Category Archives: School Leadership

The Springville-Griffith Institute Central School District is pleased to announce that Mrs. Kathy Townsend was appointed to the new position of principal for special programs at the 7/5/16 BOE meeting.

Mrs. Townsend has been the Colden Elementary Principal since July 2011 and has worked as an administrator in the district since 2007. Kathy’s position will be one of new program development and working to support programs throughout the district in collaboration with other administrators.  She brings a great deal of experience with a proven track record as someone who can get things done. New program development requires careful analysis, research and planning for successful implementation–these are all strengths of Mrs. Townsend.

Following are the responsibilities Mrs. Townsend is assuming within this position and the expected timeline for implementation:

1. Development of an in district program for in-school- suspension, out-of-school suspension and an alternative education program. (2016-17 and beyond) I anticipate an in district ISS/OSS program will be in place within the 2016-17 school year while an alternative education program will take more time to develop.
2. Coordination of the K-12 AIS Program (2016-17) including interim formative assessments, grade level data team meetings with building principals, and AIMSweb testing three times annually.
3. Universal Pre-Kindergarten (2017-18 and beyond) Currently only 60 SGI students receive UPK through our collaboration with the Early Bird Learning Center. We are interested in the  expansion of this program to serve more of our children. There are multiple funding streams for UPK. We are excited to have a dedicated administrator who can apply for funding, research, plan and implement programs for our children in these critical years of their development and learning.
4. Conduct unannounced teacher evaluations as an independent observer district wide. (2016-17)
5. Oversight and supervision of home/school tutoring of students on medical leave or due to suspensions. This will include hiring tutors with BOE approval, working with the families/tutors for scheduling, tutoring logs and timesheets. (2016-17)
6. Home School Liaison working with our Homeschool families to review Individualized Home Instruction Plans and quarterly reports. (2016-17)
7. Development and implementation of Green Ribbon School initiatives. (2016-17 and beyond)
8. District Homeless Liaison. (2016-17)
9. District Safety Committee Chairperson including the development, maintenance and oversight of the district Safety Committee and safety plans. (2016-17)
10. District Wellness Committee Chairperson including annual review of the district’s wellness policy and committee meetings as necessary. (2016-17)

The above are duties and responsibilities, primarily #s 1-3, that require a dedicated administrator to make happen to our fullest advantage as a District. They are needs within the District that we have identified we have not previously focused on sufficiently. I am excited to work with Mrs. Townsend as she makes a significant difference for the children of the SGI school district through this position. Congratulations Mrs. Townsend! 

At tonight’s Reorganizational BOE meeting, we will be presenting a proposed capital project that has been previewed through a series of posts over the past week. This is the seventh and last in the series.

Today we look at a comparative analysis of the new proposed scope of work to the December 2015 proposed scope, including the average cost to the taxpayer.

In the December 2015 informational newsletter for a Capital Project Referendum that taxpayers received, readers may recall that the total project was $38,722,000. This included proposed work of $1,772,000 at Colden Elementary, $5,804,000 at Springville Elementary, $8,552,000 at Springville Middle, $21,583,000 at Springville High, and $1,061,000 in the District Office and other buildings.

Also shown in the December 2015 Project newsletter was this average cost to the taxpayer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The total proposed scope of work the SGI BOE will review this evening is $26,891,000, plus $1,334,000 planned for capitalized interest bringing the total project to $28,225,000. This includes proposed work of $1,552,000 at Colden Elementary, $6,527,000 at Springville Elementary, $9,517,000 at Springville Middle, $8,631,000 at Springville High, and $664,000 in the District Office and other buildings.

The average cost to the taxpayer for this new potential scope of work is significantly lower as you can see in the chart below, prepared for us by our financial advisory firm, Bernard P. Donegan, Inc. We’ve maximized how much of the project is aidable (only about 85% of the work at SHS would have been aidable in the December 2015 Project), we’ve included the capitalized interest in the project and we’ve scaled the project back to the work we need to do to take care of our school buildings and grounds.

Capitalized Interest allows School Districts to offset the interest expense during the construction phase of a project to minimize local impact prior to building aid commencing. Since building aid will not flow until the final cost reports are filed with SED the District will have debt service payments due without any revenue sources to offset this expense. By including Capitalized Interest in the authorization the District is able to maintain a level local share throughout the project including years in which building aid is not being received.

