Long night ahead?

HUDSON -- The Hudson City School District Board of Education will meet 7 p.m, Monday (tonight) in the John L Edwards Primary School "cafetorium."

On the agenda:

_A belated celebration of School Board Recognition Week (Oct. 19-23). Expect the board to be sugared up and ready to go, thanks to the goodies provided by the JLE PTO.

_Derek Reardon -- the new junior high principal -- will discuss "PBIS" (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports).

_A waiver or partial fee reduction for The Two of Us Productions appears on the list of "old business" -- no doubt related to the company's production of the Adler and Ross classic, "Pajama Game," Nov. 6, 7 and 8 in the intermediate school auditorium.

This is the second time around for Two of Us. The first time, when it was fodder for banter at the Aug. 31 meeting, the board failed to make a decision. From Patricia Abitabile's assertion that approval had the potential to "interfere with district football events," to Jack Mabb's statement that the show would not include "our kids," the deliberations went nowhere. So tonight, two weeks before the performance, the board will once again take up the fee waiver request.

Partners and sponsors of Two of Us include past and present members of the HCSD music faculty, Ed and Christie Sisk, and Andrea Mastrianni. The group is an affiliate of Copake-based Roving Actors Repertory Ensemble.

_In addition to committee reports, the board will be asked to approve the first reading of its "Public Complaints Policy" and the second reading of the "Field Trips, Excursions and International Travel Policy."

_Assistant Superintendent Maria Suttmeier will report on the Professional Learning Communities Book Group and provide an update of the intermediate school's corrective action plan.

_New business will include a discussion of the district's new alumni association and the meeting agenda format.

_Also on the agenda -- the requested approval of multiple contracts for the transportation of various CSE (Committee on Special Education) students, two field-trip requests and the acceptance of various items for use in the stadium concession stand (hot dog roller, gas burner and dough for fried dough). Not to mention five separate resolutions to clarify the district chain of command, a re-do necessitated by the hiring of new administrative personnel.

Poll shows support for charters, merit pay and early childhood education

BLOOMINGTON, IND. -- Touted as a "public permission slip" for the Obama administration's education priorities, a national poll conducted in June by Phi Delta Kappa International in conjunction with the Gallup organization, found support for charter schools, overwhelming concern for the dropout rate and a split on teacher tenure.

Among the findings released Aug. 25:

• Americans' support of charter schools has increased 15 percent during the past five years. But while the 2009 survey found that two out of three people surveyed favored charters, many still do not understand if a charter is a public school, if tuition is charged or if the school selects its own students.
• Nine out of ten surveyed identified the dropout rate as the most pressing problem facing schools today.
• The survey showed strong support for early childhood education.
  > Fifty percent believe that preschool programs should be housed in public schools.
  > Early childhood/preschool education was cited by respondents as a way to offset the dropout rate, but there was a split on starting school early (at age four) and improved academic achievement.
  > Six out of ten surveyed said they would be willing to pay additional taxes to fund preschool programs for families unable to pay.
  > There was overwhelming support for making half-day or full-day kindergarten mandatory for all children.
• Nearly three of every four people surveyed favor merit pay for teachers (Republicans and Democrats, alike). They further believe that "student academic achievement, administrator evaluations and advanced degrees" are the critical criteria to used for awarding merit pay.
• The majority of respondents believe federal stimulus money should be used to (a) retain teachers slated to be laid off; and, (b) to support the lowest performing schools.
  
• Notwithstanding clear support for mandatory annual testing of students in grades 3 through 8, in general an NCLB "fatigue" has set in. Almost half of those surveyed view the federal legislation unfavorably, and only 25 percent believe it has helped the school(s) in their community.
• The view on teacher tenure is split, "depending on how the question is phrased." While respondents disapproved of "lifetime contracts" for teachers, the majority believed "a formal legal review" must be a prerequisite to a teacher firing.
• Seventy-five percent of respondents supported the idea of national standards for teacher certification.
  
• The top two sources of information on schools? The newspaper and school employees.
• The key to moving schools "in the right direction?" Better teachers and more parental support.

The findings were based on telephone interviews conducted with 1,003 adults between June 2 and June 24. PDK and Gallup have conducted an annual survey of the public's attitudes toward the public schools every year since 1969.

