Wellsville Board-of-Education Meeting - 9/14/09

The regular monthly meeting was held at Garfield Elementary this past Monday. All Board member were present. Also in attendance was Superintendent Richard Bereschik, Asst. Supt. Lisa Ferguson, Treasurer Colleen Wickham, former Board member Margery Dysert and 15 high school seniors from Mr. Meek's government class.

For the Treasurer's report Wickham stated that $13 million plus appropriations for the school year has been approved. The district earned $4,900 in interest for August and finished out the month with $2.7 million balance on the books.

School Board President Tom Brophey announced the state school board association is beginning a grass roots network aimed at helping districts deal with the new two year state budget. Reporting for the CC Career & Technical Center Mike Cook announced they did not get awarded the grant for the Convergence School program. He also noted that getting a GED will now cost $55. Previously there was no fee for obtaining an equivalency high school diploma.

For the "Good News Report" on the agenda Bereschik announced that the district has been awarded a two year deal from the American Revitalization & Reinvestment Act. This award pays for a variety of programs and Wellsville will be using it to hire eight new members to assist teaching in the district. Two people will be hired for Garfield, four for the Middle School & two for the High School.

Asst. Supt. & Garfield Principal Lisa Ferguson then took over with an extremely impressive demonstration of Garfield's new Promethian System. As previously reported this system is a computer generated method of interactive teaching. It allows the teacher to use computer programing for all lessons included in the three RRRs, track attendance, and show educational movies. Second grade teacher Darlene Allison and reps from Logical Choice Technologies took us through the paces. It's called a whiteboard system.

Mrs. Allison explained she starts the student's day with having them sign in on the white boards to track attendance. She explained the "surround system" with the speakers located in all four corners of the classroom that eliminates any hearing problems and also helps the teacher to hear student responses. They showed us all the things that can be done with the system with just a touch of the magic magnetic wand or the click of the computer. That includes allowing budding Picassos drawing pictures in different colors. It has hand held "Activotes" that are individually numbered and resemble computer mouses. Each student is assigned a number and the computer keeps track of their responses for anything from classroom discussions and test taking answers. It even tallies up the grading numbers eliminating the need for the teacher to go through a stack of papers. It also eliminates the embarrassment for the student that flubbed an answer or is having trouble. Only the teacher can see what each student is answering.

The new system was installed in all the classrooms at Garfield this year. It is certainly a step into the 21st Century. It's a cost saving and time saving system that frees up time for both students and teachers. Mrs. Allison said her second graders love it. It's the first school in the county to have it and President Brophey said that both Wellsville students, as well as the district tax payers, should be proud of. Bereschik stated the Middle School is scheduled to get the system next year and the High School will be two years from now.

Several resolutions were voted on. The resignation of former Daw Middle School Dave Buzzard was formally accepted "with regret and best wishes." Appropriations for the 2009-2010 school year were approved. New High School Principal Linda Rolley was approved for a $1,000 maximum limit credit card with stipulations it is only to be used for school needs. Each principal in the district have one and the approval was just a formality that had to have the Board's okay. A sliding scale fee for pre-school students above the income guidelines was approved. Participation in the drug abuse resistance education program D.A.R.E. was also passed. State & federal requirements for special education model polices & procedures were adopted. The annual field trip to New York City was approved for band & choir members in grades 9 - 12. Five band volunteers were approved pending receipt of all necessary paperwork. Payment was approved for 22 open enrollment students to four different schools in lieu of providing actual transportation. Parents will be paid a fee to help defray their cost of providing transportation. Contracts were accepted for nine different programs that will be provided by the CC Educational Service Center. It is basically a co-op program that the district shares with others for such things a speech therapy and special needs students that the district can not afford to have a full time staff on hand. An October 9 field trip for third graders to Midland's Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center was given the thumbs up. Also okayed was a field trip for district high school special needs students to Robinson Twp. Mall on December 4. Also improved was an agreement with the CC Health Dept. for Wellsville schools to be used as a point of distribution for any pandemic emergencies. It the need ever arises it will provide the Health Dept. a central distribution point for medications.

Last on the list of resolutions were personnel approvals. John Dalrymple was given the nod to return as Head Baseball Coach and Tom Dalrymple as Assistant Baseball Coach. Gabrielle Burns was named the new Head Softball Coach and Bill McComas the new 7th Grade Basketball Coach. McComas replaces Mike Cook in that position. Pending receipt of all necessary paper work Megan and Matt McComas was approved as vounteer basketball coaches.

Ed Bauer recognized Marge Dysert as being influential for him getting involved with the BOE. Karen Dash noted the Government Class students and encouraged them to come back. Mrs. Meek commended Band Director Jennifer Gooch for all she has done getting the "thrilling" half time show ready for Friday night's game. Tom Brophey advised that until the Swine flu vaccine is available all areas of the district's staff & students are being provided with hand sanitizer and encouraged that they use it often.

Before closing Marge Dysert presented President Tom Brophey with a Tiger mouse pad saying it was in recognition of Tom's long time dedication and work on the Board and his love of the Tigers. Dysert quipped that Brophey was on the board back in the her days and she always appreciated his fairness and thoroughness in anything he did.

The Board went into Executive Session for personnel matters before adjourning. No action was taken after returning. Next meeting is October 12 in the Superintendent's Office in Daw Middle School. Shown above is Mrs. Allison demonstrating the Promethian boards and one of the students answering a quiz on the story of Henry & Mudge and The Starry Night.

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