School Board focuses on upcoming vote

by Kathy Duff
Grand Island Dispatch, December 1, 2006

Concerns attended to by the Grand Island School Board on Monday included the upcoming public vote on the buildings renovation project referendum on Dec. 12, the 2007-08 budget and a possible new literacy program for primary grades called “Reading Recovery.”

Board members and a small audience listened to Loraine Ingrasci, assistant superintendent for Business and Finance, as she talked through a PowerPoint presentation, explaining how the $2.8 million in state building aid and $1.1 million in Excel (Expanding Our Children’s Education and Learning) grant monies would be spent throughout the district. Her presentation was one of several given to the public recently with the intent of swinging the Dec. 12 vote to an overwhelming “yes.” Ingrasci once again emphasized that the public vote is not a “yea” or “nay” on a tax increase but, rather, a simple approval necessary for the state to give the aid to Grand Island.

The most critical renovations are middle school roof replacement and masonry re-pointing and restoration work at both the middle and high schools. The estimated price tag for these and several other health, safety and maintenance issues at these two buildings alone is $2,377,781. The other four district buildings, including the transportation center on Baseline Road, are badly in need of upgraded telephone systems, emergency generators and direct digital controls for the heating systems, the district said.

A complete outline of the proposed projects and their costs is available on the district’s Web site at www.k12.ginet.org. The next public information meeting will be given at the Grand Island Town Board meeting, Monday, Dec. 4, at 8 p.m. in the Grand Island Town Court Room.

Ingrasci also informed the board that a newsletter about the proposed 2007-08 school budget would soon be mailed to Grand Island households. She said to expect budget increases in the usual areas of teacher salaries, health insurance, fuel and energy costs, special education tuition and aid to charter schools. The board typically works at length each year with administrators in getting the budget to serve the needs to the student population and to be at an acceptable and passable level in the eyes of Grand Island taxpayers. This past spring the 2006-27 budget passed by a narrow margin of 66 votes.

In other business, the board voted to accept a $4,000 anonymous donation to Huth Road Elementary. The money is to be used for two field trips per year for each grade.

Also, Dr. Karen Karmazin, asssistant superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, reported that “teachers are very happy” with the new report card software they are using. District technology specialist Molly Talty walked teachers through their training on the new system.

In program news, Charlotte Sidway Principal Denise Dunbar spoke to the board about “Reading Recovery,” an early literacy intervention program aimed at helping first-graders identified as being “at risk” for long-term problems with reading. Dunbar spent seven years in the district she previously worked in as a Reading Recovery teacher and describes the program as being “dear to her heart” because of the effectiveness of the 12-20 week intervention.

Dunbar showed a DVD on the intensive, one-on-one program from New Zealand which, while not a replacement for “good classroom teaching,” claims to have helped 1 million since 1984. Teachers receive year-long training and concentrate on the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, reading fluency, word awareness and comprehension.

Dunbar stated that many Western New York districts already use Reading Recovery and that funds from BOCES could possibly be used to fund books, training and salary needed for the program. Orleans/Niagara BOCES has a training classroom available. The district’s grant writer is going to investigate other ways to gather monies for the program.

Finally, in the Voice of the People portion of the agenda, Mike Rayhill of the not-for-profit Viking Boosters Stadium Association addressed the board about the group’s efforts to raise funds for improved athletic fields. Efforts will be directed at providing a “safe and consistent” playing surface with better lighting and improved grandstand seating.

The next Board of Education meeting will be held on Monday, Dec. 11, at 7 pm. at Kaegebein Elementary.