Rumor patrol: It's Brenneman and Abitabile

HUDSON -- With less than two weeks before classes resume, Hudson City School District Superintendent John F. Howe seems to have finalized his 2009-10 administrative line-up -- almost.

Multiple sources tell unmuffled that the top job at M.C. Smith Intermediate School will go to Hudson High School Associate Principal Mark Brenneman. In addition, Howe will name HHS alumnus -- and tenured high school math teacher -- Antonio W. "Tiney" Abitabile as his choice for the newly configured associate principal spot for grades 5-8.
[Correction/clarification: This job opening was not "newly configured," as stated. In fact, the opposite is true. This is the same position held by Maria Suttmeier during the 2008-09 school year. However, as it is now envisioned, the new associate principal will be required to split his time between two buildings because grades 5 and 6 remain at the intermediate school, while grades 7 and 8 are now located up the street in the newly expanded high school complex.]

As with all personnel matters, the Board of Education must approve these recommendations, and a vote is expected at the board's regular meeting Monday. However, it may not be the usual pro forma BoE consent -- it is rumored that several members are opposed to the choices put forward by the superintendent and the decision to assign one administrator to duties in two separate buildings.

Brenneman was hired by former Superintendent Fern Aefsky in 2007, as middle school associate principal. According to the district, he hails State College, Pa., and moved to the Albany area in 1998. Brenneman holds degrees from the College of St. Rose and the University at Albany, and is currently "pursuing a doctorate in educational administration."

Abitabile is a 1994 HHS graduate, with a degree from SUNY Cortland (1998). If approved, he will leave a vacancy in the district's academically troubled high school mathematics department.

The appointments of Brenneman and Abitabile -- if confirmed -- could be viewed as a triumph of sorts for the Hudson Teachers Association. In 2007, Brenneman was the union's informal favorite for the middle school top job, only to be overruled by Aefsky, who hired Ryan Groat instead. Abitabile -- an administrative and primary school rookie -- has strong local ties, and he is an unabashed advocate for the hiring of returning HHS graduates, like himself.

The search that led to Howe's recommendation of Brenneman and Abitabile produced a pool of 100 applicants. After a school-based committee reviewed all 100 resumes the field was narrowed to 10; five of the 10 individuals chosen were HCSD insiders. Brenneman and Abitabile were two of the five.

HCSD has been long criticized for its lack of outreach and diversity in hiring. For example, at present fewer than two percent of the district's professional staff positions are held by African Americans, in a community (and serving a student body) that is nearly 30 percent black.

In February 2006, the NYSED Review Team, led by Questar III BOCES District Superintendent James N. Baldwin, found:

There was little evidence the staff reflected the racial or ethnic diversity of the student body or the community generally….

That finding led to the following recommendation:

The district should make a concerted and systematic effort to recruit and hire teachers, support staff and administrators who more adequately reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of the community and can provide minority students with strong role models in the school environment.

The current three-card Monte-like shuffle of building level administrators was largely prompted by the district reconfiguration and two key resignations.

Beginning with the 2009-10 school year, the district will be organized as follows:

• John L. Edwards Elementary School (State St., Hudson) -- grades K-2
• M.C. Smith Intermediate School (Harry Howard Ave., Hudson) -- grades 3-6
• Hudson Junior/Senior High School (Harry Howard Ave., Hudson) -- grades 7-8 (new wing); remainder of the building houses grades 9-12
• The former Greenport Elementary School (Route 66, Greenport) no longer houses elementary students, but remains the site of the district's Alternative Learning Program (ALP) (approximately 50 students)

As a result of the physical changes, administrative personnel were reassigned:

• Maria Suttmeier, the former middle school associate principal, was appointed Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction in July, following the retirement of Amanda Bagnato
• Derek Reardon, the HHS associate principal, was moved to fill the newly created job of junior high school principal
  
• After the dissolution of the middle school, Brenneman was assigned to replace Reardon. At this point, he has been at the high school for less than two months

Two resignations:

• Groat, the middle school principal since 2007, resigned, effective June 30
  
• Tom Baumgartner, longtime principal of Greenport Elementary, was appointed principal of the new intermediate school at the close of the 2008-09 school year; resigned in July to take an elementary spot in the Cairo-Durham Central School District (Greene County). At the time of his resignation, the district was engaged in a search for a new M.C. Smith associate principal.

