School capital improvement vote is Dec. 12

by Kathy Duff
Grand Island Dispatch, November 17, 2006

This week’s Grand Island School Board meeting covered many different areas of school business. Of continuing concern to the board is the upcoming public vote on the capital improvement referendum, going before the voters on Tuesday, Dec. 12.

Loraine Ingrasci, superintendent of Business and Finance, informed the board that a series of public forums would be held over the next two weeks aimed at telling people what the proposed improvements to district buildings are and how they will be funded.

Ingrasci has emphasized over the past several weeks that the $3.9 million price tag would be covered by New York state building aid (71.5 percent) and by an Excel grant (28.5 percent) with virtually no cost to the taxpayers. Absentee ballots are now available from District Clerk Janet Schuster at the District Office. A schedule of the informational meetings is available in the related story, or by visiting the Grand Island Schools Web site at www.k12.ginet.org.

In other business, Dennis Donovan, head of school food service, reported to the board that his department had “a positive” annual evaluation from the state. Self-supporting, the food service department employs a staff of 33 who serve 1,600 lunches daily and 2,000 daily meals, overall. The state evaluation showed that Grand Island meets established nutritional standards, and “Students say they enjoy the choices,” Donovan stated. He is particularly pleased with the Nutrakids software program he has implemented to track all meal purchases, including the free and reduced lunch program and the 20 percent of students who use the schools’ pre-pay system. Donovan noted that despite all the positives, kitchen equipment across the district is aging and is “something we are going to have to look at (replacing).”

Also covered from the night’s agenda was information on last week’s emergency drill carried out at Kaegebein Elementary. Staff, students and emergency responders all participated in the scenario of an agitated intruder entering the building, confronting staff and wandering freely through the school. Teachers and staffers were informed of and rehearsed in correct response ahead of time. Parents had been notified by letter. Signs were posted on school property that an emergency drill was in progress. The other district buildings also practiced emergency lock-down procedures.

Dr. Karen Karmazin, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said that the drill proved to be “an educational experience for our staff and children.” Staff was debriefed later in a meeting aimed at learning the positives and negatives of the day and at improving future drills and responses.

The next School Board meeting will be held at the Charlotte Sidway School Fitness Center on Monday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. A tour of the building will be conducted at 6:30 p.m.

Public forum schedule

The Grand Island School District will present public forums on the upcoming public referendum regarding the proposed $3.9 million capital improvement project. The objective of these meetings is to provide Grand Island residents with facts regarding what repairs and improvements will be made to school buildings, the cost of the projects and the source of their funding. The schedule of the forums is as follows:

•Grand Island School Board meeting, Monday, Nov. 27, at 7 p.m. at the Charlotte Sidway Fitness Center.

•Tuesday, Nov. 28, Grand Island High School Auditorium, on the hour at 6, 7 and 8 p.m.

•Town of Grand Island Board Meeting, Monday, Dec. 4, at 7:30 p.m. in the Grand Island Town Court Chamber.