Study and change at Sullivan West

By KIMBERLY M. WEYANDT

LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — Classrooms of happy and excited elementary students began their first day of the school year under one roof on Tuesday, September 6, at the Jeffersonville campus of the Sullivan West Central School District.

Parading down the hall single file toward their assembly or sitting side by side at their desks, the children, like their district, will spend this year studying and changing.

At the district’s August 31 school board meeting, few residents were in attendance. The board spent the better part of four hours discussing in great detail many of the items on their agenda.

The meeting began with a motion to authorize Superintendent Alan Derry to study the feasibility of a request made by some of the district’s Delaware County residents. The residents want their children to be released to the Hancock School District.

The board unanimously agreed to authorize the study, which will delve into such factors as transportation and finance. Derry has until December 31 to complete the study, which will then be presented to the board.

“What will be the cost for this study?” asked board member Arthur Norden. Derry replied, “The cost will be my time.”

District resident Malcolm Cross wanted to know why the study would take that long.

“I could probably finish it sooner,” said Derry, “but the more time, the better the job. I don’t have $500,000 I can just take out of the budget.”

Cross questioned the board’s decision to put Derry in charge of the study. “This seems a bit like letting the fox guard the henhouse,” he said.

In other business, the board unanimously voted to authorize Derry to investigate the reinstatement of the merger incentive aid. The district will continue to get the money that it has been promised, but Derry plans to ask the state about the possibility of receiving a greater amount.

The board’s decision to accept the $50,000 grant Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther secured for the district was also approved unanimously. Accepted as it was written in the agenda, the funds will be used for the purpose of financial planning.

Although there was a stipulation that the money could be used in any way that the district desired, Derry stated, “It has been my understanding from the beginning that there would be a person or persons who have an extensive background in mergers and planning that would come in and help us with financial planning.”

Upon the recommendation of Derry, the board passed a motion to create a District Audit Committee to assist in the oversight of an internal audit of the district. The members will be decided at a later date. The committee is required due to the state comptroller’s ongoing external audit of the district.

The board also appointed two foreign language teachers, Ale M. Diagne, who will be paid $44,500, and Nalliely Gomez, who will be paid $42,299, with compensation for a master’s degree and additional credits when documentation is presented. Both teachers were hired for three-year probationary teaching positions from September 1, 2005 to August 31, 2008.

With many thanks and support, the board accepted a letter of resignation from Anthony Rexhouse, the district’s business administrator. Rexhouse, who has been with the district for the last year, lived in Liberty during the week and commuted home to his wife and three kids near Albany on weekends. Rexhouse stated that his resignation is due to his desire to spend more time with his family.

“I just want to be home more,” he said. “It’s a lot easier to bring me back up there than to bring them down here.”

In other news, the board unanimously passed a motion to grant Shaw and Perelson, LLP the authority to defend the district’s legal interests in the matter of Northeast Steele Products, Inc. versus BBL Construction Services, LLC and Sullivan West Central School District.

Taking his turn at the microphone to see that the board followed through with his own freedom of information requests, district resident Noel Van Swol was surprised to find all his requests met.

“If you want action, come to the board meetings,” he said.