These sentences from the March 25, 2010 meeting also apply to the eighth budget meeting, which was April 15:

"It started a little after 5pm. There was an audience of about 60, which dwindled down to two dozen after slightly more than two and a half hours. Board Members Resch and Giudice were not present."

(Except that the public part of the meeting lasted just under two hours.) Over 25 audience members wore white and red CSEA t-shirts.

Assistant Superintendent of Finance Pacella: budget-to-budget decrease is at 2.5m. Over 5m in cuts. Right now, without using fund balance at a 2.4% increase in tax levy.

Item: Revision of Curriculum & Instruction reorganization.

Original plan called for elimination of two director positions and creation of an Executive Director of Pupil Personnel Services. Revised plan is to eliminate the Executive Director position and replace one of the original eliminated director positions with a Director of Pupil Personnel Services position. Will have oversight of Guidance, Social Workers, and Psychologists.

Board Member McAfee: Attendence department?
Superintendent of Schools Saturnelli: it will continue to be under the Deputy Superintendent and Director of Technology.
Board Member DeMarco:: will still be working together on planning?
Saturnelli: yes.
Board President Fucheck: intend that communication be in place because of interdependence.

Vote to add a Director of Pupil Personnel Services and eliminate Executive Director of Pupil Personnel Services: all yes.

Item C/39
Pacella: As requested by Board Member Poppiti, elementary guidance positions needs further discussion.

Poppiti: When we got original recommendation to remove social workers and add 4 psychologists and 4 guidance counselors, board asked if that would be enough to maintain services. Assured so. Board still added two more GC so 10 for 10. After public reaction 10 social workers came back. Without being asked the additional positions were left in place. Balmville requested academic specialist, and Horizons requested a reading position. These were rejected and summer school was cut back due to argument that positions could not be added given budget situation.

DeMarco: understood that Mr. Forgit said there would be gaps, but he would work with that. Asked if would be able to do the job with social workers, psychologists, and social workers; all approved.

[confusion over whether there would be 3 or 4 guidance counselors]

McAfee: look at it as a total approach. support all the positions.
Board Member Bowles: voting on four people?
Pacella: voting on four new positions.

[confusion]

McAfee: Mr. Forgit do you need 4 guidance counselors?

Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Forgit: if we had 4 guidance counselors would be able to service 5th and 6th grade populations as orignally planned, that would be the focus of their work. Amount, capacity, depth of the work would be determined by then number hired.

Bowles: would hate to hire and then need to lay off next year.

Poppiti: we're adding positions based on others positions going. Cut four psychologists last year. Why not see what can do with what we have (with social workers) and fill in gaps as we find them. Would rather not create something unsustainable.

Bowles: to hire new people at expense of letting other people go, can't do that.

Pacella: this was never an administrative recommendation, it was the Board's recommendation.

Vote to reduce four GC positions. Bowles, Woodhull, Poppiti, Fucheck: yes. Vesely, McAfee, DeMarco: n. [reduction passes.]

Item: to accommodate possible expansion in pre-k and suspension hearings, administrator position at Renwick needs further review. Recommendation is to put back in budget.

Vesely: how many hearings are handled?
Deputy Superintendent of Schools Pizzo: perhaps couple hundred a year, will get numbers.
[discussion and speculation about how to handle hearings]

Vote on adding back administrator at Renwick
Vesely, Poppiti: yes. Woodhull, McAfee, DeMarco, Poppiti, Fucheck: no.

Fucheck: not adding it back in, but there will be further discussion in executive session, will figure out how to bring it back to the table if necessary.

Item: review of line items in the budget for further reduction.

Pacella: Teachers retirement expenses, new law allows establishment of reserve fund balance to cover these expenses, 750k. Standardized testing, 100k. 504 and other transportation expenses. Total reduction of 1.19m.

Vote: line item adjustments: all yes.

Item F per request of Poppiti: position of Cultural Academic Specialist at Meadow Hill needs further discussion.

Poppiti: last year with changeover at MH wrt seventh and eighth grade. There was confusion over letting an academic specialist be let go. This was on the table last year, it got lost in the shuffle, should have got cut.
Saturnelli: topic of academic specialistsbrought up at the first meeting, was set aside to be brought back later.
DeMarco: how will this affect kids, how does it affect the program?
Saturnelli: the position promotese study of culture during study of language.
DeMarco: don't have enough information about this position to make an honest vote on this.
Assistant Superintendent Human Resources Leimer: [in response to question about number of academic specialists] Academic Specialists: two at Horizons, one at Temple Hill. Creative Academic Specialists: two at Fostertown. One cultural Academic Specialist and one each (Elementary French/Spanish/Italian Academic Specialist) at Meadow Hill.
Bowles: don't see having a separate person to do that.
Vesely: position has been in existence?
Saturnelli: has been in existance a number of years.

