Bronxville School Board: Budget hearing, custodial bid approved

Here is a rundown of some of the topics discussed at Thursday night's Bronxville Board of Education meeting:

Budget Hearing

Dan Carlin, Assistant Superintendent for Business, went through the 2010-2011 school budget, which was adopted by the Board at the April 12 meeting and will be voted on by the public on May 18, as required by the state.

The Board-adopted budget for 2010-2011 is $43,496,615, with a tax levy decrease of –1.1% and a budget-to-budget decrease of –1.4% from last year. Carlin highlighted the fact that this is the first time in recent history there has been a tax levy decrease.  

"By anyone's measure county-wide, those are in the lowest top-two, if not the top in the county in year-to-year changes," he said. 

Carlin also gave an overview of what may happen with the 2011-2012 budget.

"We're very worried about next year's budget, with all the issues that are going on with the State Education department," he said, "But we still don't have a budget for the current year, so we're working on best guesses.

Potential expenditure increases for next year could include state aid reductions and health insurance escalations, according to slides shown by Carlin.

"It's important we came through this year in a strong financial position," he said.

Evacuation Incident

Superintendent David Quattrone explained to Board members the details of the evacuation that happened at the school on Wednesday. 

He thanked everyone who helped with the situation and said there will be an after accident review.

The incident occurred on a day where AP testing was being done, but students were able to complete section 2 of the exam. However, they do have the option to repeat the section on May 20, the alternate exam date, if they want.

Three granted tenure

The Board granted tenure to Timothy Horgan, a special education teacher in the High School, along with Billie Jo D'Ambrosio and Kathryn Devine, both teacher assistants.

Quattrone commented on Horgan's ability to establish very positive and caring relationships with students, as well as his "strength and versatility to handle many aspects of the high school curriculum."

Tenure recommendations for the three were supposed to have been done at last month's meeting, however they all had certifications issues that needed to be brought up to date, said Quattrone.

Custodial/Cleaning Bid Approved

The Board approved granting Yonkers-based A&A Maintenance Enterprise, Inc. the bid for professional custodial/cleaning services for next year.

"This will provide the bulk of our cleaning services for the 2010-2011 fiscal year," said Carlin. The contract is for one year and the total came to $455,412.

The company has been cleaning both Dobbs Ferry and Ardsley schools for about the past 10 and 20 years, respectively, Carlin told the Board.

Members of the administration went to visit both the Dobbs Ferry and Ardsley sites, as well as the company's headquarters in Yonkers.

In response to concern over the safety of personal items, which was brought up by members of the staff and public at previous meetings, Carlin assured the Board that the company said they understand what's involved in working in school and know how to deal with those issues. 

"There were no issues of anything to report in either district in which they're currently working," he said.

The company would be willing to interview current staff members, although it is up to them to make the final hires, the Board was told. 

During the public discussion period of the meeting, concerns were voiced over the decision.

David Katz, president of the Bronxville Teachers Association, said there was, "Tremendous concern for the people that we love and trust and for ourselves and our students and the security of our building."

"At this point, there is a lot of sadness, a lot of sadness in the Bronxville School about this decision," he told the Board. 

Farewell to Board Member

Since she will be unable to attend the June Board of Education meeting, members said goodbye to Trustee Linda Frankenbach, who's 3-year-term ends this year.

She called it an honor and a privilege and that she will miss being part of this Board of Education.

"I also leave knowing there is much left to do," Frankenbach said, continuing, "But I know when I leave, I leave this work to a team of terrific doers. And I feel certain that our administration and board and faculty will continue to ensure that our school is nothing but the best."

There will be a special Board of Education meeting after the May 18 budget vote, and the next regular meeting will take place on June 17.