newburghedinfo

There was a Newburgh School District Finance committee meeting scheduled for Thursday May 17 at 5:30 PM. The meeting was cancelled but the public was not notified. The district Google calendar and meetings page still list this non-event.

The Board of Education should post an accurate schedule of when and where public meetings will occur. They still do not do that.

On May 16 the Newburgh School District BOE met at 6:30PM to approve the canvass of votes. Here is a copy of the results that were approved. This tally includes absentee ballots and lists the names of write-in candidates. Board President Fucheck mentioned that the non-incumbent candidate with the most votes, Mr. Lawson, would be sworn in early, to fill the vacancy left by Board Member Giudice's resignation. That may happen at the May regular BOE meeting.

The Canvass of Votes was followed by a Special Meeting at 6:45 PM. At that meeting two employees (presumably tenured teachers) were suspended pending "3020A" proceedings--one with pay, one without. Video of the very short public parts of the meeting is available.

The Newburgh School District Budget passes: 1709 yes; 788 no.
BOE members to be: Lawson 1322; Howard 1153; Resch 1138.
Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to all of the candidates who ran.

Please do vote today. Remember you can vote yes, no, or not vote on two budget proposals: the Newburgh School District budget (228.5M) and the Newburgh Free Library budget (4M). You can also vote for 0, 1, 2, or 3 of the eight BOE candidates running, or you can write in candidates. The polls are open until 9 PM.

A preliminary vote count is likely to be available soon after the polls close. I'll post results to twitter and here.

I've quoted this before. These sentences are very careful and precise. I feel they are very relevant the the Newburgh School District.

Because more than 70 percent of households do not have children in public school, the school district needs to communicate its vision and student achievement goals very clearly to taxpayers and the community as a whole to ensure their support. Without this information, the public's perspective and support can be skewed by the anecdotes and advocacy of others who themselves may not have the entire picture. By contrast, comprehensive information from the school district is likely both to increase support for school budgets and to improve the chances of attracting the involvement of businesses and others in school activities.

from Raising the Bar: A School Board Primer on Student Achievement by Bracey and Resnick.

Administrator Salary Data is available as a large Excel spreadsheets from the State Ed Management Services web page. This is an extract of the data for Newburgh for 2012-2013. This is not necessarily real salary information it is an estimate that was sent to NYSED in May 2012.

2012-2013 Administrator Compensation Information for the Newburgh City Enlarged School District

I never posted a plain text version of the Newburgh School District administrator salary disclosure data from May 2011. So here it is. Remember this isn't real salary info, it was an estimate sent to NYSED in May 2011.

2011-2012 Administrator Compensation Information for the Newburgh City Enlarged School District

There was an NAACP sponsored Meet the Candidates event last night at 131 Broadway. Seven of the eight candidates attended.

Here is video of the event.

It was very good for the NAACP to organize this event and for the candidates to make themselves available. There is to be a second Meet the Candidates at the Newburgh Town Hall on Route 300 tonight from 7-9 p.m.

I have heard via Facebook that there is a "meet the candidates" event tonight. I received this May 9, so presumably this event is today. Can someone confirm the time/date/location of this?

The Newburgh Ministry is hosting a Meet the Candidates night tomorrow from 6 - 8 at 131 Broadway, Newburgh, NY. Not sure exactly who is signed on to appear but we believe 6 of the 8 candidates will be there -- Motley, Martinez, Resch, Vessely, Lawson and Howard.

In addition, in the May 9 Mid Hudson Times, Jessica McAleese mentions an event to be held on Friday:

The Newburgh/Highland Falls branch of the NAACP will be hosting a Candidate's Night Forum on Friday, May 11 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Newburgh Town Hall.

The public hearing on the 2012-2013 Newburgh School District Budget was on Tuesday May 1. Video of the hearing is available here.

The Board of Education is required by law to do certain things at this public hearing. Among the requirements:

...
The budget must be written in plain language. Categories of revenues, expenditures and fund balance information, as well as comparison data from the prior year's budget must be set forth in such a manner as to best promote comprehension and readability.

