State drops project reimbursement rate

Christmann asks board to consider project

by Kathleen Duff
Grand Island Dispatch, January 8, 2010

“This is not a Grand Island issue. This is a New York state issue,” stated Superintendent of Schools Robert Christmann, as he discussed the state budget with the Grand Island Board of Education at its regular meeting Monday evening. 

A large crowd, composed mostly of Grand Island teachers, packed the Little Theater at Veronica E. Connor Middle School. Christmann elaborated that the State Education Office of Facilities Planning will drop its aid to school building projects on Grand Island by a full 10 percent, making any future improvements reimbursed at only 70 percent, down from 80 percent.

Christmann said, however, that “If a capital project is approved before a change is made … aid is locked in. ... The legislature is going to meet, and there is a short window where this thing (a capital project proposal) can go forward.” Christmann asked the board to consider putting another proposal to public vote before June. The board will further explore the topic at future meetings.

In January, the legislature will continue work on the state budget, which is normally to be completed by April 1 each year. The superintendent said that schools will experience a “significant reduction in revenue.” At the next board meeting, trustees will consider next year’s district expenditures with an eye on what may be coming from Albany. A public forum on the school budget for 2010-11 is scheduled for February.

Updating the board on President Barack Obama’s “Race to the Top” competitive grant for states, Christmann said that a maximum award of $700 million may come to New York state.  Half that amount would go to Title I schools; the balance would “be a combination of aid to local districts.” The grant keys in on states that have standardized student assessment, compile data on growth, reward and retain educators and see a turnaround on low-achieving schools. Christmann said that the district should hear news on the possible award within 60 days following the Jan. 8 deadline.

In other business, the superintendent talked again about the need for more classroom space at Grand Island High School.

“Room use and enrollment are not correlated,” he said. The high school offers many more courses than in the past, he explained, and so, even though total enrollment may not have changed significantly over the years, a high school room usage chart shows a need for more rooms. More information will be made available at the next board meeting.

Enrollment Figures

Christmann also addressed enrollment projections for 2013-14, which show increases at each school except at the middle school. Primary grades will change from 637 students to 679; Kaegebein Elementary School and Huth Road Elementary School drop down, but then come back; Connor Middle School decreases by 50 students; and the high school goes from 1,046 to 1,078. Overall district enrollment will change from its current 3,163 to 3,188. Christmann attributed the projected increases to continued home building on the Island and said that many other Western New York districts project a pattern of lower enrollments.

Good News

As Good News, Karen Grande thanked students and teachers for their participation over the past six years in the “No Sew” blanket program, which has made blankets for more than 300 kids who are oncology patients at Roswell Park Cancer Institute and at Women and Children’s Hospital. The group has also sewn for the People Inc. and Heritage Christian Center group homes on the Island. Grande described the coverings as a “labor of love” and a “symbol of comfort and security” for the children and young adults at these facilities. 

Finally, Tracy Beatty of the Grand Island Teacher’s Association represented the many teachers present at the meeting and once again told the board that the teachers “deserve a contract.” The teachers have been working under an expired contract since August, and as talks between school administration and the teachers have not been going forward, the dispute will go into mediation next week.

The next meeting of the Grand Island Board of Education will take place on Monday, Jan. 25, at 7 p.m. at the Middle School Little Theater. There will be an update on the International Baccalaureate program, the district report card and also a presentation on common start and end times for the high school and middle school.  The public is always encouraged to attend.