VOORHEESVILLE — The school districts transportation director, Michael Goyer, proposed to the school board Monday that the district buy the now-vacant Saab dealership building on Route 85, and the 10 acres that goes with it, for a new bus garage. His proposal was quickly shot down by the board members, primarily saying that the location and building was too expensive.

The Saab dealership land is appraised at $2.8 million, Goyer said. He was excited about this location because then the bus facility would have a wash bay, which it does not have now; good visibility for pulling out on to the road; and a place for district offices. A security system with cameras is already in place and the building is only 13 years old, he said.
Goyer, in his pitch to the board, did point out a few setbacks to this location. The bus garage would be 2.8 miles away from the elementary school, and 4.3 miles away from the high school. Also the building would need renovations to accommodate the buses including raising the roof. The existing parking lot is also shaped like an "L," but Goyer said he sees this as a good opportunity.
Board member James Coffin said a major purchase such as this needs a lot of thought. Board member Paige Macdonald said that the reason the value of the property is high is because of the "fanciness of the building and because its in a commercial district."

It might be cheaper to build a brand-new building without perks at another location, closer to the school, not in a prime commercial district, she said.

Goyer said the transportation study done in 1997 said that it would cost over $2 million to build a new garage for Voorheesville.
"We don’t need road frontage on a major highway," board member John Cole said. He said the district could buy land on Depot Road more cheaply.
"A bus garage is not a $2 million item," he said.
"All we need is a place to park — that’s all we need." Cole said then added, with a nod and a wash bay.
"I can’t see us ever using those offices for anything," agreed board member Richard Brackett.
The district has already spent a lot of money to keep the bus garage where it is said Board President Robert Baron. He also stated that it was one thing to buy a very expensive building but then another to have to then pay the additional costs of renovations. "The district won’t like to spend $3 million on a bus garage," he said, when that money could go to things in education.
He also said, "I’m certainly against district offices moving off campus." Most board members then gestured or spoke up in agreement.
"Sorry we came down on you so hard," Baron said to Goyer about squashing his idea.

Baron went on to say that they board could look at this building again a year from now, when the purchase price might be lower. Baron said he didn’t think the building was going anywhere soon.

The next night, Tuesday, at a separate meeting at New Scotland Town Hall, Chairman Robert Stapf urged town bard members to consider buying the Saab dealership to be the new town highway garage and to then use the offices for town government. He said that he thinks the nearly $3 million appraised value is not what the actual selling price will be and it will actually be cheaper.

New criteria for top scholars

The valedictorian and salutatorian for the class of 2007 should not be chosen solely for having the highest grades, according to the high school principal Mark Diefendorf, the site-based management team and most of the school board.

The school board has given the proposal a couple reads and plans to discuss it again next month.

As of now, the proposal reads that the top two positions in a graduating class will be determined by five factors, which receive various points.

The first criteria is the student’s over all grade point average.

Then students will receive so many additional points based on the number of Advance Placement, university, or honors classes they have taken. One point will be awarded for taking nine AP classes, two for 10, three for 11, four for 12 and five for 13 or more advanced classes.

The third criteria is to be well-rounded in extra-curriculum involvement, including clubs or sports teams. An individual can be awarded up to four points for extracurricular activities, which will be evaluated by the site-based management team. Points will be awarded based on the number of hours a student devotes to the activity or the activities that she participates in throughout the year.

The fourth criteria is community service hours beyond the ones required for a club and the ones required in order to graduate. A student will receive one point for 31 to 50 hours, two points for 51 to 70 hours, three points for 71 to 100 hours, and four points for 101 or more; those hours have to be evaluated and verified by the principal.

The fifth criteria is a simple one: A student, who is not in good standing with the clubs, teams or activities will not be eligible to be valedictorian or salutatorian.

The site-based management team suggested that ties for the number-one and number-two spot will be broken with the writing sample that a student submits for their college applications.

Board member Thomas McKenna suggested, at that point, just considering it a tie and naming co-valedictorians.

Principal Diefendorph said that he supported that.

School board member Brackett said he didn’t like the tie- breaking method because he considers judgment of writing to be subjective.

Prom policy

The board also discussed policies at this year’s prom, which was held at Franklin Plaza. Diefendorf said that two students surreptitiously exited Franklin Plaza through the back kitchen door, a breach of Franklin Plaza’s own rules, so, at the recommendation of the plaza’s security, those students were not allowed back into the prom.

Macdonald said that she did not agree with the decision because she thought it was wrong to treat Voorheesville students as if they were suspicious. She said that she thought that circumstances such as these is one of the reasons that the district brings a breathalyzer to events so that, if it is believed students are drinking, they would be given a breathalyzer test and sent home.

Diefendorf said there was no reason to believe that there was alcohol involved and the breathalyzer was not administered in this case. He added that the students said they went outside to use their cell phones.

Whenever the school goes to an off-campus location, the students have to follow that venue’s rules and all the students were well-informed ahead of time that, if they left the building, they would not be allowed back in, Diefendorf said. He went on to say, if a student needed to go to his car to get something or go outside to use his cell phone, then he asked a chaperone to accompany him out the front door.
Superintendent Alan McCartney said that a lot of venues such as hotels are no longer even allowing proms at their facilities because of the liability. The companies that are, including Franklin Plaza, have their own rules that the district must comply with, "because it’s their liability not the schools," McCartney said.

Macdonald said she saw this incident as the students being unjustly treated like criminals. She said that she or any adult wouldn’t like it if they left a country club to use a cell phone and then weren’t allowed back in.

Board member James Coffin said that there is a huge difference between 21-year-old adults and high-school students, and the expectations of adults and teenagers.
Cole said that he liked the entry-exit rule and that it was one that has been used in the past. He said the breathalyzer is only effective post incident when there is already a problem. "I would much rather have the exit-entry rule to prevent the use of substances," Cole said.

Other business:

In other business, the school board:

— Heard from Goyer, who is also the building and maintenance and operations director, that on Monday, due to three days of extremely high temperatures for the beginning of June, he took temperature readings across the elementary school’s rooms. The first floor was at 79 degrees, the second floor was 85, and the third floor was at 90. One classroom on the third floor, Mrs. Hamlin’s room, was at 94.
Kathy Fiero, president of the Voorheesville Teacher’s Association said, "The conditions are ridiculous" for both the students and employees and added that she couldn’t think of any other profession where 90-degree temperatures would be considered acceptable working conditions.

Goyer said that, for the morning, teacher Hamlin kept the students focused and on task but, by the afternoon, they were moved downstairs. Goyer said that the room was particularly hot because roof shingles deflect heat through the windows.

Brackett said that luckily the heat is supposed to break later in the week.

McCartney said that it is always hot this time of year but now the humidity is even worse.

The board mentioned bringing in fans. Baron said that the new univents need to be put in as soon as possible. This was one expense that the district gave as a reason for the need to set up the capital reserve fun. Assistant Superintendent for Business Sarita Winchell said the soonest the univents could be put in would be next year since the funding is expected to come out of the capital reserve fund.

—Listened to teacher and foreign-language department head, Robert Streifer, introduce Sedan, France, a new location for Voorheesville’s international exchange trip, scheduled for October of 2005. He said that 13 to 20 students have expressed interest in the exchange, and he anticipates 15 students enrolling.