ELDRED, NY — Superintendent Dr. John Morgano commenced the business aspect of the Eldred board meeting by noting the change in administration at the two Eldred schools. Virginia Keegan has assumed the principal’s role at the Eldred Junior/Senior High School, while Scott Krebs has been installed as principal at the George Ross Mackenzie Elementary School. Morgano stated that he has full faith and confidence in Keegan and Krebs both as principals and as Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) coordinators. DASA coordinators are responsible for handling bullying incidents.

Prior to his current assignment, Krebs had been reassigned from his former position as high school principal to perform various administrative duties including grant writing for the district. He reported on several grants that had been secured in the past.

After the regular reports had been given, board president Carol Bliefernich stated that the public comment period was the time for the board to communicate to the best of their ability with the public and to hear the public’s concerns.

When asked about Krebs’ success in securing new cash for the district through grants by a member of the public, Bliefernich responded that “the board has no issues with the work that was done.” 

She also lauded the job done in securing grants by former superintendent Robert Dufour. During a second public comment session a resident stated, while making a plea for reinstatement of the pre-Kindergarten program, that the district had in the past only pursued grants for a half-day program while running a full-day program, which resulted in a loss of grant money available to the district of about $60,000 annually for the past few years.

As they worked through the agenda, Board Member Allyson Wagner asked that four items be subject to further discussion. Bliefernich stated that this would only occur if the request was made in the form of a motion, which Wagner proposed. Two items involved compensation to be granted to two individuals who were assigned additional responsibilities. Wagner contended that the compensation might be better applied to programs that would directly benefit students. The other items involved the principals’ appointments as DASA coordinators. None of the other board members would second the motion, so no further discussion was allowed on those items. The vote was then taken on the four items. Bliefernich, Amador Laput and Linda Bohs voted affirmatively and Wagner emphatically voted “no.” Brian Siegel was not present at the meeting.

During the comment period that followed this vote, student government president Kim Gonzalez pointed out the inconsistency in allowing discussion from meeting to meeting. She noted that in past meetings, the board freely engaged in discussion, but in this instance it had been shut down. Her comment was acknowledged but not responded to.

District Treasurer Caleb Russell gave an update on the 2018-19 budget preparation. A 3.04% tax increase is incorporated into the budget as well as the $836,000 decrease in costs resulting from the eliminations in sports and other programs and positions announced the preceding month. These decreases are offset by about $500,000 in other expenses, primarily for salaries and benefits, so overall expenditures will only decrease by $300,000. Russell stated that the projected 2018-19 tax burden and expenditures were similar to those of the 2010-11 school year. He acknowledged that currently there are fewer residents sharing the tax burden. Student enrollment has declined by approximately 15% during this time period and is currently about 580. 

The public will have an opportunity to hear from the candidates for the school board on May 3 at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will take place at the high school, after which the board will vote on the budget.

The public vote on the budget and for the board candidates will be on Tuesday, May 15 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the high school.