VOORHEESVILLE – Kids who come to school early now have someone to supervise them.

The school board decided last Monday to allow a teacher’s aide to work an extra half-hour every day in order to watch the children who arrive at Voorheesville Elementary School 30 minutes before school starts.

Teachers aren’t responsible for the kids until 8:30 a.m., Superintendent Linda Langevin told The Enterprise.

The issue was brought to the school board’s attention by Kenneth Lein, the principal for the elementary school. Lein told the board that nearly 30 children on any given day arrive at the school around 8 a.m., and congregate in the hallways and stairwells.
"I address this at every open house," Lein told the board. He worries about safety with no one designated to supervise the kids.

Richard Brackett was the only board member to vote in opposition to the two-and-a-half additional hours per week for the aide.
"I think you’re going to open the floodgates," Brackett told the board.

His main concern was that, if parents are aware that they can drop their kids off at 8 a.m., then more kids are going to show up.

Another concern raised by parents at the meeting was the issue of Kids’ Club.
Kids’ Club is a "wrap-around program," Langevin said. Parents in the district can enroll their children to take part in Kids’ Club, which offers supervised activities both before and after school.

Kids’ Club Incorporated rents space from the school through an annual contract, Langevin said.
Some parents at the Oct. 16 board meeting were concerned that the number of children enrolled in Kids’ Club would drop as a result of "free child care" being provided by the school.
Kathy Fiero, the president of the Voorheesville Teachers Association, told the board that as a Kids’ club parent she feels that she is "subsidizing free child care for irresponsible parents."
Chris Allard, a long-time bus driver for the district who heads the United Employees of Voorheesville union, addressed the board, "It is a losing battle with children being dropped off." She said that it has been a problem for years; children are running around the schoolyard, making it dangerous not only for bus drivers, but other parents as well.
"We need to take every precaution to ensure that no one gets hurt," said Vice President, C. James Coffin. He stressed to the board the importance that there be "at least a minimum level of supervision."

The board approved the increase in hours for teacher’s aide Carol Relyea from five hours per day to five-and-a-half hours per day, for a 60-day period, at which point, the board is to review the outcome.

After one week of having the aide available at the school, Langevin told The Enterprise that she was not aware of any kids dropping out of Kids’ Club, and the numbers of children arriving at school early had dropped from about 30 to 20.
"I think it’s going to diminish the problem," Langevin said.

She emphasized the importance of making sure that parents are aware that school starts at 8:30 a.m., and that is the time the teachers become accountable for the children. The aide is available, but there are no educational activities provided by the school during this time.

Other business

In other business at the October school board meeting, the board:

– Heard from students participating in the 2006 Model United Nations Conference. The students talked about their upcoming trips to Brown University in November, Yale University in January, and Cornell University in March;

– Approved the donation of 20 girls’ soccer uniforms to San Jose de Los Remates Nicaragua School. The uniforms have not been used in several years;

– Approved a trip for students to the Columbia University Fall Journalism Conference in New York City on Nov. 6;

– Renewed the contract with Northeast Parent and Child Society. The contract is for roughly $4,00 for the two-month summer program and nearly $26,000 for the 10-month school-year program;

– Renewed the contract with Wildwood Programs through June 22, 2007 in the amount of $37,616;

– Adjusted the tax warrant as a result of multiple clerical errors, reducing it by roughly $7,500 to $14.5 million;

– Threw its support behind the 2007 Relay for Life Campaign, a walk that raises funds to fight cancer;

– Authorized issuing bonds for $5.3 million to pay a portion of the cost for the reconstruction and construction projects at the school;

– Added TD Banknorth N.A. to the list of approved banks for investment purposes;

– Replaced, in a 4-to-3, the old dress code section of the Code of Conduct for the high school and middle school with the amended dress code that was approved by the board on July 17. The board is also inviting students to come talk about their feelings on the dress code at the next meeting;

– Accepted a donation of roughly $1,200 from the Voorheesville Parent Teacher Association to support the purchase of a hydro-geology general stream table with cart and accessories for the high school science department;

– Approved Superintendent Langevin’s participation in the Education Leadership Institute’s 2006-07 cohort, and authorized that $3,500 of grant-funded money be used to cover the cost of participation in the Leadership for Learning Network; and
– Accepted the proposal of consultant work on "The Quality Culture School Environment" not to exceed $15,500 effective from Oct. 23,2006 through Oct. 31,2007.