Two relevant HCSD job postings currently appear on the OLAS (On-line Application System for Educators), a regional BOCES job board for education professionals:

• An "anticipated" opening for a 9-12 associate principal (#HDSV0037343-0056); the posting specified a "job start date" of Sept. 8, and an "application deadline" one day before, on Sept. 7
  
• A second "anticipated" opening, this one for a 9-12 certified mathematics teacher (#HDSN003 7394-0039); that posting similarly specified a "job start date" of Sept. 9, and an "application deadline" of Sept. 8

'Twenty tires, three batteries and a ton of scrap metal'

HUDSON -- "All's well that ends well," as they say.

Months after a formal complaint was filed with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, multiple meetings with district administrators and some good old-fashioned digging, allegations that at least one (if not two) fuel tanks were dumped and buried on public property directly adjacent to the M.C. Smith Intermediate School appear to have been debunked.

George Keeler, the Hudson City School District Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds, told to the Board of Education during its regular meeting Monday in the high school library, that a DEC investigation and excavation of the property -- completed June 7 -- uncovered "20 tires, three batteries and a ton of scrap metal. Nothing else." Keeler said the DEC received the district's full cooperation throughout the process.

The excavation took approximately six and half hours and the resulting hole was 25 feet deep, Keeler said. The total cost? $10,000.

Keeler reported the property in question belonged to the City of Hudson, and city officials were "brought in" on the discussion sometime in December 2008.

The investigation proceeded to excavation after the DEC used sonar in "late May or early June" and the results of the scan gave the agency "reason to believe" there was something there, Keeler said.

Board member Jack Mabb asked if the district would attempt to recoup from the city any portion of the costs incurred for the excavation and removal of material. Superintendent Jack Howe said -- and Keeler concurred -- that may be an option, but there was no immediate plan to do so.

Keeler said that although the lot belonged to the city, the district permitted the dumping. Among the tires and lead batteries the DEC also found tiles from a locker room demolition, and although the tiles themselves were not a problem, the grout/caulking was, Keeler said. "It was an open dump. One of "100,000, probably" countywide, he told the board.

Although formal notification is still pending, Keeler said the DEC has assured him the investigation is now closed.

Just in time for summer vacation

HUDSON -- One of the most notable personnel actions taken by the Hudson City Board of Education Tuesday was to approve vacation day buy backs for district administrators, going back to the 2006-07 school year.

The big winner? Former M.C. Smith Middle School principal Ryan Groat (resigned, effective June 30), who walked away with a check for $15,622.44.

Total amount paid out: $60,692.06

The full list:

• Daniel Barrett (district Business Manager) - $5,401.50
• Thomas Baumgartner (principal) - $8,840.86
• Mark Brenneman (assoc. principal) - $4,769.98
• Barbara Boyce (Director of Student Services) - $2,461.28
• William Clark (admin, technology) - $2,995.92
• Thomas Gavin (principal) - $5,680.20
• Ryan Groat (principal) - $15,622.44
• Terry Harcleroad (admin, technology) - $4,130.70
• John Howe (superintendent) - $2,812.50
• Derek Reardon (assoc. principal) - $3,799.40
• Steven Spicer (principal) - $4,961.88
• Maria Suttmeier - $4,807.24

HCSD Afterschool Program gets fed funds

HUDSON -- Superintendent Jack Howe announced Tuesday, the New York State Education Department has awarded the Hudson City School District Afterschool Program $3.5 million in 21st Century Community Learning Centers Round 5 grant funds.

Under the direction of Kathy Clark, the HCSD afterschool program will receive a total of $733,000 in federal pass-through money each year, for the next five years. The grant term runs from July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2014.

According to Howe, of the 387 applications submitted from programs statewide, only 60 were funded. The award will allow the district to continue to provide and expand its free afterschool program to 400 HCSD students in grades K-12.

Twenty-first Century Community Learning Centers are funded by NCLB Title IV, Part B.

According to NYSED, "This federally funded program supports the creation of community learning centers that operate programs during non-school hours for students, particularly for students who attend high-poverty and low-performing schools, and their families. By providing tutoring and other academic enrichment activities along with a broad array of youth development opportunities that complement their regular academic programs, these centers help students meet state and local student standards in core academic subjects, such as English language arts and math. In addition, literacy and other educational services are offered to families of students participating in the program."