This is the sixth in a series of posts about the capital project needs of the Springville school district. In this series, I am describing the proposed scope of work in each of our buildings. Today we focus on needs at the District Office, Concession Stand, Greenhouse and Press Box.

The District offices do not receive state aid in the way that our school buildings do (79.3%). Therefore, I have removed all but two (2) items from the sixteen (16) items proposed in December 2015. All that remains are the replacement of the roof and installation of heat trace tape to scupper drains, totaling $343,000.

There is work required at the Concession Stand and that remains the same as the scope brought before the public in December, totaling $15,000. We are not proposing any work at the Transportation Building, the Field House Building or the Colden Elementary Tractor Garage.

Our Pressbox needs to be replaced with a new code compliant Pressbox. And our Green House, which was to be demolished in the December 2015 project and yet provides instructional space for our FFA coursework, will need to have the hot water heating boiler replaced, an installation of a backflow preventor on incoming water service, replacement of older electrical equipment and devices and replacement of exterior doors and windows. The work on the Pressbox totals $176,000 and the Green House totals $130,000. If you’re thinking you could build a home for $176,000, please know that’s exactly what our Facilities Committee said and the plan moving forward will be to work to decrease that number to the extent possible.

This post concludes the review of the proposed scope of work in all of our school buildings. Tomorrow I will review the costs to the taxpayer as evaluated by our financial advisors.

This is the fifth in a series of posts about the capital project needs of the Springville school district. In this series, I am describing the proposed scope of work in each of our buildings. Today we focus on one of our elementary schools, Springville Elementary School.

The most pressing need in our district currently exists at SES and it was not in the December 2015 proposed project. The 1998 portion of our roof at SES is failing. We have brought in the architect, construction management firm, and roofing experts and all have said they have not previously seen a rooftop fail like this one. And of course, it is out of the warranty period. If we do not pass this project, we will have to find a way to pay for the repairs to this roof which total $968,000 from our local budget. That’s not a ploy to get this project passed, it’s simply the reality of a problem that we face. In the meantime, we are taking care of the rooftop with a stop gap measure and hoping for a mild winter in the 2016-17 school year.

This proposed scope also includes new items as follows: replace/enlarge unit ventilator louvers at south wing classrooms including abatement to new code requirements ($71,000) and replace piping in the south wing/modify pumps due to new code requirements ($56,000). Replacing pavement, curbing and sidewalks is again urgently needed for this school and is the most significant expense.

Removed from the December 2015 proposed project scope is the relocation of the main office area closer to the front entrance to increase security and relocate existing adjacent offices and Nurse’s office ($825,000). If you’ve been following along with this entire series of posts, you can see by now that I’m recommending the removal of all of these office relocations for security purposes. It is my opinion that the moves are hugely expensive, require building new offices when those that we have are adequate, and give us a false sense of security. There is no fail safe security measure—the best security measures we can possibly implement are those that require frequent drills so that everyone in the system knows the best way to behave in an emergency, how to think on their feet and how to follow the protocols put into place by building and district safety plans.

Also removed from the scope is the installation of new carbon dioxide detection systems ($25,000)—we did this in house in our buildings—and the replacement of the exterior wall located at the overhang. That work has to be done under an immediate emergency project and I expect the work to be completed soon.

The total bond estimate of work to be completed at Springville Elementary is $6,527,000.

We will be reviewing the proposed project in detail at our July 5 meeting, for the BOE’s consideration. Please contact me with any questions, concerns or feedback. Thank you.

This is the fourth in a series of posts about the capital project needs of the Springville school district. In this series, I am describing the proposed scope of work in each of our buildings. Today we focus on one of our elementary schools, Colden Elementary School.

Before continuing let me first address something that’s come up from many sources, in many different ways since my arrival in March 2016. I recognize that our enrollment has been declining and we cannot continue to think of ourselves as a 2200 student district when we are in fact an 1800-1900 student district. We will likely face many difficult decisions in the following years as we consider if we should continue to operate all of our current school buildings and if we should continue to employ at our current staffing levels. The BOE will be charged with having those difficult discussions and I will do my very best to make sure that they have solid, factual information before them. We will be transparent, invite the public in for those difficult conversations and move forward with the best interest of ALL of our students and families in mind. It won’t be easy and I have no idea what the outcome will be, but I believe we need to stop taking sides on the subject and instead evaluate all of the information possible. We don’t even know yet if it will in fact save the district money as so many outside of Colden believe—or that it’s a better option than SES for our SGI children living in Colden as so many inside Colden believe–let’s figure the answers to those questions out and then have the discussion.

