Watervliet City School District > Board of Education > Meeting Schedule, Agendas and Minutes > Board of Education Meeting: January 9, 2024 

Board of Education Meeting: January 9, 2024 

Watervliet City School District
Watervliet, New York
Board of Education
Regular Meeting
Date: January 9, 2024 
Type of Meeting: Regular Meeting
Meeting Opened: 6:04 p.m.
Where: Watervliet Jr. – Sr. High School
Board Members Present:
President Sheri Senecal (arrived at 6:43 p.m.)
Vice President Mary Beth Whited
Heather Soroka
Brian White
Victoria Donnelly
Superintendent: Dr. Donald Stevens Jr.
Student Council Rep: Jada Green
The meeting opened at 6:04 p.m., with Vice President Whited officiating. 

Public Comment

There were no public comments.  

Presentations/Reports/Comments

2022–2023 Assessment Data Presentation Kelly Webster

A. Superintendent’s Report

Dr. Stevens shared the following:
  • The Governor came to visit last Wednesday.  Thank you all for attending.
    • On the heels of her visit, her office reached out to come back and film students for the introduction video for the State of the State address. They also asked if Nathan, who spoke at the press event, could recite the pledge of allegiance at the event.  Nathan and his parents attended the State of the State.  He did a great job with the pledge and representing Watervliet.
    • Thank you to Mrs. Lance for sharing her validation of the Governor’s remarks at the press event.  Thank you for representing Watervliet, for sharing your thoughts around reading, and for your support.  
    • If you looked around the room at the event, there were so many elected officials at all levels along with lots of regional educational partners.  
    • Thank you to Mr. Emerson for bringing some of our high school students down there to observe.
    • Thank you to Mrs. Webster for keeping me in check during the planning of the event.
  • Welcome back to everyone.  Happy 2024! 
  • Regents exams are coming up for high school students January 23–26.
  • In a few months, the grades 3-8 ELA tests will be coming up, which will be computer-based. We have a lot of preparation to do before those tests.
  • Games scheduled for tonight were cancelled due to competing schools closing early and cancelling events.  They will be rescheduled to tomorrow night. 
  • Friday night is game night at WES.  It’s a great event and a great chance for parents to play games with their children.
  • Thank you to Mrs. Yanni for helping out with observations over the last month.  She thanked us for having her back and gave thanks to the board as well.
  • Mark your calendars for January 30 for Wellness Night.  It will be held in the WJSHS cafeteria and lobby from 5–7 p.m.  It will be a great event!
  • Can we have a brief moment of silence for our 6th grade student who passed away over the Christmas break?  Our deepest condolences to Qwan’s family for their loss.

B. Student Council Report

Jada Green, Student Council Representative, shared the following:
  • Student Council will be meeting with Mr. Whited, Ms. DeMento, and Mr. Tuskey, on January 29 to talk about breakfast and lunches.  It is very nice of them to meet with us, and to get our opinions, and we thank them.
  • On December 21 during 2nd period, we had mentoring again. This is something where students get to have a mentor who is available to help them out, answer questions, and guide them.  Students in grades 7-11 meet with a mentor who is an adult in the building and 12th graders get to mentor students in the 6th grade, all under the supervision of teachers and staff. I have really enjoyed mentoring so far, and I think it is helping kids in all grades. 
  • Last Wednesday, 22 students from the Junior-Senior High School, myself included, had the opportunity to attend an event with the Governor, and shake her hand.  We want to thank Dr. Stevens and Mrs. Webster for inviting us to go to this, and for everything that they did to set the whole thing up.

C. Committee Reports

Audit Committee

Mrs. Whited noted that Mr. Heid sent out a letter to the Audit Committee with the Corrective Action Plan, which is on tonight’s agenda.  The committee did not have any questions on it and everything looked good.

Policy Committee

Mrs. Soroka noted that, on tonight’s agenda, we have the first reading on a revised policy regarding the use of service animals. 
On behalf of Mrs. Senecal, Mrs. Whited asked if there was any further information we should know about the revisions to the policy and the policies that are up for deletion on tonight’s agenda. 
Dr. Stevens noted that the policies that are up for deletion are either redundant or our policy service has determined that they are not needed because they are covered under law.  Nothing is changing on how the district operates, those policies are just not needed.  As far as the service animal policy, it was reviewed by the school’s attorney based on notes from the policy committee.
First Reading of Revised Policy:
Use of Service Animals

Board of Education Discussion

There was no discussion.

