GUILDERLAND — On May 15, Guilderland School District voters will decide, as usual, on a budget, on the purchase of school buses, and on the election of board members. They will also vote this year on the purchase of a small parcel of land in front of Guilderland Elementary School.

The eight-tenths of an acre of vacant land fronts Route 20 and is owned by the YMCA, which built a recreational facility across the street from the school, on Winding Brook Drive, and had to reconfigure the school’s driveway so it would line up with Winding Brook, using a single light to regulate traffic.

The price is $175,000 and is to be paid for from the district’s unallocated fund balance. School property surrounds the parcel on three sides; Route 20 is on the fourth side. The school has an easement that allows its driveway to cross the parcel to reach Route 20; if the land were sold, the buyer would likely share the school’s driveway.

Tuesday night, the school board was split as to whether the sale of the property should be put to public vote.

Board member Cathy Barber opposed placing it on the ballot and was backed by Peter Golden.
The land is zoned for business, non-retail professional use, which Barber said would lead to a small office building, not "a threatening development," and would generate school taxes.
Referring to a comment made by Assistant Superintendent for business Neil Sanders that the purchase would be "no cost to the taxpayer," Barber said of the fund balance, "It’s still taxpayer dollars...You’re not printing it back there."

She said the money could be returned to the taxpayers or spent on things that would benefit children.
Board member Colleen O’Connell said that, by not purchasing the property, the district would "lose control." She said a small office building could be used by a criminal defense lawyer with clients coming close to the school or by a doctor with psychiatric patients.

O’Connell also referred to Glass Works Village, the $100 million development, combining homes and business, proposed across Route 20 from the school. She said that Glass Works would make land in the area more desirable and likely to be developed.
Board member Golden reiterated Barber’s view asking, "What’s the educational purpose""
Referring to development along Western Avenue, Golden said, "The horse is out of the barn." Answering O’Connell’s other concerns, he went on, "When the uncivilized invades the civilized, there’s very little you can do about it...There are probably criminals that walk up and down Western Avenue anyway."
"Land is something they aren’t making anymore of," said board Vice President John Dornbush.

Board members had said earlier that the parcel may one day be used for district offices or for expanding the Guilderland Elementary School parking lot, although Barber said that adding parking would remove the hill that some had lauded as a buffer from busy Route 20.
Dornbush said he’d rather the school own it than share the entrance and concluded the purchase would be "in the long-term interest of the district."
"All we’re doing is seeing if we have enough confidence in the community to do the right thing," said board President Richard Weisz of putting the purchase up for public vote. "They can say yes; they can say no."

Ultimately, Barber and Golden opposed the motion to place a proposition on the May 15 ballot, while it was approved by the board’s seven other members — Weisz, Dornbush, O’Connell, Thomas Nachod, Barbara Fraterrigo, Denise Eisele, and Hy Dubowsky.

Other business

In other business at recent meetings, the board:

— Unanimously agreed to create a capital reserve fund capped at $750,000 to be used for upcoming renovations to the district’s elementary schools; $600,000 of the district’s unallocated fund balance will be deposited into the new reserve fund, which has a probable duration of 10 years.

Voter approval is required to spend the money, said Sanders. The vote will be paired with a referendum on elementary-school renovations and, said Superintendent Gregory Aidala, if the referendum does not pass, the money will be returned to taxpayers in the form of reduced debt service;
— Approved tenure for 27 educators — one supervisor, two administrators, and 24 teachers. Aidala recalled his own tenure appointment as "a vote of confidence" and he said, "The backbone of our district is our teachers."

The newly tenured faculty will be celebrated by the board at a meeting later this spring;

— Voted unanimously to have the superintendent send letters to the governor and state legislators supporting reforms to streamline the system for firing tenured teachers, as proposed by the New York State School Boards Association;

— Heard from board member Thomas Nachod that, as of Tuesday, only 80 people had signed up to attend a silent auction fund-raiser being held Saturday at the Western Turnpike clubhouse by the high school’s Parent-Teacher-Student Association. Attendees will be able to bid on over $20,000 worth of prizes, said Nachod;
— Heard from Linda Bakst, a former board member, that she supports the district’s current reading program. She cautioned the board to "think carefully" before making any changes;

— Established a memorial scholarship in the name of Lesley E. Grapka to recognize a senior who will be attending college for psychology and has shown compassion for people in need, and has a strong work ethic and a commitment to volunteerism;

— Heard congratulations for the Farnsworth Middle School Math Counts team, which came in 17th out of 52 schools at the March State Math Counts competition. Team members Kyungduk Rho, Beatrice Malsky, Matt Walsh, Abhishek Paul and alternate Chen Gong were coached by enrichment teacher Deb Escobar and math teacher Darlene Lawlor;

— Learned that the Elementary Art Show will be held at the Guilderland Public Library from March 30 to April 19, with an opening reception on April 4 from 3:30 to 5 p.m.;

— Adopted nine policies dealing with special education;

— Agreed to meet at 8:30 a.m. on April 23 to vote on the 2007-08 budget for the Board of Cooperative Educational Services and on the BOCES board election;

— Heard from Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Nancy Andress that Farnsworth Middle School’s annual Wellness Day, on March 28, allowed students to attend workshops on topics such as yoga, organ and tissue donation, scuba diving, weight training, sign language, self defense, and leadership training;

— Learned that James Dillon, principal at Lynnwood Elementary School, has been invited to give a presentation at Florida’s Second Annual Bullying Prevention Conference in April in Orlando. He will speak about preventing bullying on the school bus at the conference sponsored by the Florida Department of Education.

The board also heard that Dillon is being recognized with an award for leadership from The Academy for Character Education at Sage College on March 21 for his Peaceful School Bus program;

— Heard congratulations for all of the winter sports teams for qualifying for the Scholar-Athlete Award. Each of these teams maintained a team average of 90 percent or above — boys’ and girls’ basketball, boys’ and girls’ cross-country skiing, gymnastics, and boys’ swimming;

— Heard congratulations for eighth-grader Brian Reed who qualified for the state level of the National Geography Bee, which will be held March 30 at the New York State Museum;

— Learned that 36 Guilderland students were inducted into the Tri-M Music honor Society, an international music honor society for middle-and high-school students;

— Heard congratulations for the Guilderland High School Chamber Choir, which won this year’s New York State High School A Capella Competition on March 3. The choir, which is directed by Rae Jean Teeter, was to compete in the national finals at Walt Disney World in Florida, but the event was canceled;

— Heard from President Richard Weisz that petitions for candidates to run for the school board in the May 15 election are available through the district clerk. Sixty-eight signatures of eligible district voters are required, based on 2 percent of those voting in last year’s election.

Three seats are open with two of the incumbents seeking re-election. Petitions are due by April 16; and

— Met in executive session on March 27 to plan for future negotiations, to review teachers’ performance, and to discuss a student issue.