Program note

The Hudson City Board of Education will hold it meetings on the second and fourth Monday of every month this year.

The board changed its schedule to Tuesday nights last year, after Hudson resident Jack Harrell and other city residents pointed out that the school board schedule conflicted with the informal meeting of the Hudson City Common Council (second Monday of the month).

Board member Jack Mabb made the observation Tuesday that neither Harrell or any of the others who suggested the change have attended a school board meeting since the request was made. His board colleagues in agreement, the resolution to move the meetings back to Monday passed unanimously.

Active start to the new year

HUDSON -- The Hudson City School District Board of Education had a busy night, Tuesday.

In a meeting that lasted more than two hours (of which one hour was spent behind closed doors), Emil Meister was elected BoE president, Maria J. Suttmeier was appointed Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Derek Reardon was promoted to fill the newly created junior high school principal job and five new teachers were brought on board -- all in addition to the usual first-of-the year resolutions.

As approximately 20 to 25 people looked on, Clerk of the Board Frieda Van Deusen called the meeting to order in the high school library, and immediately administered the loyalty oath to second term board member Patricia Abitabile, and newcomer Elizabeth Fout.

Van Deusen then opened the floor to nominations for board president. Jeff Otty put Meister's name forward; Peter Meyer seconded. No other names were offered for consideration. A vote was taken -- Fout, Meister, Meyer and Otty voted in support of Meister; Abitabile, Mary Keeler Daly (2008-09 board president) and Jack Mabb voted "no."

Otty was then nominated to serve as vice president by Meyer; Fout seconded. No other names were offered. Fout, Mabb, Meister, Meyer and Otty voted "yes;" Abitabile and Daly voted "no."

After slogging through the list of standard resolutions (but setting aside the appointment of Rhinebeck Architecture and Planning as district architect, at least for the time being) and approving the ubiquitous district policy manual, the subject moved to the creation of the 2009-10 board committees. The resolution specified four -- audit, facilities, board policy and budget -- which were approved, following considerable discussion.

Meyer then put forward a separate resolution to establish curriculum as the fifth board committee. A vigorous conversation took place, during which Superintendent Jack Howe, Fout, Daly and Abitabile all opined that the time was not right for the board to get involved with district curriculum.

"I think it's best to wait," said Howe. "We can revisit this after the [district] reorganization."

"This is too important to put off," Meyer said. "It's the perfect time to do it. It will send a message to the district that the board is serious about curriculum."

In the end the vote to establish the curriculum committee was 4 to 3, with Fout casting what appeared to be a tentative -- and decisive -- "yes" vote. (Meister, Otty, Meyer and Fout voted in the affirmative.)

Thereafter, a convoluted (and at times nonsensical) discussion ensued over the names to be assigned to the district's newly reorganized schools and/or campuses. In the end, the resolution was amended to designate the names assigned (Hudson Junior-Senior High School, M.C Smith Intermediate School and John L. Edwards Primary School) were understood to be "campus" names. A second hand-carried resolution approved the individual "school" names as: Hudson High School, Hudson Junior High School, M.C. Smith Intermediate School and John L. Edwards Primary School.

Patricia Abitabile (left) and Elizabeth Fout (right) take the loyalty oath,
as Superintendent Jack Howe and board board member Peter Meyer look on.
Fout's father and son are pictured in the foreground.

Following executive session, the board returned to approve an extensive personnel agenda, including:

• Established a new, full-time SpEd teacher position at Hudson High School.
• Approved a three-year contract making Suttmeier the district's Assistant Superintendent, replacing Amanda Bagnato, who retired from the district in June. Suttmeier's appointment was made effective July 8, extending through June 30, 2012. She was the associate principal of the former M.C. Smith Middle School. Suttmeier holds permanent SDA (School District Administrator) certification. She will be paid $105,000 during her first year on the job.
• The board retroactively appointed Reardon to the newly created (that night) secondary principal spot at the new junior high school, for a three-year probationary period, ending June 30, 2012. Reardon was the associate principal at HHS and holds provisional SAS (School Administrator/Supervisor) certification. He will be paid an annual salary of $95.000.
  

