Submitted by Jennifer Favalora, RSD #17 Board of Education Secretary.
The Board of Education elected the following Officers for a two-year term: Suzanne Sack – Chairperson, Peter Sonski – Vice Chair, Eileen Blewett – Treasurer, and Jen Favalora – Secretary.
Capital Improvements:
- Remediate and replace the HKHS Field House floor. The 40-year-old original floor subsurface is deteriorating and the current conditions impede hosting competitions. The floor was resurfaced once, allowing the project to be put off for many years. The six-month project will include remediation due to mercury contained in the subflooring, and if approved, will begin April 2020 and conclude August 2020. The Board approved hiring an architect for project specifications, assembled a public building committee, and applied to the state for partial reimbursement of the project. Project costs will be finalized after the architect’s report and are planned to be funded through the Capital fund.
- Replace Burr and KES Underground Fuel Storage Tanks, Summer, 2020. The state requires tank replacement every 30 years and reimburses a portion of the cost.
- Pre-K program is being evaluated for space needs. This state-mandated program is currently at Burr Elementary. Possible September, 2020 locations are: 1) continue at Burr, or 2) move to either KES or Central Office.
- Director of Operations, John Mercier, presented the final summary of the HKHS Energy Project, which encompassed a roof replacement, addition of solar voltaic, replacement of the heating plant, updates to lighting, and renovation of the auditorium. To provide final funding for the project, the district bonded for 10 years for $7.27 million dollars.
Other Business:
- Board Committee Chairs were appointed. Jen Favalora – Communications, Kathy Zandi- Curriculum, Peter Sonski- Facilities, Eileen Blewett – Finance, Suzanne Sack- Personnel and Evaluation, and Joanne Nesti- Policy.
- The Board extended its transportation contract with STA. The three year versus five-year agreement allows for possible coordination with Guilford and Clinton at the conclusion of it – depending on interest among the districts. Transportation contracts include a “daily rate” per bus for various bus types in a fleet. Our new agreement eliminated the 19/20 2.5% daily rate increase in our current contract and provides for a daily rate increase of 1.5% for 2020/21, 1.5% for 2021/22, and a 2.5% increase for 2022/23. Research by the Board found that few regions received multiple bidders from issuing RFPs, and terms of competitive bids from RFPs were higher than the offer from STA.
As a reminder: All videos of Board of Education meetings are online on
www.rsd17.org under “Community” -> “HKTV” -> “Click Here to Visit Channel 18 Live” -> “RSD #17 BOE”
