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Garrison Chooses to Support Most of School Board Association Lobbying Efforts
Court Rules on latest St. Basil and Garrison motions
by Margaret Sternberg
The greater part of the October 10, 2007 meeting of the Garrison Board of Education was devoted to the discussion of and voting on a slate of NYS School Boards Association resolutions that, for the upcoming school year, NYSSBA then lobbies the state government to legislate into law.
Although voting, for the most part, as NYSSBA had recommended, in a departure and acting upon the arguments of Trustee Jim Cannon, the other trustees voted against adoption of a resolution recommending the enabling of school districts to decide student residency notwithstanding judicial determinations previously rendered. The board's residency determination would be able to be appealed to the Commissioner of Education, who would not bee bound by any prior court order.
Cannon noted that because of the ongoing issues with St. Basil Academy, it has been important to the district that court orders be enforced. Cannon briefly recounted points of the litigation, noting that the Commissioner had made decisions that had resulted in significant financial burden to the district as well as the need for the district to get further court clarification. Cannon said the district's position, in order to be consistent, is that court orders have "meaning and value," pointing out that the Commissioner had "admitted" that he had "not been standing on solid legal ground" by vacating his prior orders based upon subsequent court rulings. Cannon said that determinations regarding issues with St. Basil have now all been predicated upon court findings.
Among some of the other resolutions that were adopted was one requesting state aid for the employing of school resource officer, a resolution for the creation of a statewide task force to formulate ways for school districts to contain costs, and a resolution allowing schools to again bill Medicaid for certain medical services for special needs students. The district supported modified testing requirements for students with disabilities, and for full state funding for the writing and scoring of all mandatory state tests for grades 3-8.
In opposition to NYSSBA's recommendation, Garrison supported a resolution to amend NYS Real Property Tax Law to allow only prospective reductions of assessments for taxpayers who commence proceedings contesting their tax assessments on commercial property, rather than reductions of assessment for past tax years, which results in school districts and other taxing entities having to pay refunds to taxpayers.
Garrison also supported a resolution that asked NYSSBA to support the creation of continued financial incentives for public schools. Those incentives include EXCEL grants to install energy conservation measures related to NYS Education Department-approved capital projects, including roofs, HVAC, window replacements and other facility enhancements.
Once resolution voting had been determined, Superintendent Gloria Colucci announced that State Supreme Court Justice George B. Ceresia, Jr. had acted upon requests for declaratory judgments by Garrison and counterclaims by St. Basil.
St. Basil's three claims that the St. Basil's students' rights were violated by Garrison under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act were dismissed. Judge Ceresia ruled that St. Basil had not established authority to sue on the children's behalf. Another claim, involving the recouping by Title I monies by St Basil from Garrison, was dismissed on a technicality involving the timeframe in which the claim was filed. St. Basil's motion to dismiss Garrison's complaint against the State Education Department and the Office of Children's and Family Services was denied. Both offices are still involved in the ongoing litigation.
St. Basil's request for a change of venue from Albany County to Putnam County was granted.
Sal Ferlazzo, attorney for Garrison, said "Obviously we are in full agreement with Judge Ceresia that St. Basil's attempt to seek damages against Garrison had no basis in law or fact." Regarding the change of venue, Ferlazzo said that he was reviewing the issue in order to make certain that the change of venue would not inadvertently remove either the State Education Department or the Office of Children's and Family Service from the litigation. Greg Horowitz, the attorney representing St. Basil, said "We haven't decided what we're going to do" about addressing the findings of the rulings.
In a lengthy discussion arising from a resolution approving a merger with Haldane for girls' softball, baseball and lacrosse, the trustees, led by Trustee Cannon, discussed the merger's ramifications on the two districts. Cannon ultimately recommended that, based upon the expected numbers of participants, caution be exercised before executing mergers.
In other business, the board also gratefully accepted a $1,500 donation from the Philipstown Lacrosse Association for Youth.
Pete Salmonsohn will be returning to continue running the district's School Forest Program, and Eco-kids will be starting upon his return.
The K-12 Alert System is in the process of being installed, and testing of the system is expected to begin in mid-October with faculty. A second phase of testing will occur the first week of November with school parents. The system enables notification to staff and parents or guardians of important announcements or sudden changes in plans through land lines, cell phones and e-mails.
The next meeting of the Garrison Board of Education will be Wednesday, October 24, at 7:30pm.
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