Instructional employees hired:

• Shawn Briscoe (Physical Education, JLE)/initial certification/$40,652.00
• Meghan Connors (Technology, HJHS)/pending certification/$41,184.00
• Jennifer Hunter-Ment (SpEd, JLE)/initial certification/$42,152.00 (.6 time, pro-rated)
• Andrew Millar (Elementary, HIS)/initial certification/$40,652.00
• Stacey Rattner (Library Media Specialist, HIS)/initial certification/$44,474.00

Instructional "temporary" appointments
(Regents review teachers -- 10 days, two hours per day, $42/hour)

• Theresa Cipollari
• Justin Cukerstein
• Shannon Factor
• Emily Goldstein
• Robert LaCasse
• Lynn Lee
• Kim Lockman
• Linda Mackerer
• Sally Narramore
• Andrew Ohrin
• Lucy Rees

Extra curricular sports appointments:

• Kevin Bowes (Interscholastic Sports Coordinator, i.e., Athletic Director)/$5,456.00 (Replaces Jeanine Millar)
  
• John Davi (Boys' JV Football Coach)/$3,493.00
• Michael Hall (Boys' Varsity Basketball)/$4,362.00
• Mary Hunter (Boys' JV Volleyball)/$3,271.00
• Jade Graziano (Volunteer Cheerleading)
• Jacqueline Walker (Volunteer Cheerleading)
  

Another grim test result story

HUDSON -- Rumors have been swirling during the past three weeks about the performance of Hudson City School District students on the Math B Regents exams conducted in June (one insider called it a "bloodbath"). According to reports (and confirmed by Superintendent Jack Howe at the June 30 Board of Education meeting) only 12 percent of the students who sat for the exam passed -- a stunning 78 percent failure rate.
[CORRECTION: Should read: " ... only 22 percent of the students who sat for the exam passed ..." Apologies for the typo.]

Students who took the geometry exam fared slightly better with a 49 percent passage rate.

A student must pass the Math B Regents to receive an advanced Regents diploma upon graduation. The exam will be offered again in mid-August.

District students have performed inconsistently or below standards in secondary math for a number of years. Hudson High School was identified as a School in Need of Improvement in secondary math by the New York State Education Department in 2007, but students subsequently made sufficient progress for the school to be removed from the list in 2009. The district is currently without a complete, fully integrated math curriculum.

Don't look now but it's already 'next year'

HUDSON -- The Hudson City School District Board of Education annual reorganizational meeting will take place 7 p.m., Tuesday in the library at Hudson High School.

First on the agenda: Swearing in of board members Patricia Abitabile (second term) and Elizabeth Fout (first term). The election of the BoE president will immediately follow. Mary Keeler Daly headed the board during the 2008-09 school year. Emil Meister, retired HCSD teacher, who is about to begin the second year of a five-year term, is rumored to be interested in the top spot this time around.

The district reorganization will take effect during the 2009-10 school year and the board will officially re-name the district's three schools, Tuesday night:

1. Hudson Junior-Senior High School
2. M.C. Smith Intermediate School
3. John L. Edwards Primary School

On the agenda:

• Creation of a new junior high school principal position
• Selection of the "official depositories" (Bank of Greene County, Banknorth TD, etc.
• Date and times of the BoE meetings for the 2009-10 school year
• Board authorization allowing Superintendent John F. Howe to (a) certify payroll and per diem employees (b) approve attendance at professional conferences; (c) approve budget transfers with board approval; (d) sign contracts with board approval; and, (e) to apply for grants in aid (state and federal).
• Adoption of non-resident tuition rates: GenEd K-6 ($6,684); GenEd 7-12 ($5,561); SpEd K-6 ($16,298); SpEd 7-12 ($15,175).
• Appointment of legal counsel (Rapport Meyers, $190/hour; Donaghue, Thomas Auslander & Drohan, $200/hour)
• Appointment of school architect (Rhinebeck Architecture & Planning, fee schedule undisclosed)
• Appointment of Hasmukh C. Harde, M.D., as school physician ($20,000)
• A variety of other administrative appointments and assignments

(Nothing appears on the agenda to indicate the board will be asked to approve any sort of agreement with Question III BOCES to use its Communications Coordinator Service.)