Having said that, we cannot afford to stop taking care of our buildings as we tackle these difficult decisions. The work that I am proposing be done in all of our buildings needs to be done to take care of what we have, for now and for any future proposed use.

The total bond estimate of work to be completed at Colden Elementary is $1,552,000. The proposed scope of work includes replacing pavement and miscellaneous sidewalks, re-roofing the original schoolhouse, replacing a kitchen exhaust hood that currently does not meet code, installing air conditioning in data closets, and replacing a hardwired Fire Alarm system with a new addressable Fire Alarm system.

A significant need that must be taken care of is the replacement of all carpeting with new vinyl flooring in the entire building including the main office area at a cost of $473,000. We have conducted two thorough air quality studies in Colden due to health concerns and complaints. While both studies, from two independent companies revealed that the air quality at CES is acceptable and is not a risk to our staff and students—we cannot ignore that this old carpeting may be contributing to the complaints.

Removed from the scope of the December 2015 proposed project at Colden includes installing new carbon dioxide detection system ($19,000), installing a new secured Vestibule to increase security to allow direct entry into Main Office Area ($120,000) and installing ventilation at kitchen, offices, special education area and miscellaneous areas ($139,000).

We will be reviewing the proposed project in detail at our July 5 meeting, for the BOE’s consideration. Please contact me with any questions, concerns or feedback. Thank you.

This is the third in a series of posts about the capital project needs of the Springville school district. In this series, I am describing the proposed scope of work in each of our buildings. Today we focus on our Middle School.

There are far fewer changes to the scope of work at the Springville Middle School than those described in yesterday’s post about the High School. On Tuesday, July 5 at the reorganizational meeting of the Board of Education, I will present the results of the work done with our architects, our construction management firm, SGI staff and a facilities committee including members of our community.

The BOE will consider a proposed project that includes the removal of the following SMS items from the December 2015 project that was put before the taxpayers.

1. Install new carbon dioxide detection system. ($38,000)
2. Relocate Main Office area closer to the front entrance to increase security and relocate existing Science classroom. ($600,000)

The only addition to the scope of work planned for SMS, our newest district building, is to replace (4) standard drinking fountains with new ADA drinking fountains at a bond estimate cost of $28,000.

Community members may recall that the most significant work at SMS includes replacing pavement, sidewalks, curbing—which we sorely need. Our buildings and grounds department has done an excellent job of patching and making due, but our pavement, sidewalks and curbing are in dire need of replacement. Also significant are the replacement of the entire roof including roof drains and replacing (14) roof top Multizone heating and ventilation units. It was thought in the last project that we could make due with repair of these units in preparation for a capital project down the line but our new projected construction date will indicate these units are at the end of their useful life and replacement cannot be put off for a future phase of construction.

The total bond estimate of work to be completed at SMS is $9,517,000. Again I will be reviewing the proposed project in detail at our July 5 meeting, for the BOE’s consideration. Please contact me with any questions, concerns or feedback. Thank you.

This is the second in a series of posts about the capital project needs of the Springville school district. I will be describing the proposed scope of work in each of our buildings, today is focused on the High School.

The big question first, what was removed from the scope of work proposed to the voters in December 2015 for SHS?

1. Install new Addition which includes a new gymnasium, bleachers, Boy’s and Girl’s locker rooms, Fitness room, public toilet rooms, renovations of existing shop area to allow access to the new addition and renovate existing Fitness room into new Ag. Shop classroom. New indoor track located at ground level around Basketball court. ($11,000,000)

In December 2015, the Springville-Griffith community voted down a proposed capital project 81% to 19%. At that time the SGI BOE Members wisely conducted a survey of our voters to gather feedback.

One of the goals set forth for me upon entering the superintendency at SGI was to study the project as it was developed along with the feedback from the survey. What we heard overwhelmingly and repeatedly is that our voters would support a project that addresses the necessities of caring for our facilities and grounds, without any controversial “extras”.

Given that there are critical needs that must be addressed soon, like the rooftop at SES, I’m prepared to present a proposed scope of project to the SGI BOE members on Tuesday, July 5, at their regular BOE meeting. This will not be a brand new project but instead takes the project developed in December and reduces it to the necessities–those items that we need to do to take of the place.

We’ll also take a look at the financial implications of the newly proposed scope–what will it cost our taxpayers?

