ELDRED, NY — The agenda was replete with personnel changes for the school board to acknowledge. Chief among them was the announced retirement of Virginia Keegan, who came to the district six years ago to serve as elementary school principal and was reassigned during the past school year to the junior-senior high school.

Her position as principal will be filled by Jean Maxson, who had previously aided the district when the vacancy occurred at the high school upon the reassignment of Scott Krebs, now the elementary school principal, to administrative duties. The district will begin a search for a permanent principal in February, with one of the objectives being that the successful candidate will be in place for a number of years.

Keegan received a $50,000 buy-out, which will be paid over two years. The administration could not respond to a request for clarification as to whether this benefit was part of her original contract in time to be included in this article. 

Also accepted were the resignations of elementary teacher Maria Nealon, elementary music teacher Kristina Matorano, and high school special-education teacher Carol Gillespie. The appointments of Joann Burrows-Wood to the position of elementary teacher and Venera Jouraeva to the position of chemistry teacher were approved. 

Superintendent Dr. John Morgano announced that the bus routes had been reworked, which resulted in the elimination of one route. This should lead to a savings of at least $25,000. There will also be fewer late-bus runs from the elementary school, which is expected to save an additional $8,000.

Morgano also stated that the district’s legal counsel and insurance carrier had not raised their fees for the new fiscal year. Further, if the bullying lawsuit, which is currently in appeals, is decided against the district, the district will not be paying out-of-pocket for the claim.

As of the date of the meeting, 249 elementary and 250 junior-senior high school students were scheduled to attend class in the upcoming year. This total of 499 compares with an enrollment figure of 548 at the end of the school year just ended. When asked the reason for the decline, it was pointed out that one factor is that the past school year included the pre-Kindergarten, which is not being held in the upcoming year. There are 26 students registered for Kindergarten, all of whom will be in one class with one teacher and one aide. Should enrollment grow to 30, the class will be split into two, with two teachers and no aide.

Keegan presented the board with a matrix of Regents Exam results compared with classroom grades, highlighting instances where the difference between the classroom grades and Regents results differed by more than five points. Morgano stated that in instances where a significant number of students’ results in a classroom differ greatly, these disparities will need to be investigated. He also said that this information will be posted to the district’s website.

Krebs reported that a playground is being established behind the elementary school with grant funds. This will provide a safer environment for the children, and because it is on a paved pad, it can be used throughout the school year, weather permitting. When asked by a parent whether the security guards at the schools will be armed, Morgano stated that they will not. He repeated a statement he has made in the past that the most effective deterrence occurs when students come forward with information they may have, as had happened recently.

Joanna Dutcher and Stacey Kuhn, newly appointed board members, were sworn in at the beginning of the meeting. They will serve until the next school budget vote in May 2019.