GUILDERLAND — Honey buns and fruit gummies are out.

At the school board’s urging, the district here is eliminating 13 food items it planned to buy to serve to students next year.
"Our emphasis has been a transitional plan," Assistant Superintendent for Business Neil Sanders told the board last Tuesday, explaining healthy snacks are being introduced at the elementary level.

Linda Mossop, school lunch director, said the district will lose about $9,000 by discontinuing those 13 snacks, one at the middle school, and a dozen at the high school.

The school lunch program pays for itself, taking in over $1 million annually.

Mossop said that, when the district switched to healthy snacks at the elementary schools, there was a 55-percent decrease in snacks being purchased.
Board member Colleen O’Connell, who pushed the issue at the last board meeting, said last Tuesday that comments from middle school teachers first alerted her to the problem. They were teaching lessons about healthy eating, she said, and then felt "dissed" when students could eat six chocolate-chip cookies or six bags of chips for lunch.

Meanwhile, the district is adding a priority to foster healthy living.

Board President William Brinkman suggested that perhaps parents are sending their children to school with healthy snacks and, once the district publicizes the fact they are selling them, more children will start buying them at school.
Board member Thomas Nachod agreed with offering healthy snacks, calling it "a noble cause."
But, he said, "I’m not sure we should only offer healthy snacks...To make good choices, you need choices."
Second, Nachod said, "I’m not sure we have to make a mandate for healthy snacks to the detriment of the taxpayer." If the school lunch program were to operate at a loss, he said, the money would come out of the district’s general fund.
"It has been running in the black...and we hope to maintain that," said Superintendent Gregory Aidala.
"I’m sure the monitors will not be trained to confiscate unhealthy things," quipped board member Richard Weisz, indicating students have choices. He also said they could eat the snacks they wanted after school.
Board member Linda Bakst suggested letting the PTA and booster clubs, organizations that often raise funds by selling "very unhealthy snacks," know about the district’s stance.
"Sometimes the rush to something needs to be tempered," cautioned board member David Picker.
"I think it’s fine to do this; we don’t need to wait," said board member David Dornbush.
"This will be phasing it in," said Mossop. "We still have items that will be phased out. By September, 2006...everyone will be on board."

Ultimately the board approved the change, 8 to 1, with Nachod casting the sole dissenting vote.

Contracts ratified

The board unanimously ratified two contracts — with district office administrators and with non-instructional supervisors and other management personnel.

Susan Tangorre, the district’s administrator for human resources, told The Enterprise that both contracts are for three years, running from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2008.

The contract for district office administrators, three people, gives a salary increase of 3.75 percent the first year, 3.9 percent the second year, and 3.9 percent again the third year, she said.

There are no other changes, besides salary, Tangorre said.

Currently, the salary for the administrator for human resources is $99,963; the salary for the assistant superintendent for business is $101,675; and the salary for the assistant superintendent for business is $111,344.

The higher salary for the assistant superintendent is because of her seven or eight years of experience, said Tangorre.
Comparing the salaries to other suburban school districts, Tangorre said Guilderland’s are "right in the middle."

The same holds true, she said, for the salaries for the non-instructional supervisors and management personnel.
This includes 14 people in what Tangorre called "an eclectic group," including the transportation director, the clerk for finance, the chief technical specialist, and the food service director.

The contract gives the 14 employees annual salary increases of 3.85 percent for each of the three years.

Those salaries currently range from $29,500 to $78,148 annually.

The new contract also clarifies use of personal time and sick time and how comp time is used, said Tangorre.

There are no other major changes.
"These are the lean years," she concluded.

School on schedule

Sanders updated the board on the $20 million construction project at Farnsworth Middle School.
"We’re kind of in the home stretch," he said.

The fourth house, now named Seneca House, with 18 classrooms, opened in April, and renovations started on Hiawatha House.

The new gym opened in April as well, he said.

The new music addition has just been completed and the new main office and library should be ready for occupancy next month.

Over summer vacation, Mohawk House and Tawasentha House will be renovated.

Sanders concluded by commending Shows Leary, the clerk of the works, for creating a workable schedule.
"He’s well liked by the staff and everyone," said Brinkman, adding that workers have "a love-hate relationship" with Leary as he makes them "toe the line."

Other business

In other business, the board:

— Approved three state-mandated district plans that are updated annually — the S.A.V.E. (Schools Against Violence in Education) Plan, the Professional Development Plan (on training staff), and the Academic Intervention Services Plan (outlining procedures for assessing and helping struggling students);

— Reviewed a policy on student complaints and grievances;

— Agreed to participate in a cooperative bid with other schools in the area for a state-required annual survey on the condition of the district’s buildings.
"This is a stupid state mandate...but a better way to pay for it," said Weisz, indicating that buildings newer than a decade shouldn’t have to be inspected each year;

— Formed an ad-hoc committee to prepare a resolution to restructure pension payments for teachers for the New York State School Boards Association to consider.

Weisz had proposed the idea earlier. He agreed to serve on the committee along with board members Linda Bakst and Barbara Fraterrigo.

Aidala said the goal is to present the resolution to the school board at its August meeting. The resolution is to focus on changing state law so school districts can control the costs they must pay into the retirement system for newly-hired teachers;

— Heard from Bakst that leaders had stepped forward to head the high school’s Parent-Teacher-Student Association.

She had reported earlier that, if no one volunteered to be president, the PTSA might fold.

She thanked Brinkman for volunteering but said other people had come forward;

— Heard congratulations from Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Nancy Andress for all the high school’s spring sports teams. Every team qualified or the Scholar/Athlete Team Award, for teams with players who have a composite average of 90 percent or higher.

The teams are boys’ lacrosse, girls’ softball, boys’ tennis, boys’ track and field, and girls’ track and field;

— Heard that Math Olympiad teams from both Lynnwood and Altamont elementary schools were recognized for High Team Achievement, in the top 20 percent of all teams in their division, and Meritorious Achievement, in the top 20 percent of fifth-grade teams.

Gold medals and team trophies went to Kendra Lizotee of Lynnwood Elementary and Austin Malerba of Altamont Elementary.

Silver medals went to Michael Dvoscak of Lynnwood Elementary, and Tara Jackson of Altamont Elementary;

— Learned that junior Tasmina Hydery’s design, entered in a contest sponsored by Singer’s Jewelers in memory of Liza Warner, a victim of domestic violence, will be printed on note cards sold locally. Juniors Sarah Zeremski and Sarah Jurczynski also participated in the contest;

— Heard that Mary K. Weeks, Westmere Elementary School art teacher, will exhibit her artwork in the first annual Teacher Center Art Exhibition, June 29 to July 30, at the Rensselaerville Institute in the Guggenheim Gallery;

— Heard a suggestion from board member Barbara Fraterrigo, which she said was first broached by David Langenbach when he ran for school board, that the board hold informal dialogue sessions with the public three times a year before the formal sessions start; and

— Went into executive session to discuss negotiations with assistant principals, a real property issue, a personnel issue with a member of the Guilderland Teachers’ Association, and candidates for interim principal at the high school.