students, but on the other hand argues not only that cost, rather than nutritional science, should determine content, but by argument of the first paragraph, that federal subsidies for lower-grade food that raises both the absolute and relative costs of higher-grade food to non-competitive levels is an important federal program that should be maintained. That these artificially created price disparities not only harm the students of less well-off districts, but directly interfere with the ability of those districts that could afford to address improved nutrition through discretionary spending to actually do so, is ignored as if these factors -- the heart of the resolution itself -- did not exist.

It is our opinion that the Statement of Opposition does much to underscore the need for this resolution while providing no valid reasons to reject it. We direct you to the text of the resolution itself, and the original rationale found in the Voting Delegate's Guide.

Motion carried 6 YES – 1 NO (Patrick Rausch) with 7 members voting.

MINUTES OF MEETING   

Motion made by Donald Kerr and seconded by Daniel Torres

that the Board of Education approve the following resolution:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   MINUTES

BE IT RESOLVED that the New Paltz Central Schools Board of Education accept the minutes                             8/19/09

of the Workshop Meeting of August 19, 2009.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Motion carried 7 - 0 with 7 members voting.

PERSONNEL (CONSENT AGENDA)                                                                                                                             PERSONNEL

Motion made by Donald Kerr and seconded by Daniel Torres that the Board of

Education approve the following personnel (consent agenda) resolutions:

7.1          Instructional Probationary Appointment

Recommendation - that the New Paltz Central Schools Board of Education, upon the recommendation of Maria C. Rice, Superintendent of Schools, does hereby appoint the following instructional employee, with remuneration as per NPUT contract. 

Stacie Erceg                          Special Education teacher                  Effective 9/1/09 – 8/31/12                    BA Step B $49,520

7.2          Instructional Leave Replacement Appointment

Recommendation  - that the New Paltz Central Schools Board of Education, upon the recommendation of Maria C. Rice, Superintendent of Schools, does hereby approve the leave replacement appointment of the following instructional employee for the 2009/2010 school year:

Donna Samek                        Foreign Language teacher                  Effective 9/1/09-6/30/10                       MA Step 1 $60,970

7.3          Instructional Substitute Appointments - Certified

Recommendation that the New Paltz Central Schools Board of Education upon the recommendation of Maria C. Rice, Superintendent, does hereby appoint the following certified substitute teachers at a per diem rate of $100 for the 2009/2010 school year:

7.5          Instructional Appointment - Mentor

Recommendation - that the New Paltz Schools Board of Education, upon the recommendation of Maria C. Rice, Superintendent of Schools, does hereby appoint the following instructional employee as a mentor for the 2009/2010 school year:

Lisa St. John

7.6          Non-Instructional Termination – Employee No. 2493

Recommendation – that the New Paltz Schools Board of Education, upon the recommendation of Maria C. Rice, Superintendent of Schools, does hereby terminate the employment of Employee No. 2493 in accorDanielce with the provisions of Section 71 of the Civil Service Law, with the opportunity to be reinstated to the same or a similar position, if a vacancy exists, upon making application therefore within one year after termination of the disability. 

7.7          Fall/Winter Coaching Appointments

Recommendation - that the New Paltz Central Schools Board of Education, upon the recommendation of Maria C. Rice, Superintendent, does hereby appoint the following coaches for the 2009-2010 school year:

Sarah Doyle                          Modified Volleyball                                             $2160.00

Joseph Davis                        Assistant Coach Varsity Football                     $3460.00

Nicole MercaDanielte          JV Volleyball                                                         $3030.00

7.8          Occupational Therapist – Probationary Instructional Appointment

Recommendation – that the New Paltz Central Schools Board of Education, upon the recommendation of Maria C. Rice, Superintendent, does hereby appoint the following probationary instructional employee:

Paul Scarpati         Occupational Therapist                      Effective  9/1/09                    MA, Step B  $58,030 annually

7.9          Non-Instructional Leave of Absence

Recommendation - that the New Paltz Central Schools Board of Education upon the recommendation of Maria C. Rice, Superintendent of Schools, does hereby approve an unpaid leave of absence for the following:

Nancy Griffin                        School Monitor                    Effective  9/1/09    - 6/30/10

7.10        Instructional Appointment - Mentor

Recommendation - that the New Paltz Schools Board of Education, upon the recommendation of Maria C. Rice, Superintendent of Schools, does hereby appoint the following instructional employee as a mentor for the 2009/2010 school year:

Jane Beck

MOTION to approve Personnel Consent Agenda carried 7 - 0 with 7 members voting.