Boards of education must attach to the proposed budget the salaries, benefits and any in-kind or other form of compensation of the superintendent, assistant or associate superintendent and any administrator who will earn over $118,000 in the upcoming year.
...

Please be aware that the "Full Budget Report" has been revised. At the official budget info webpage it says:

At the public hearing of the budget held May 1, 2012, there were many speakers pointing out that the supplies lines for athletics were not reduced as originally approved by the Board of Education. Following the meeting, an in depth analysis of all the BOE approved changes to the budget was conducted to ensure that all the appropriate lines were adjusted as proved. This analysis showed that not only were the athletic supply lines not changed, but several other supply lines for Science, Social Studies, Math, ESL and Bilingual were also not changed. The reductions instead were charged against the health insurance budget. This error has been since corrected and the revised budget line is now posted to this site. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Here's a link to the revised report and a link to the old one. It looks like the Medical Insurance line increased by around $49K.

The election of three BOE members and vote on the budget is May 15, 2012. Here are the candidates for Newburgh School District Board of Education:

• Philip F. Howard
• David K. Kenan
• Edward Lawson
• Lissette Martinez
• Aric C. Meyer
• Eric Motley
• Pamela R. Resch
• Nathan F. Vesely

Here's an article about Howard, Kenan, and Lawson.
There's a facebook page for Motley, Meyer, and Martinez.

The 2012-2013 account line budget document is available on the NECSD website. It's on the 2012-2013 budget information page. It's the link labeled 2012-2013 Full Budget Presentaion Report.

Here are the account lines which will increase more than 100k.

The "Public Hearing on the Budget" is Tuesday May 1 at 7PM at the Newburgh Free Library auditorium. The NECSD BOE does not provide information about what occurs at a "Public Hearing on the Budget". However in past years, there has been a brief presentation followed by an opportunity for the public to ask questions. Unlike regular meetings, the questions are often answered.

The April regular BOE meeting was on Tuesday at the NFA main campus auditorium. There was an audience of around 55. The agenda items were covered routinely. There were a half dozen or so public comments on specific budget cuts: Crew Team, Social Workers, and the Science Specialist reduction.

Click through for a few notes from the April BOE meeting.

Click here for Video of the April 24, 2012 NECSD BOE meeting.

According to the supplementary documentation and the agenda three new director positions are to be voted on at tonight's regular, monthly Newburgh School District Board of Education meeting.

The result would be seven director positions for next year:

• Athletic Director
• Fine and Performing Arts Director
• Secondary Special Education Director
• Elementary Special Education/RTI Director
• Career Readiness Director (formerly Career & Technical Education) [Resolution 042412 R]
• Elementary Interdisciplinary Director [Resolution 042412 S]
• Secondary Interdisciplinary Director [Resolution 042412 T]

The meeting schedule page has this note:

Please note time change of meetings for April 24th The Regular Meeting will commence at 6:00 p.m. with an anticipated executive session subject to Board approval for one hour the Board will reconvene to open session at 7:00 p.m.

And the meeting is at the NFA main auditorium.

Click through for videos of the April 18, 2012 Newburgh School District Board of Education Budget Workshop meeting and the Special and Workshop meetings which followed.

The Newburgh School District Board of Education had a budget meeting, special meeting, and workshop meeting yesterday at NFA. At the 6PM budget workshop meeting there were a few restorals to the budget due to an expected increase in State aid. Restored items:

• 17 kindergarten teaching assistant positions
• 2 science specialist positions
• Director of Fine and Performing Arts position
• 2 music teachers (this restores instrumental music at the fourth grade level)

At the special meeting at 7PM the school district budget, library budget, school lunch fund, and property tax report card were approved. The revised budget amount for the property tax report card is $228,476,702.

The monthly workshop meeting was quite routine.

After an executive session two resolutions were passed. One ammended a prior resolution authorizing legal action against the Palumbo group "to include litigation to recover the moneys paid by the school district". The second appointed Kenneth Swanson "to serve as the district's authorized resolution session representative" for the 2011-12 school year. This has to do with special education hearings.

