OSWEGO – The Oswego City School District Board of Education met on the evening of December 6, 2022, with Boardmember Pamela Dowd absent.
Beginning with the Public Comment portion of the meeting, Jim Eckman addressed the Board, outlining his opinion that there is a lack of communication and accountability within the district regarding the decision making process that affects athletics.
Board President Dr. Lisa Glidden then asked for a vote to approve the second reading of new District policies. This motion passed unanimously.
Moving to the Superintendent’s report, OCSD Superintendent Dr. Mathis Calvin III addressed the Board and the attendees in the room, beginning by announcing a list of holiday concerts happening throughout the district, and congratulating the students and teachers involved in those events.
Calvin then announced the beginning of discussions with the Board relating to the budget, noting that information would begin to be disseminated at the next Board meeting, scheduled for December 20,2022.
Calvin said that the goals for the budget will be for it to be fiscally sound, flexible, foolproof, flowing, and aligned with the District’s strategic plan. Calvin then asked the Board to review a recent report that he had shared with them, on the rise of Homeschooling across New York State.
The meeting then moved to the discussion of a Building Condition Survey performed by King and King Architects. A detailed list of expenses relating to the upkeep and necessary renovations of each building in the District was displayed, with costs updated since the last presentation.
A total cost for all 13 buildings listed was $199,628,320. According to King and King’s representatives, the next steps would include :
- Finalize building ratings
- Upload Building Condition Surveys to NYSED
- Update the district’s long range plan and begin prioritization
- Review status of maximum cost allowances and building aid opportunities
- Discuss schedule for future work
Boardmember David Crisafulli stated that the presented number was a “big number,” and that he expected this estimate to be reduced.
“I expect that number to drop quite a bit,” Crisafulli said.
The representative stated that the cost presented would represent a “worst case scenario.”
Calvin then discussed his recent participation in the Oswego County Shared Services meeting, noting that an effort is being made to reduce costs and increase efficiency by cooperating with other entities. Calvin said that he would soon share an outline of this meeting with the Board.
All items on the Consent Agenda, Personnel Agenda and Finance Agenda passed unanimously.
Student representative Maura Dempsey announced the annual visitation of the district’s elementary building by high school students, as well as the beginning of winter sporting events; also stating that the OHS Girls Hockey Team had beaten State Champions Clinton for the first time.
The Board then began a discussion of Policy Number 3280: the Use of School Facilities – focusing on the fee schedule. Board President Glidden stated several groups were finding the fees prohibitive to their use of the buildings.
Calvin shared that a discussion had taken place with the OCSD Attorney’s Office, who maintained that because of the need for paid personnel to care and supervise the facilities, a fee must be collected to maintain their use.
“In every case for the most part, there are staff that are going to be needed to open rooms, set up rooms, clean up rooms and spaces, secure those spaces; there’s a cost to it basically,” Calvin said.
The attorney suggested a simplified fee schedule, based upon other similarly sized district’s documents. Board member Dr. James McKenzie stated that he felt that acting as a not-for-profit, the district should not charge any more than the necessary fee to cover the cost of maintenance and supervision.
“This is certainty not about making a profit,” Calvin said.
The Board decided to create a sub-committee to discuss the fee schedule. Also during the meeting McKenzie expressed concern for growing class sizes and suggested future discussion regarding the hiring of additional faculty to adjust for these increases.
The meeting ended with the Board moving to Executive Session to discuss the work performance and history of a staff member, negotiations and legal matters.
All BOE meeting take place the first and third Tuesday of every month, the next meeting to be held on Tuesday, December 20. To view the full agenda, please click here.
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