"Challenging and very rewarding"
School super gets raise, earns $150K

GUILDERLAND — By unanimous vote, the school board on Tuesday gave the district’s superintendent a 4.25-percent raise, boosting his salary to $150,000.

The raise was the only change in his three-year contract, which runs now for another two years, expiring in 2008.

Superintendent Gregory Aidala works 12 months a year, and the new salary runs from Nov. 13, 2006 to Nov. 12, 2007.
"I don’t know if you want to talk about yourself," said board President Richard Weisz after the motion passed.
"Happy to be here," responded Aidala.
"Did he mean that in the metaphysical sense"" asked board member Peter Golden.
"In all aspects," said Aidala.

Aidala became Guilderland’s superintendent six years ago after a dozen years as superintendent at a smaller district.

He told The Enterprise earlier that he sees his role as, first, a leader; second, a problem-solver; and, third, a facilitator, "to move things along."
"I’m not in the trenches day in and day out," he said. "My role is to keep the ball moving forward."

Aidala told The Enterprise after Tuesday’s meeting, "I’m very appreciative of the board’s recommendation of my work. I continue to find my position very challenging and very rewarding." He concluded, "I enjoy being superintendent of schools very much."

Other business

In other business at recent meetings, the school board:

— Approved a bid from Parks Chevrolet for a maintenance plow truck for $57,920.17, the lowest of three bids.

Funds for the purchase were included in the $828,200 bus and equipment proposition passed by voters in May.

Assistant Superintendent for Business Neil Sanders explained that the plow truck is costing more than anticipated because it was not available through state contract. Also, new emission requirements added $7,000 or $8,000 to the cost, he said.

It is replacing a 19-year-old truck;

— Upgraded Susan Tangorre’s title from administrator to assistant superintendent for human resources. Her salary will remain the same. She has filled the post since December of 2005.
"This is an opportunity to recognize the outstanding work of Susan Tangorre who serves in this important position," said Aidala.

An educator for over 35 years, Tangorre came to Guilderland in 1993 as an assistant elementary principal. She then served as a house principal at the middle school for three years and then as principal of Altamont Elementary for seven years;

— Accepted delinquent tax rolls from Guilderland (roughly $1.29 million) from Bethlehem (roughly $29,000), from Knox (roughly $5,000) and from New Scotland (roughly $9,000) for a total of about $1.33 million.

The delinquent tax rolls will be turned over to Albany County, which will reimburse the school district by April 1, whether or not the taxes are collected, said Sanders.

The board also accepted the 2006-07 composite tax collection report with a total levy of about $51 million;

— Heard from Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Nancy Andress that five Guilderland High School students — Stephen Lovely, Diana Moore, Jack Qian, Beth Schaffer, and Peter Zhu — were recognized by the 2007 National Merit Scholarship program as semi-finalists in a field of 16,000 students. Finalists will be announced in February.

The following Guilderland students were recognized as commended students: Lucas Ackerman, Andrey Belostotsky, Claire Cooper, Luke Diamente, Laura Doak, Robert Dygert, Laura Kim, Geneva Kraus, Emily Kurzon, Stephanie Li, Miles Malerba, Damian Miraglia, Elena Murray, Nathan Rich, Andy Rosenbaum, Christopher Schwartz, Zachary Tolmie, and Lydia Walrath;
— Heard that Farnsworth Middle School students participated in the fourth annual Bus Buddy program on Oct. 26, which, Andress said, builds "a stronger, more respectful relationship between the school and the bus."

Bus discipline referrals in the past two years have been reduced from 99 to 77;

— Heard that Friday, Dec. 22, will be the second annual Diversity Celebration at Farnsworth’s Seneca House;

— Learned that Andress is on the Tech Valley High School Advisory Team, which is designing, developing, and coordinating all the processes involved in creating the curricula for the regional high school, due to open in September of 2007.