Video and handouts--hopefully will have those available tomorrow.

Eric Motley, Aric Meyer, and Lissette Martinez are running for Board of Education positions. I am happy to post any press releases from candidates here. Drop an email to newburghedinfo@gmail.com.

-- ANNOUNCEMENT – Eric Motley, Aric Meyer and Lissette Martinez (“the M Team”) are running for the NECSD School Board, and have gathered sufficient signatures on their Petition to be placed on the ballot. Eric Motley is a husband and father of 5 children who are in or who have graduated from the Newburgh Enlarged Central School District ("NECSD"). Aric Meyer is an NFA graduate, educator at the Greater Newburgh YMCA and Head Coach of the Newburgh Rowing Club. Lissette Martinez is a wife, mother and advocate for children, who works for Orange County AHRC, where she serves people with unique abilities.

Together, the M Team is committed to putting "EDUCATION" back in the "Board of Education." Their goal is to represent the very best interests of the children of the Newburgh School District. Among their immediate goals are: (1) Attract and maintain teachers and educators of the highest quality; (2) Keep all the Teachers' Assistants positions; and keep Security Guards at all Elementary Schools; (3) Maintain the Music programs; (4) Be fair to all Varsity Sports; and (5) Maintain the language programs.

Mr. Motley lives in the City of Newburgh with his wife and 4 youngest children. His oldest daughter, Erika, age 18, is a 2011 graduate of NFA and was a member of the National Honor Society. She is currently a student at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. His son, Eric Motley, Jr. is a senior at NFA, where he is on the NFA Crew Team. He has been accepted at several colleges and universities and has chosen to attend Johnson and Wales. His son, Tradell, is a freshman at NFA North, Class of 2015, where he is on the Freshman Basketball Team and Freshman Football Team. His son Malachi, attends South, and is Class of 2018 and is on the Newburgh Zion Lions Basketball Team. His youngest, Hezekiah, is in 3rd grade at Fostertown and is also on the Newburgh Zion Lions Basketball Team. Mr. Motley is dedicated to his family, their education, and the education of all who attend school in the NECSD. He is formerly the Assistant Director of the Afterschool Program at Newburgh Performing Arts Academy. He has long been a Parent Volunteer, having garnered national attention in the National Teachers Magazine as an outstanding African American parent education volunteer. He served on the NECSD Hiring Committees in 2010 and 2011 which resulted in the hiring of NFA's current Varsity Basketball Coach and incoming new Principal. He has also coached the Newburgh Zion Lions Basketball Team and the Newburgh Panthers Basketball Team. He was instrumental in putting together the Basketball League at the Newburgh Armory Unity Center. Mr. Motley says, "First and foremost, a Board Member is elected to serve their community as an advocate and representative for all voices. The board members must be accessible and willing to collaborate with all members of the community, including all faculty and staff of the school district. I believe that a school board member must be responsive and receptive to parents, school staff, students, and the community at large, encouraging open dialogue."

Aric Meyer graduated from NFA in 2008. He was a member of the Student Council and Captain of the NFA Crew Team which won the New York State Championship and went to Nationals. He received the NFA Goldback Eagle Award. He works in elementary childcare at the Greater Newburgh YMCA in the City of Newburgh. He studies Adolescent Education, with a Major in Biology at SUNY New Paltz (Class of 2013). He is the Head Coach of the Newburgh Rowing Club, located in the City of Newburgh and has put in countless hours of community service through the Y, the Rowing Club, and the NRC's Hudson River Student Ambassador Program. Says Mr. Meyer, "I attended the Newburgh School system during the 'golden age,' when programs, and support for academics, athletics and extra-curriculars was abundant. Since then, I have dedicated my career to teaching; I believe nothing is more important than bringing top flight education to the students of the Newburgh Enlarged Central School District and am ready to bring a fresh point of view to the School Board."

