BERNE — On Monday night, the Berne-Knox-Westerlo Board of Education went over a number of topics touching on learning outside of the traditional classroom, including college-in-the-high school courses, distance learning, and Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.

Superintendent Timothy Mundell said at Monday night’s meeting that policies and budgets at both the state and federal levels could affect the district. He noted that Governor Andrew Cuomo in his State of the State address had brought up initiatives related to pre-kindergarten, after-school programs, school lunch programs, nutrition in the school, and college-in-the-high-school programs.

“Do you think he’s watching us?” asked board member Nathan Elble. “That’s all the stuff we’ve been talking about.”

Budget background

However, with BKW’s Budget Advisory Committee meeting on Tuesday and preparation for next year’s budget already underway, Mundell said that the economic policies at the state and federal level would need to be watched. The removal of state and local tax deductions under the new federal tax law would likely affect the state’s budget structure, although the governor had not mentioned cuts to public education, Mundell said.

He said state aid for BKW’s upcoming capital project was already set and could not be changed, but that Foundation Aid, which helps pay for day-to-day school operations, could be affected.

But Mundell noted that the district has currently seen only a half-of-a-percent increase in the tax levy and a budget increase of only $300,000 over three years, an assurance that the budget would be healthy in times of economic uncertainty. He added that the district has also been adding new programs for students rather than taking programs away.

“We moved money from one line to another,” he explained.

Board member Helen Lounsbury asked Mundell if new staff would need to be added when looking at new programs. Mundell said that, with the exception of an agricultural science teacher who had the necessary certification, the district has used their available faculty when staffing programs.

Mundell also noted that, in the midst of changes at the state level, the district now qualifies for a grant for which it originally could not apply. BKW had initially intended to apply for a college-in-the-high-school grant but it was discovered the district could not qualify.

College in high school

Mundell said that the superintendent of the Board of Cooperative Educational Services, Anita Murphy, worked with the State Education Department to have the rules pertaining to the grant changed and to extend the deadline. BKW applied together with other Schoharie-area school districts — Schoharie, Jefferson, Sharon Springs, Cobleskill, and Middleburgh — for the grant. He said he signed off on the application with the other district superintendents last Friday.

Mundell also said that, should the grant be awarded, the districts can offer college-level courses, with the potential that students can graduate with up to two years’ worth of college credits. He said that that BKW will partner with the State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill and have students travel to the campus. So far, he said, BKW has found five interested students.

Distance learning

The board also approved new distance learning classes, which could offer students the chance to be taught a subject via webcam.

The course offerings include advertising, anatomy and physiology, business law, accounting, housing and interior design, journalism, marketing, and American Sign Language. Some courses will be sponsored through the University in the High School program by Hudson Valley Community College, others by the State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill, and potentially others by the Sage Colleges.

Secondary school Principal Mark Pitterson said that the courses were chosen after determining what worked with the neighboring districts and course schedules, as well as seeking courses that BKW cannot offer. The courses, which will be offered during the 2018-19 school year, are not all guaranteed, however. Pitterson said what will be offered to the district will depend on the results of a lottery system.

“These are just courses out there that we’re trying to get,” he said.

Board president Matthew Tedeschi, who is a partner in an insurance agency, said he was excited to see business courses being offered.

JROTC

Though it was not on the agenda, half-a-dozen people in the gallery spoke about the proposed JROTC program. Dennis Palow, a Berne Town Board member and retired Army first sergeant, had presented the program to the school board in November. It would initially be unfunded, Palow said, and cost the school around $66,000 a year, part of which would fund his salary as an instructor, for three years before the federal government would fund about half the cost of the program, which at that point would include a second instructor.

Palow had spoken to students about the program and said he had collected 32 interested signatures. To gauge parent interest, Pitterson had sent home a form with the second-quarter progress reports for parents to return, asking whether they were interested in JROTC at the school, but only two were returned.

Amie Burnside, a Westerlo town councilwoman, spoke Monday on behalf of her son, Trevor Burnside, who she said was interested in joining an ROTC program in college or a military academy in order to fund his education.