Vote to reduce academic specialist.
McAfee, Poppiti, Bowles, Vessely, Woodhull, Fucheck: yes
DeMarco: abstain

Pacella: There was a question about ERRA funding. Several different things totalling 11.7m.
Fucheck: other question was effect of non-release of money from Albany
Pacella: aid is expected, just being delayed. If delay is much past june may have to borrow funds. As long as not a cut, won't affect budget.
Fucheck: question for Dr. Bolton about after school programs at 3 junior highs budget of 150k at each, question about what the programs were, and if any money left.
Assistant Superintendent Curriculum and Instruction Bolton: [summarized the programs]

Fucheck: next topic athletics. Feeling that programs across the district have been affected and athletics needed to be looked at.
Pacella: last year there was reduction of 2.8%.
DeMarco: what is the athletics budget?
Pac: 950,167, a good amount of that is contractual.
Fucheck: coaching stipends is contractual and cannot be addressed here, but could be addressed through contract negotiations.
Bowles: a 2.5% reduction would be nice.
McAfee: would like to see 5%.
Woodhull: would like to see full budget to understand impact of cut.
Dem: 3%.
Poppiti: don't think blanket percentage does the job. 5% reduction is 45k, not a lot.
DeMarco: last week, we asked Pacella to reduce 300k from the budget and he reduced by 1.29 [million]. [the athletics director] knows best how he could save 30 or 40k.
Pacella: more direct approach by board is better.
McAfee: cuts so far affect academic programs. I think making cuts only in the instructional program is short sighted. Asking that athletic program be asked to cut, too.
Bowles: the percentage of kids participating in some of these sports is minimal. [suggests 2.5%]

Vote on 2.5% overall reduction in athletics.
McAfee, DeMarco, Bowles: yes. Poppiti, Vesely, Woodhull: no. Fucheck: abstain, suggests further discussion. [tie, not

Poppiti: would like the board to consider reinstating k-2 summer school program.
DeMarco: before we do that can we get update on reductions, what budget looks like.
Pacellaa: budget to budget decrease is 4.174m, 1.81% decrease, tax levy w/out using fund balance is .72% increase.
Poppiti: if we used 1m fund balance there would be a drop in tax levy.
Bowles: like the budget as is.

Item: to add 300k to restore k-2 summer school.
DeMarco, Poppiti, Vesely, Woodhull: yes. Bowles, McAfee, Fucheck: no. [approved]

DeMarco: Tonight we just wiped out Guidance Counselors for 5 & 6. would like to propose that we put back 3 Guidance Counselors. We had talked about using 2m from reserve fund. These are for the kids going into junior high.
Fucheck: currently do not have Guidance Counselors for any elementary students. We do have 2 contracts to be negotiated which may require money from fund balance.
McAfee: thought we had been told at Hills that Guidance Counselors worked w/6th grade. So at 2 schools receive services, at others do not.
Poppiti: Hills had guidance because they had 7 and 8. The Guidance Counselors were to help with transitions, and the students at the Hill schools don't have a transition to a junior high.
Bowles: think we have to not add when others are being let go.
Fucheck: not in a position to be adding right now.
DeMarco: it is adding to the budget, but adding to resolve a problem, preventative medicine.
Woodhull: City of Newburgh came out with 24, 34% tax increases. Doesn't want to raise.

Vote on proposal to add 3 guidance positions:
DeMarco, Vesely, McAfee: yes. Poppiti, Bowles, Woodhull, Fucheck: no. [does not pass]

Item G: Newburgh Free Library budget.
Pacella: 1.5% increase. Dollar amount of the budget is around $4m.
Director of Newburgh Free Library Verdibello: 54k total. Is about 1/2 of what expected expenditure increase would be.
McAfee: thinks there is a positive attitude of the public toward the library budget.
Bowles: has the library budget ever been voted down?
Verdibello: not since it has been voted on.

Vote on putting library budget forward as presented this evening: all yes.

Fucheck: [proposes meeting Monday April 19th at 6pm to finalize budget to be vote on on the 20th.] everyone ok. yes.

At 6:55pm the Board went to executive session "to discuss collective negotiations under taylor law, and will not be taking action after".