By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
On May 19, the Cazenovia Central School District (CCSD) Board of Education held its regular monthly meeting over Zoom.
During the meeting, the board voted to approve a proposed 2020-2021 school budget to expend $31,052,000 as general fund appropriations for the school year and to levy the necessary tax.
“This is an expenditure limit,” explained Superintendent Matthew Reilly. “It is not what we have to spend, but it gives us the opportunity to spend up to that much, dependent upon what we see in terms of revenues . . . Just as the New York State budget at this point has a degree of flexibility, I think this budget likewise has a degree of flexibility.”
Residents will also vote on the purchase of three school buses at an estimated cost not to exceed $304,738, including necessary furnishings, fixtures and equipment, and all other incidental costs.
Additionally, residents will vote to authorize the board to levy the necessary tax for the support of the New Woodstock Free Library in the amount of $171,213 and the Cazenovia Public Library in the amount of $426,688, for a total of $597,901.
“The bus purchase is consistent with our bus replacement plan that we put into place approximately four or five years ago,” said Assistant Superintendent Thomas Finnerty. “Once again, the library budgets are not school district money; we are just a mechanism and we collect taxes on behalf of the public libraries that is strictly their funding.”
Finnerty added that the buses slated for replacement are around 8-10 years old.
Reilly informed the board that he asked Transportation Supervisor Karen Cowherd to investigate the possibility of buses transporting students in two trips rather than a single trip to allow for better social distancing.
The superintendent noted that “double tripping” would dramatically increase the number of miles put on the buses.
“This is not a pronouncement that we are going to double-tripping, but we are looking at different possibilities of keeping kids safe,” Reilly said.
A budget hearing will be held June 2 to allow members of the public to ask questions and receive information about the proposed budget and the school board election.
Two seats on the board are up for election.
All four candidates — Incumbent BOE President Dr. Jan Woodworth, Dara Harper, Meghan Kelly and Stefanie Lints — will respond to a question from the superintendent at 6 p.m. on June 2, prior to the 2020-2021 budget hearing.
In other news
Reilly said the district is hoping to hold some sort of in-person graduation ceremony.
“Though it won’t look the same as it always looks, I think we can still make it a special event if that is what we ultimately [are allowed to] do,” Reilly said. “We are guided by what is legal, guided by what is safe, [and most importantly] guided by what is the right thing to do for kids . . .”
The district will be surveying students, parents and teachers about the remote learning experience to help drive future professional development and to compare some of the perceptions about the experience, including those related to time-on-task, student engagement, and effectiveness.
“We are really looking to improve our use of instructional technology,” Reilly said. “We recognize that this tool is something that is here to stay, whether or not we go through any closures in the future . . . [This experience has] really demystified for everyone the potential of technology . . . I think it is going to be a great tool for learning and a great tool for communication. I think we are best off surveying people to understand what we have gotten right, where we can get better . . . [We will be] looking at the holes in our approach and trying to fill them between now and September.”
The board approved a resolution to adopt a revised 2019-2020 school calendar.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the last day of student instruction will be Friday, June 12 and the last day of the work year for 10-month instructional staff will be Monday, June 15.
