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SUMMER CONFERENCE PLANS CONTINUE
SMALL CITY DISTRICTS PASS BUDGETS AT UNPRECEDENTED
RATE
ALBANY UPDATE
MT.VERNON CSD IN THE NEWS
ROOSEVELT UFSD v. SUNY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
DATES TO REMEMBER
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Ted
Grocki(Rensselaer), Ron
Friedman(Long Beach) and Peter Nowyj (Fulton) have begun final planning for
the Summer Conference in Cooperstown. The conference is scheduled for August
12th and 13th, Sunday and Monday, and will be held
again at the Otesaga Hotel, which is situated at the foot of picturesque and
historic Otsego Lake. The theme of the conference is Distance Learning and
how the new technologies can be used to address the problems currently facing
our schools. Alltel, a telecommunications company serving central New York
among other regions, will assist the Association in developing a “hands on”
program to demonstrate the various technologies and techniques which can
deliver high quality, interactive educational programming to virtually any
place in the state. This programming can be used to address any number of problems,
including teacher shortages in critical disciplines, the need to provide
specialized instruction on a cost effective basis and home schooling.
Additional presentations
will focus on the Virtual School and legal questions raised by the use of
this technology. Among the speakers at the Cooperstown will be the well-known
author of ” Lost Boys”, James Garbarino, Professor at Cornell University.
Professor Garbarino is also the author of “Parents Under Siege,” which
chronicles the tragic shooting at Littleton, Colorado and which has not as
yet reached the bookstands. Copies of both books will be on hand at the
conference. Also planned is the appearance at the Sunday night reception of a
student musical group from Newburgh CSD. They will be the guests of the
Association during the day on Sunday and will then join us for the reception
and dinner.
Conference registrations
went out last week and should be returned as soon a possible. The Otesaga is
a popular summer venue and our experience from last year is that rooms are
sold quickly. The Association has reserved additional rooms this year but we
anticipate them to be taken by mid June. We look forward to seeing many of
the districts there again. Please contact Nancy DePaulo at 518-462-5300,
518-436-0210(fax) or nd@degraff-foy.com
with any questions.
The preliminary results on the May 15th
budget votes in small city school districts show an unusually high percentage
of budgets were approved. With the exception of Amsterdam, Gloversville,
Lockport and Dunkirk, all other reporting districts easily passed budgets. On
a percentage basis, 7% of small city school budgets were defeated, as
compared to 9% of non-city districts. For the first time since 1997 when small
cities were first required to vote on school budgets, small city districts’
defeat rate is lower than the rate for non-cities. From 1997 through 2000,
the small city rate of defeats was twice that for the other voting districts.
The month of May has seen no more
progress in Albany on the 2001-2002 State Budget than the preceding four
months did. Deadlock over the Budget has also caused a general breakdown on
most non-budget legislative issues. And while the Senate has picked up its
pace and is heading for a mid- June adjournment, without meaningful
negotiations on a two or three way basis with the Assembly and Governor, no
real progress can be made.
Several bills of interest to small city
school districts have been reported from committee in the Senate including
the Kuhl-Canestrari constitutional debt ceiling repeal bill, S.4766/A.8680,
which was reported from the Education Committee to the Finance Committee, and
the Larkin-Canestrari special services aid for occupational programs in non-BOCES small city districts, S.2381/A.6005, which was reported to the
Senate Rules Committee. This latter bill was passed last year after the State
Budget and was vetoed for that reason. It affects five districts, Albany,
Amsterdam, Newburgh, Lackawanna and Troy.
Also of significance are regulations and
bills on the new fingerprinting requirement for all new employees, effective
on July 1st. This past week the Education Department published proposed
regulations in the NYS Register which merely reflect the language of the
statute, chapter 180 of the laws of 2000. The regulations specify that the
law applies to those seeking certification on and after July 1st,
2001 except those already possessing a provisional certificate in the same
title. It also applies to all employees appointed by board action on and
after that date. The regulations require the finger printing by a designated
entity and submission of the prints to the Department for a clearance check
by DCJS and the FBI. The cost of the background check ($74) is to be borne by
the applicant. Applicants who are not cleared have the right to an appeal and
a hearing. Senator Saland has introduced legislation that would provide a 90
day grace period during which a prospective employee could be hired pending
clearance. This bill is currently in the Senate Education committee and its
fate has not as yet been made clear.
An article in the May23rd edition of the
New York Times reported on the success the small city district of Mt. Vernon
has had in improving its 4th grade test scores in reading. Scores recently
published showed that the district included three of the state’s most
improved schools, and had nearly doubled the percentage of students passing
the test in 1999. Superintendent Ronald O. Ross gave much of the credit for
these results to the efforts the board made to change the district’s
educational culture. The district eliminated administrative positions and
added coordinators in seven major areas including English-Language Arts. A
curriculum consultant was hired and district wide lessons were developed,
among other things, giving the district greater focus. Assistant principals
were hired to give principals freedom to spend more time in classrooms and
with teaching staff. (The full text of the article is available upon request.
Email Nancy DePaulo, nd@degraff-foy.com).
A recent decision by the Appellate
Division of the State Supreme Court, Third Department, has given districts
some hope that a legal challenge to a charter school can be sustained. An
April decision written by Justice Anthony Carpinello, upheld Roosevelt’s
right to challenge the decision of the SUNY Board to approve the charter of
Children’s Academy Charter School, Inc. under Article 78 of the CPLR. The
district had objected that the charter school would adversely affect funding
for district programs which were already under severe financial pressure.
Justice Carpinello wrote that while the district could not assert a
constitutional claim, it did have standing to raise issue under Article 78,
which permits review of governmental action under an “arbitrary and
capricious” standard, among others. An Article 78 claim presents the district
with a heavy burden, but it may be met in cases where district finances are
in particularly bad shape. The case is the first challenge to the Charter
School Law and will most likely be appealed to the Court of Appeals
Date/Time Location Event
May
31,2001 Offices of
Degraff-Foy Meeting of
12:00-2:30
pm 90 State St.,
Albany Board of Directors
August 12 and 13, 2001
Otesaga Hotel,
Summer Conference
Cooperstown
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