Mineola Board of Ed Notebook: Oct. 20

The  held a meeting on Thursday, Oct. 20. Here are some of the things you may have missed.

New Board Goals

• The board unveiled their new goals at the meeting:

Educational:

• To increase the use of assessment data (NWEA) to inform differentiated instruction thereby increasing individual student achievement.

• To continue our growth as professional learning communities focusing on common formative assessments to demonstrate individual student growth.

• Re- engage the community in the District’s Strategic Plan with a specific focus on the quality indicators that define Mineola’s expectations of academic excellence.

• Increase opportunities for participation in science and math research at the elementary and middle school levels

• Facilities: Continue projects that incorporate ‘green’ technologies that over time will decrease our dependency on fossil fuels

• Finance: To continue the district initiative to actualize a five year plan to maintain a stable tax levy while minimizing loss of program

• “The board was finally able to get together and ; we’ve been ,” Board President Christine Napolitano said, adding that she was “very interested” in what the strategic planning committee had to say and what the community would consider the markers of a “qualified school district.”
• The board had been considering the revised goals as part of an overhaul to the district goals and objectives and how best to measure success.
• About 15 parent volunteers are on the strategic planning committee, which reviews the district’s mission, core values and strategic objectives, which were developed in 2003-04 and will consider updating them.
• “What are the expectations for the school district to deliver and how we’re going to measure those,” Superintendent Dr. Michael Nagler explained.
• The group held a meeting on November 10 and will also meet on November 22.
• According to the superintendent a large community forum will be held on December 6 for the community to offer feedback to the steering committee.

Student Club Stipends

• The board approved numerous stipends for student clubs for the year, which were questioned about by Napolitano as to the names and titles of some of the organizations.
• “Part of the problem is we list the clubs that appear in the teacher’s contract by the name that appears in the teacher’s contract,” Dr. Nagler said. The club names have not been changed in 40 years so “there are names in here we don’t use anymore,” he added.
• The district approves the stipend by the contract name in order for a easier to follow accounting trail. Most of the differences are in the areas of music and fine arts. For example, the high school jazz band is listed as the “stage band,” since no jazz ensemble is listed in the contract.
• Dr. Nagler said he is “working diligently” in contract negotiations to reconcile the differences, “including the stipends to make some sense out of why the stipend amount is what it is. I would ask the board not to approve any contract without this being fixed.”
• The superintendent described the current negotiations as “being at an impasse” and is looking to appoint an arbitrator.

Construction Updates

• The district is waiting for state approval on in order to go out to bid, which will takes approximately one month. According to Dr. Nagler the district is “hopeful” that they will award the bid no later than the November 17 meeting. “As soon as we award the contract we expect to break ground,” he said. The timeline for the project is 8 months, but crews will not “break through” from the new structure to the current building before summer.
• Over at , architects are currently pricing the equipment for the and working on issues on knocking down the cinderblock wall “and when they can achieve it,” Dr. Nagler said. “We want to make sure that it’s within budget for what we have planned to do this year.”
• Work on the new softball field at the cow pasture began the week of October 17 with the dumping of a large amount of dirt onto the field, leveling it and address drainage issues.
• Lighting stantions were also installed on the new .

High School Report

• High school student Matthew Morro gave an update on the , saying that students from Mineola will also be making the return trip to Spain this winter.
• “When you see a lot of the parents crying, it really tells you something about the program,” commented Napolitano, who participated in the program in the past. “I think it’s a wonderful experience for the entire family; it’s not just for the student.”
• The high school guidance department also took students on a road trip to Washington, DC, visiting the campuses of Georgetown, Catholic University, College of NJ and Maryland.
• Morro, a senior himself, remarked that after receiving , the Class of 2012 was a “very competitive class” with students achieving in the 90s ranked in the 30-40 range. “It was a really deep class this year, we did really well.”
• October 19 was the first meeting of the Computeers club, where high school students help seniors learn how to use the computer, email, etc.

Other Board News

• An appraiser visited over the Columbus Day weekend to prepare the building to be leased to potential clients. A report was submitted on October 28. Since the district is still paying off the debt on the building, it is . Among the clients which will receive bid packets are BOCES as well as municipalities, which may include Nassau County since it handles schooling for all children younger than four or 5 years of age.
• The board reaffirmed a resolution donating the following items for the : one table, two teacher’s desks, three file cabinets, 44 desks, 40 chairs, one skid of small chairs (approximately 30) and room dividers.