Items Requiring Board Action

On a motion by Victoria Donnelly, seconded by Brian White and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the revised probationary appointment of Jeremy Boyd to the position of Hall Monitor, at the Watervliet Jr. – Sr. High School, for a probationary period beginning January 8, 2024 and ending January 7, 2025, at a Step 1 Teacher Aide salary, per contract, as recommended by the Superintendent.
On a motion by Victoria Donnelly, seconded by Brian White and unanimously accepted, the Board accepted the resignation of Carrie Swift-Huntley from the position of Science Teacher at the Watervliet Jr. – Sr. High School, effective January 15, 2024, as recommended by the Superintendent.
On a motion by Victoria Donnelly, seconded by Brian White and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the emergency appointment of Jason Vasquez to the position of Building Substitute Teacher at the Watervliet Elementary School, effective December 18, 2023, at a rate of $125.00 per diem, as recommended by the Superintendent.
On a motion by Victoria Donnelly, seconded by Brian White and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the emergency appointment of Angela Quinonez to the position of Long-Term Substitute ENL Teacher at the Watervliet Jr. – Sr. High School, effective January 2, 2024, at a Step 2 rate per contract, as recommended by the Superintendent.
On a motion by Victoria Donnelly, seconded by Brian White and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the appointment of the following Coach for the 2023– 2024 school year, pending fingerprint clearance and fulfillment of NYSED coaching requirements, at a rate as per contract, unless outlined below, as recommended by the Superintendent:
WATERVLIET JUNIOR-SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Coaching Winter:
  • Girls’ Varsity Wrestling: Jeremy Boyd (50% stipend of $2,487.00)
On a motion by Victoria Donnelly, seconded by Brian White and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the Substitute Registry submitted by BOCES, as recommended by the Superintendent (packets #6 & #7).
On a motion by Victoria Donnelly, seconded by Brian White and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the Corrective Action Plan, prepared and submitted by Keith Heid, Business Manager, in response to the Watervliet City School District’s Independent Audit Report for the period ended June 30, 2023, as recommended by the Superintendent.
On a motion by Victoria Donnelly, seconded by Brian White and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the Internal Claims Auditor Report for the month of December 2023, submitted by Michaeleen Backus, as recommended by the Superintendent.
On a motion by Victoria Donnelly, seconded by Brian White and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the following Treasurer’s Reports for the month of November 2023, submitted by Keith Heid, Business Manager, as recommended by the Superintendent:
  • Schedule of Warrants & Payrolls
  • Revenue Status Report
  • Cash & Investments
  • Appropriation Status Report
On a motion by Victoria Donnelly, seconded by Brian White and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the following payment requests, submitted by Keith Heid, Business Manager, as recommended by the Superintendent:
WATERVLIET 2022 ARPA CAPITAL PROJECT – ADDITIONS & ALTERATIONS
  • CSArch – AE
    Invoice # 6248
    $2,520.00
  • CSArch – CM
    Invoice # 6268
    $6,300.00
  • DLC Electric
    Payment Application # 8
    $93,603.50
    Payment Application # 9
    $12,711.00
  • Duncan & Cahill
    Payment Application # 7
    $44,375.25
WATERVLIET 2020 CAPITAL PROJECT – ADDITIONS & ALTERATIONS
  • AFSCO Fence Supply
    Invoice # 23-29366-1
    $2,150.00
  • CSArch – AE
    Invoice # 6267
    $6,000.00
  • Duncan & Cahill
    Invoice # 122723-1
    $17,169.00
  • Joseph P. Mangione, Inc.
    Invoice # 521054-01
    $7,656.00
  • R.F. Gordon
    Payment Application # 17
    $7,465.60
    Payment Application # 18
    $83,902.32
    Payment Application # 19
    $20,868.85
On a motion by Victoria Donnelly, seconded by Brian White and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the Board of Education Minutes for the meeting held December 12, 2023, submitted by Bernadette L. Boardman, Clerk of the Board, as recommended by the Superintendent.
On a motion by Victoria Donnelly, seconded by Brian White and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the Committee on Special Education’s recommendations for the meetings held November 6, December 1, December 6, December 7, December 8, December 11, December 12, December 13, December 14, December 15, December 18, and December 20, 2024, submitted by Veronica Wilson and Daniele Tetrault, CSE Chairs, as recommended by the Superintendent.
On a motion by Victoria Donnelly, seconded by Brian White and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the Committee on Pre-School Special Education’s recommendations for the meeting held December 6, 2023, submitted by Molly McGrath, CPSE Chair, as recommended by the Superintendent.
On a motion by Victoria Donnelly, seconded by Brian White and unanimously accepted, the Board approved the following Student Teacher request at the Watervliet Elementary School, as outlined below, as recommended by the Superintendent:
  • Name: Andrew Hoffman
    Role: Student Teacher
    Cooperating Teacher(s): Joelle Bird
    Dates: Spring 2024
On a motion by Victoria Donnelly, seconded by Brian White and unanimously accepted, the Board deleted the following policies, as recommended by the Superintendent: 
  • Contingency Budget
  • Budget Transfers
  • Negotiations
  • COBRA – Continuation of Medical Insurance Coverage at Termination of Employment
  • Workers Compensation

Board of Education Discussion

There was no discussion.

Executive Session 

Mrs. Senecal joined the meeting at 6:43 p.m. 
On a motion by Heather Soroka, seconded by Victoria Donnelly and unanimously accepted, the Board entered into Executive Session at 6:43 p.m. to discuss matters related to the employment history of a particular person.

Adjournment

On a motion by Mary Beth Whited, seconded by Sheri Senecal and unanimously accepted, the Board adjourned the meeting at 8:33 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Bernadette L. Boardman
Clerk of the Board