OLD BUSINESS                                                                                                                                            OLD BUSINESS

Motion made by Donald Kerr and seconded by Daniel Torres that the Board of

Education approve the following resolution:

                                                                                                                                                WELLNESS POLICY 5661

8.1          Second Reading and Request for Approval of Revisions to Wellness Policy 5661

BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Education, after a second reading of Wellness Policy 5661, approve revisions to the policy as follows.  Discussion followed.

During the course of the second reading and prior to approval, members of the board made some additional changes as highlighted in green below.

Mr. Rausch felt that the policy goes too far and there needs to be more latitude and less specificity.  Mr. Kerr explained that the policy evolved through a process of give and take and some negotiations on the part of Health Advisory Committee (HAC) members resulting in compromise.  Connie Hayes, Assistant Superintendent and Chair of the HAC, confirmed that compromise on the part of HAC members produced the policy as it currently exists. Superintendent Rice agreed that there are some problems in the policy that need to be revisited.  Mr. Rausch asked that the approval of the policy be tabled.  There was no second to this recommendation.

Motion to approve revisions to the Wellness Policy 5661 after amended by a second reading carried 5 YES to 1 NO (Patrick Rausch) with 6 members voting.  Edgar Rodriguez was out of the room.

SUBJECT:  Wellness Policy (First Reading changes are bolded and highlighted.)

­­­­­­­­

I. Wellness Committee

The school district shall maintain a the standing Wellness Sub-committee of the Health Advisory Committee to review, and recommend revisions to school nutrition and physical activity programs and policies. The committee also will serve as a resource to schools for implementing those programs and policies.

II. Nutritional Quality of Foods and Beverages Sold and Served in School

School Meals

Meals served through the School Lunch and Breakfast Programs should:

1. meet nutrition requirements established by local, state, and federal statutes and regulations whenever possible;
2. meet the nutrition recommendations of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans whenever possible;
3. strive toward meeting the nutrition recommendations of the NPCSD Nutrition Task Force;
4. offer a variety of fruits and vegetables;
5. wherever possible be comprised of local farm grown produce, dairy and meat (organic and/or chemical free when possible);
6. provide drinking water at all school meals at no cost to students.

Fundraising Activities

To support children’s health and school nutrition-education efforts, school sponsored fundraising activities will strive toward using only foods that meet the above nutrition standards for school lunch foods and beverages. District staff will encourage fundraising activities that promote physical activity. The school district will make available a list of ideas for recommended fundraising activities. Outside groups (including PTAs) will be encouraged to follow the same guidelines as school groups but not required to do so.

Classroom Snacks

Snacks served by district staff in the classroom during the school day or in after-school care or enrichment programs should make a positive contribution to children's diet, health and well being, with an emphasis on serving nutritious foods and beverages. District staff will assess if and when to offer snacks based on timing of school meals, children’s nutritional needs, children's ages, and other considerations. The district will disseminate a list of nutritious snack ideas to teachers, after-school program personnel, and parents.

Rewards

District staff should not use foods or beverages as the primary reward for academic performance or good behavior, and will not withhold food or beverages (including food served through school meals) as a punishment.

Celebrations

District staff will actively encourage parents to provide nutritious food and beverages for classroom celebrations. District staff will limit the amount of food served at celebrations to reasonable portions. The district will disseminate a list of healthy food and beverage ideas to parents and teachers.

School Sponsored Events

District staff will actively encourage parents, clubs and community groups to provide and/or sell nutritious foods and beverages for after school events. The district will disseminate a list of healthy foods and beverage ideas to parents, clubs and community groups.

III. Nutrition and Physical Activity Promotion and Food Marketing

Nutrition Education and Promotion

The School District has as its goal to teach, encourage, and support healthy eating by students. District staff should provide nutrition education and engage in nutrition promotion that encourages overall health and well being and an active lifestyle. Such education should promote fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, healthy food preparation methods, and health-enhancing nutrition practices and media literacy with an emphasis on food marketing.

Integrating Physical Activity into the Classroom Setting

For students to fully embrace regular physical activity as a personal behavior, students need opportunities for physical activity beyond physical education class. Toward that end, classroom health education will complement physical education classes by reinforcing the knowledge and self-management skills needed to maintain a physically-active lifestyle and to reduce time spent on sedentary activities. Classroom health education should also emphasize caloric balance between food intake and energy expenditure.

