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Six Surveillance Cameras Authorized for Haldane Campus
Sale of Hill West property seems imminent
by Isabel Lopatin
The Haldane Board of Education officially started its May 17 meeting at 7 am by opening the polls to voters, but the business meeting began at 7 pm, and the agenda was completed in record time, in time to hear the results of the district voting, which passed the proposed 05-06 budget by the narrowest of margins.
The sale of Hill West, which was on the new business agenda, seems imminent. The district’s attorney has advised that two issues need to be discussed pertaining to the possible sale of the property, how the sale would be conducted and whether the entire property is to be sold as one parcel.
The sale can be conducted through a broker with an open bidding process, or by sealed bids. Trustee Curto thought the sale could be made with neither, the board could negotiate with and qualify bidders. Trustee Wallin said that the board should have an idea of how the buyer would use the property, because there are some things that should not be placed next to the school. The Board tabled the discussion because Wallin wanted to have an executive session to discuss another real estate matter that would presumably affect the sale of Hill West.
The most extensive discussion of individual topics, school nurse policy and surveillance cameras, came after the agenda was completed.
During the discussion of expenditures for safety and security items, Trustee Junjulas recounted the plan to purchase a video monitor system with the potential to have a total of eight cameras, but only have six installed, two external and four internal. Board President Mattessino again objected to relying on internal cameras to monitor the entrances and halls. She said that she visits schools for her job every day, and is always immediately stopped when she enters buildings. She emphasized that although she is not against the cameras, they do not stop intruders, while human monitors do. She also thought that a better distribution of the cameras would be four outside and two inside. Again, the deterrence factor was brought up, as well as having a recording that could be consulted, and again, no policy was made. Trustee Marino thought that a security consultant should meet with the Safety and Security Committee. Operations Director Mark Brigham responded that this was done a year and a half ago, and the existing plan for cameras was his recommendation. Mr. Junjulas said that lobbies and cafeteria doors are the biggest concern, and that all outside doors that are not lobby doors should be locked. Trustee Curto made a quick calculation of what the cost of having two staff monitors would be, and came up with $45,000. Principal Irvin pointed out that this would not help with after-hours issues, and there was general concurrence that both monitors and cameras would be helpful. Mr. Brigham said that installation of the cameras was not the end of the process of providing good security, but was a step in that direction. In the end, the board agreed that the cameras should be purchased and installed, and that the hiring of human monitors should be a goal for next year.
Trustee Wallin inquired about the school nurse policy, and Principal Davis informed him that although the state does not require that a district have a nurse on duty all the time, it is Haldane’s policy to do so. When Nurse Zgolinski is not on campus two staff members who are trained to handle medical emergencies provide backup. Dr. Di Natale suggested that a substitute nurse be recruited so that there is always a nurse on campus.
Most new business agenda items were approved. Among these were the establishment of the Fred Faust Spirit Award, approval of Project Lead The Way for the 2006-2007 Middle School technology program, funding of finance training for board members, and the purchase of the modular classrooms.
Fred Faust was a community member who died recently, and his friends would like to establish a spirit award in his name to be given at commencement, beginning this June. Board President Mattessino commented that Mr. Faust was an extremely involved parent who was a strong supporter of the school and its sports teams, even throughout his illness, and it is appropriate that there be a spirit award in his honor.
The board authorized Di Natale to enter into agreement to acquire "Project Lead The Way" for the Middle School technology curriculum, beginning with the 2006-07 school year. The Haldane School Foundation will be giving $5,000 to support the implementation.
Gloria Branigan of the Putnam County Retired Teachers Association presented two Awards to Outstanding Haldane Students attending BOCES. Kelly Hopper, who studied business and computer technology, was noted for participating in community service as well as for her ability to get along with people of diverse backgrounds. Kelly has been accepted at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan, where she will study art or photography. John Jatnieks, an automotive student, was lauded for his hard work, many successes, positive attitude and easy-going nature. Teacher Irene Petrillo’s efforts in helping these students toward their achievements was recognized as well. Principal Irvin commented that Ms. Hopper and Mr. Jatnieks would have done fine at Haldane, but had realized that something better for them was offered at BOCES. He said that switching programs was a difficult decision to make and that they were to be commended for it.
Various school officials delivered reports. Superintendent Di Natale reported that Haldane High School was ranked 570 out of 1,000 American high schools by US News and World Report. He also mentioned that no Haldane student scored in the lowest level of the English Language Arts test that were administered to 4th and 8th graders tests. This means that no extra money need be spent on tutoring low-scoring individuals.
Mark Brigham stated that the new building was still on target and within budget, and he is preparing for the move. School Business Official Mary Cronin reported that the Haldane Endowment Trust currently has $529,573 in funds, but this will soon be depleted to $154,000 by the allocations for the 2005-2006 school budget, the safety and security budget, and the technology and maintenance budget.
The next meeting of the Haldane Board of Education will take place at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, June 7 in the school cafeteria.
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