Ms. Martinez graduated NFA in 1992, and remembers what it was like to have to avoid the gangs at NFA. Ms. Martinez resides in the City of Newburgh with her husband and son, Adrion Fuentes. With more than one-third of NFA students identifying themselves as Latino, Ms. Martinez brings an important voice to the table. She works for Orange County AHRC, where she serves people with unique abilities. She is part of the Orange County AHRC "Community Builders" program, in which she integrates her clients with the community at large through volunteer programs, including leading them in volunteering to clean up the Armory, St. George's Cemetary in the city of Newburgh, and Old Town. Ms. Martinez is on the Board of the Newburgh Armory Unity Center, where she serves on the Athletic committee and the prestigious Education Committee. Ms. Martinez is on the Board of the Newburgh Rowing Club and the Newburgh Armory Soccer Club. Her son, Adrion, attends Heritage, where he is Class Treasurer. Adrion rows for the Newburgh Rowing Club, plays soccer for the Real S.C. and is a member of the Sea Cadets. Ms. Martinez says, "I will do whatever it takes to help the children of the Newburgh School District. Nothing is more important to me than education.”

Please vote in the School Board Election/ Budget Vote on May 15, 2012.

For more information, contact Team Mom on Facebook at "Motley Meyer and Martinez for Newburgh School Board" or contact Team Mom Juliana LoBiondo at 845-569-7600. Facebook link: http://www.facebook.com/MotleyAndMeyerForNewburghSchoolBoard

A Budget Workshop meeting has been scheduled for this evening, April 18, at 6PM at the NFA auditorium. This is to be followed by a Special Meeting at 7PM, at which the BOE is expected to approve a budget. The special meeting will probably be very short, and will be followed by a regular monthly BOE Workshop meeting.

The late addition is on the NECSD meetings page. No agendas on the agendas page.

Video of yesterday's budget workshop meeting is available on YouTube.

There was a Budget Workshop meeting of the Newburgh School District Board of Education on Tuesday March 29, 2012. The meeting was held at Temple Hill Academy. There were probably over 200 in the audience. The meeting began with a presentation by David Little, who works for NYSSBA. His presentation was quite good.

Board President Fucheck summarized the reductions to date: Administration--including Directors--reduced by 10.53%, Teaching--including Teaching Assistants 6.74%, all other support staff 8.41%, all supply lines reduced by 20%, total equipment lines by 10%. She went on to say that: the unions have been asked to consider a change in insurance companies which could save nearly $2 million; central office senior staff has voluntarily agreed to a wage freeze for the 2012-[presumably 2013, Fucheck misspoke here] school year; there is an expected restoration of 1.13 million from NYS; and from Assemblyman Skartados an additional 250k.

The following were items were raised for discussion or approved by consensus:

• School Lunch fund: request for a slight increase in meal prices. "The fund balance accumulated over the years is anticipated to cover the loss of the operating schools' cafeterias." [???] No information was provided about what is to change or the impact on the budget. The lunch fund will be brought forward as a resolution on April 14.
• Newburgh Free Library budget. Sounds like it would go up the allowed percentage: 2.94%.
• Instrumental Music program to begin at grade five. This will result in a loss of 2 FTEs. Reduction in budget of $171,339.
• No longer offer an accelerated program at grade 6 level. Instead a grade 6 Honors program will be developed at Heritage, South, and the Hill Schools. Reduction of $83,165.
• Community Resource Officer to be funded by grants instead of General Fund. Reduction of $100,000.
• Shifting of expenses to grant sources. Costs for instructional coaches to be shifted to grants. Reduction in General Fund budget: $496,033.
• Reduction in freshman sports. This would allow modified sports to go back. Savings: $54,900.
• Portion of Health Insurance, Workers Comp, Tax Certiorari, and Unemployment costs to be covered by allocation from the "Employee Benefits and Accrued Liabilities Reserve Fund". The State is allowing the more flexible use of this Reserve Fund. Savings of $2,255,861.

The next budget workshop meeting is Wednesday April 18 at 7PM. There will be a Special Meeting to adopt the budget for the School District and the Library, to be followed by the board workshop.

The budget gap is closed. There is a net reduction of 128.5 positions. The board anticipates being able to restore 1.3 million in cut items.

Video will be available tomorrow morning.