Communications with Parents

The school district will support parents’ efforts to provide a healthy diet and daily physical activity for their children. Examples of this may include offering healthy eating seminars, sending home nutrition information to parents, (including the Wellness Wake Up Call monthly summary of messages), optimum physical activity suggestions, posting nutrition tips on school websites, and providing nutrient analyses of school menus.

OMIT

Marketing of Food in Schools

School-based food marketing will be consistent with district nutrition education and health promotion programs.

Staff Wellness

The school district highly values the health and well-being of every staff member and, to the extent possible, provide staff with information regarding activities and programs that support personal efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle. 

IV. Physical Activity Opportunities and Physical Education

Physical education instruction at all levels shall comply with New York State Education Department mandates.

Daily Recess

All elementary school students should have at least twenty minutes a day of supervised recess, preferably outdoors when weather permits, during which schools should encourage and support moderate to vigorous physical activity.

District staff should discourage extended periods (i.e., periods of two or more hours) of inactivity. When activities, such as mandatory school-wide testing, make it necessary for students to remain indoors for long periods of time, when possible schools should give students periodic breaks during which they are encouraged to stand and be moderately active.

Members discussed the above version of the policy.  Superintendent Rice asked that under item II Nutritional Quality of Foods and Beverages Sold and Served in School the first and second bullets have the words “whenever possible” added at the end of the phrase. KT asked that well-being be hyphenated in each instance. Mrs. Rice said if something is in conflict with the law it cannot stand.  Members agreed to remove the “Marketing of Food in Schools” statement.

Motion to approve policy as revised by second reading carried 5 – 1 (Patrick Rausch) with 6 members voting. Edgar Rodriguez was not in the rooms

NEW BUSINESS (CONSENT AGENDA)                                                                                                     NEW BUSINESS                                                                                                                        

Motion made by Donald Kerr and seconded by Patrick Rausch that the Board of

Education approve the following Consent Agenda resolutions 9.1 and 9.2:

                                                                                                                                                CSE & CPSE PLACEMENTS

9.1          Request for Approval of Committee on Special Education Recommendations and Student Placements

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approve the following Committee on Special Education (CSE) and Committee on Pre-School Special Education (CPSE) recommendations and student placements: 8173, 11542, 8124,12008, 10516, 11516, 11509, 11508, 11504.

LEASE AGREEMENT WITH UC BOCES 2009-2010

9.2          Request for Approval of Lease Agreements with Ulster County BOCES for 2009-2010

BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Education, upon the recommendation of Maria C. Rice, Superintendent of Schools, does hereby approve the lease agreements with Ulster County BOCES for the period of June 26, 2009 through June 30, 2010 for a total amount of $124,998.00 and authorizes the District Clerk to execute such lease agreements. 

Motion carried 6 – 0 with 6 members voting. Edgar Rodriguez was not in the room.

PUBLIC COMMENTS                                                                                                                                                       PUBLIC

            COMMENT

Denise Hall, New Paltz – Objection to President Obama’s Address to Students on September 8 being televised to students

EXECUTIVE SESSION                                                                                                                                                      EXECUTIVE

                                                                                                                                                                                                SESSION

Motion made by Donald Kerr and seconded by Daniel Torres to move into

Executive Session at 9:55 PM to discuss contract issues and the

employment history of a particular individual

Motion carried 7 - 0 with 7 members voting.

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:                                                                                                                              QUORUM CHECK

                                                                David Dukler

Kathleen Tobin Flusser

Steven Greenfield

Donald Kerr

Patrick Rausch

                                                                Edgar Rodriguez

                                                                Daniel Torres

Out of Executive Session

Motion made by Donald Kerr and seconded by Daniel Torres that the Board                                                                           RETURN

return to Public Session at 11:20 PM.                                                                                                                                   PUBLIC

                                                                                                                                                                                                  SESSION

Motion carried 7 - 0 with 7members voting.

ADJOURN                                                                                                                                                                            ADJOURN

Motion made by Donald Kerr and seconded by Daniel Torres that the Board

adjourn at 11:21 PM.

Motion carried 7 - 0 with 7 members voting.

Respectfully submitted,

________________________

Beverly J. Sickler

District Clerk