“‘I see JROTC as a unique opportunity for the school,’” she said, reading from what her son had written to present to the board. Burnside said that their family currently can’t afford to pay for their son’s education, and that they hope an ROTC program can help with that. New York State currently allows students up to a certain income level to attend a state university tuition-free.

Burnside’s concern, she said, was that she discovered that only two forms had been returned. Parents, she said, should understand that the program offers leadership opportunities and a chance to change their lives.

Palow spoke after Burnside, commenting on what had been discussed at the last board meeting and referencing — though he did not say his name — comments made by Martin Szinger, who had said that there were other programs students could participate in and countless other options to spend the money on. Palow defended the program, saying he had found 32 interested students and that the program has been around for over a century and has been established around the world.

He said that the federal government paying for half of the two instructors’ pay if the program is eventually certified would be like getting two instructors for the price of one.

Palow also said that Burnside had reached out to him about the lack of returned forms, and said that they had determined that many parents didn’t realize that the forms needed to be returned. Speaking from the gallery later in the meeting, Sharon Nasner said that it was because many didn’t have enough information on the program to make a decision.

Palow added that Burnside’s son has excellent grades, but being in JROTC could help him get into a desired Navy or Air Force ROTC program.

Richard Ronconi, a resident of Berne, spoke next. As a veteran, he said that he was opposed to the JROTC program. The amount to go into the program for the three years before the federal government would subsidize it could pay for another teacher’s salary, he said. He added that the funds would be a loss if the program is unsuccessful and doesn’t secure funding.

“If students want to join ROTC after they get out of high school, that’s fine … ,” he said. “I don’t think we should be recruiting them in high school for that.”

Ronconi said that he felt Palow’s gauging student interest and being a beneficiary if the program is implemented is a conflict of interest. He also objected to the district not having control of the curriculum and instead having it be arranged by someone not state-certified to teach. Palow has said that he is certified to teach JROTC, and was an instructor at both a high school and colleges.

“It is definitely a recruitment tool … ,” Ronconi concluded. “I spent 30 years in the neighboring district dealing with recruiters.”

William Keal, another Berne resident who had most recently unsuccessfully campaigned to be the Berne town clerk on the same Republican ticket as Palow, said he was in support of JROTC. A Navy veteran, he compared the program to the Future Farmers of America.

“There are different strokes for different folks,” he said. “Not everyone can be a farmer.” He added that not everyone wants to be in the military either, but those who are or who want to join need support. He added that, when he was in the Navy, he was given structure in his life.

“If it is a recruitment tool, so be it,” he said. “I think it is a good recruitment tool to have.”

He added, in jest, that he only wished it was Navy JROTC, “Because the Navy’s better than the Army.”

Both John Valachovic, a scoutmaster, and Andrew Wright, a teacher at BKW, said the program does not necessarily mean a career in the military. Valachovic’s son Jake said he was interested in being in the military, while his son Luke said he was not, but wanted to be in a program that focused on leadership. Jake, a junior, said that he didn’t want to miss the opportunity that would be offered to him only in his final year at BKW.

Wright said that he was fortunate to participate in the Naval Sea Cadet program at BKW, as did his brother, who later joined the military. Wright said that he still benefited from learning about discipline and leadership in the program even though he pursued a different career.

“That’s a choice they have,” he said.

Keal, Palow, Valachovic, Wright, and Burnside all received loud applause from the audience. Ronconi also received applause, though it was scattered.

Lounsbury suggested that, with the number of comments on the subject, the board hold some type of public forum. Tedeschi said that it was too early in the process to do so. When Lounsbury asked when it could be discussed, Mundell said that a decision would have to be made before the district budget and class schedules for next year are completed.

Mundell, who had said he would be meeting with the Schoharie Valley superintendents board to discuss sharing costs of a joint JROTC program, said he would be reviewing the outcome of the meeting with the board soon.

Speaking from the gallery later in the meeting, Ed Ackroyd, a veteran active in many veterans’ organizations, suggested the school speak with the Albany High School students Palow taught as an instructor for that district’s JROTC program.

Pitterson later warned the board that the decision-making couldn’t go much further than February before schedules for next year had to be made.

Corrected on Jan. 15, 2018: C-Cadet was changed to Sea Cadet.