Andress is chairing a subcommittee on content and outcomes. The new school will start with 30 ninth-graders from the Capital Region BOCES and the Questar BOCES.
"The people sitting around the table are from industry," said Andress, calling the new school "a very unique enterprise";

— Heard reports from three board members — Vice President John Dornbush, Barbara Fraterrigo, and Thomas Nachod — about the New York State School Boards Association Conference they recently attended.
Each described it as "fascinating" as they highlighted what they had learned on subjects including board governance, keeping confidences in executive sessions, school safety, a certified high-school technology program, competing with students in other countries, strategies in reading, and pandemic flu preparation.
"You no longer teach children to sneeze into their hand; that spreads flu," said Fraterrigo. "You sneeze into the crook of your arm";

— Appointed three secondary teachers, who had started work mid-year, to tenure — social studies teacher Lisa Bedian, and foreign language teachers Frances Gorka and Rita Palma.
"We always say that tenure is a beginning, not an end," said Aidala, noting the trio were "off to an auspicious start."

They will be honored with the bulk of the tenured teachers at a ceremony on April 17, 2007;

— Heard from Barbara Fraterrigo, who chairs the board’s policy committee, about four updated policies, which the board will vote on at its next meeting.
The policy on equal educational opportunities Fraterrigo described as "cut and dried." It hasn’t been revised since 1981 and states that educational programs and services will be designed to meet the needs of all students and shall not discriminate based on race, color, creed, sex, national origin, religion, age, economic status, or disability.
The policy on entrance age says children who reach their fifth birthday on or before Dec. 1 of the year of matriculation are entitled to attend school and may be admitted to kindergarten. "Kindergarten is optional"but I know of no school that doesn’t offer kindergarten," said Aidala.
The food-service management policy, which has "been on the books a long time," said Fraterrigo, was updated to incorporate the district’s new wellness policy. It says, "The district’s food services program shall be regarded as an integral component of its total educational program"designed to improve children’s food habits, with an ultimate goal of students becoming nutritionally physically fit adults."
Finally, the policy on free and reduced-price food services was "updated with new information," said Fraterrigo. It says that the school board "recognizes that the nutrition of district students is an important factor in their educational progress" and outlines participation in the federally-funded school lunch program;
— Heard from Golden that the board’s business practices committee, which he chairs, in its "never-ending quest to annoy as many vendors as possible" is looking at how to get medical insurance for less.

The committee has also discussed what the district should do with the approximately $1 million in surplus over the amount the state allows a district to keep in its fund balance.
"You never know when the emergency could arise," said Aidala, adding that the plan will be publicized and discussed with the full board after Jan. 1.
"Some will go back to the taxpayers; that’s our thinking now," said Golden;

— Heard from Cathy Barber that the communications committee, which she chairs, is focusing on community outreach.

Aidala and Weisz spoke to the McKownville Neighborhood Association and an invitation has been extended by the Guilderland Chamber of Commerce.
As discussed earlier, board members are considering having "coffee klatches," where pairs of board members would talk with customers at local eateries.
Suggestions for naming the sessions included, "Pulse on Education, Tell Us what You Think," and "Common Grounds, Coffee Talk on Education."

The committee is looking for other suggestions.
"Something that rhymes," suggested Golden.
"Bring them on," said Barber;

— Heard a concern from board member Colleen O’Connell, raised at a high school PTSA meeting, about the cost of workbooks for Regents exams. O’Connell said she had mixed feelings about whether the workbooks, which are now purchased by the students, should be paid for by the district.

The books cost roughly $10 each, said Aidala, and the total annual cost would be $40,000 to $50,000.

This year, the PTSA has set aside $1,000 to pay for the books for students who can’t afford them, said O’Connell;

— Authorized Aidala to enter into an agreement, as reviewed in executive session on Oct. 10, to resolve outstanding issues with an unnamed student.

Aidala told The Enterprise afterwards that the issues had to do with a "special-education placement"; and

— Met in executive session on Nov. 14 for an update on negotiations, and to discuss administrative personnel reviews, an amendment to the superintendent’s contract, and a student issue.

Aidala told The Enterprise yesterday that no motions were made after the closed session.