The BOE will be asked to give feedback on the proposed project and I will hope to have a project ready for BOE approval on Monday, August 8 with a late September vote. This timeline is to keep us moving forward so that we can benefit from a favorable bid time table.

In between the July 5 and August 8 BOE meetings, I will meet with any interested school community members. I would love to hear your feedback as we develop the project for BOE approval. If interested, please join me in the HS Library on Tuesday, July 19, 2016 at 6:00 pm. Community members may also contact me via phone, I’m at 592-3230 or email at kmoritz@springvillegi.org.

Over the next week I will be writing a post for each of our school buildings in which I illustrate what’s in the project now and what we took out. There will be a few new items too–when we consider it’s likely to be 18 months to two years from BOE adoption of a project to the start of construction, we have to plan to include everything that will need to be taken care of–otherwise items like that SES rooftop have to be repaired within the regular budget without the 79.3% reimbursement from NYS we can count on within a project. And yes, I understand that the reimbursement dollars are ALSO our tax dollars but it’s much less of a financial impact to the school district than an entire rooftop covered with local taxpayer dollars.

I’m hopeful about public education. As educators, we are a group of adults who hold our students first and foremost in our hearts and minds. We think about their stories. We worry about basic needs being met for some of them and we agonize over the decisions we see some of our older students making. We listen to them and we try to guide them.  Sometimes we just listen. We take an interest in what they think and for some, we’re the only ones who do so.  We advocate for them when they are in danger. We celebrate their many successes. We support their fundraisers and cheer them on in athletic, musical, and dramatic events. We pull for them in every competition. For some of us, we pray for them. I love them and expect the best of them, always.

While the noise continues in print and visual media, on social media, and in countless opinions espoused everywhere someone wants to air a complaint–as educators we continue to do what we’ve always done. We head to our schools with a joy about learning and a love for the children we serve.

None of the pressures from outside of our school buildings can detract from these simple facts about us. The governor doesn’t change this about us. The federal government doesn’t change that about us. The anti common core cries, the privatization of school advocates, the crazy people who don’t know US but judge us anyway, and the challenges we face together don’t change the simple facts about us.

We are and always have been well intended, caring adults who do this work because we love our students and we endeavor to make a difference in every life that we touch. When my children stand at my funeral some day, I want them to hear the stories of students I influenced, teachers who entered leadership roles and administration because of my example, and colleagues who remember me as someone who supported and respected them. I want my two kids to hear that my expectations for excellence in myself and those who work here encouraged someone to be better, work harder, go farther. I want them to hear that I made a difference in Randolph, that I improved the quality of the education our children receive through my leadership actions.

These are the reasons we are educators. None of the criticism and noise and political agendas will ever affect those reasons. They’re simply challenges for us to overcome together. I’m hopeful about public education.

FAPE. Free Appropriate Public Education for ALL students. The single greatest accomplishment of our great nation. Amidst the noise, don’t you forget it.

 

I’ve posted about snow days before here and here and here, –it seems like every winter! In those posts I’ve explained about the multiple factors that influence my decision, thanked our incredible bus drivers and plow truck drivers, and lamented over a bad call.

We stayed open today, while many schools closed, because I can’t in good conscience close because of the hype and fervor of the newscasters. Watching Andy Parker’s (because he is good at presenting the facts without as much of the hype) forecast closely this morning, it looks like a strong possibility that the lake effect snow will miss us. As much fun as I know a snow day may be for the majority of our students and employees, I can’t cancel school without good reason. The sun is shining here on the hill right now! And yet as I write this I worry that the snow will hit us at dismissal time–that’s the nature of lake effect snow in WNY!

A couple of our students just told me that it “would be all right with us if you want to send us home early”. I wouldn’t likely ever do an unplanned early dismissal for the same reasons I don’t close school unless it looks to be absolutely necessary. Working parents, businesses who need their employees to show up, employees who don’t want to use a personal day because they don’t have child care lined up when they get a call at 6:30 am, children who would be home alone because the parent has to go to work and they have no other option—these factors all make it a very serious decision to close for the day. Early dismissal could result in little ones arriving at houses with no adult home yet. Most important to me personally? I want our students here in school, learning!

I won’t ever sacrifice the safety of our students for those reasons, but I’ll be very careful and thoughtful about any decision to close. Which brings me to another point!

We have a new door to door plan in place for those days when it’s very cold so that we don’t have to cancel like we did last year. Many students already have a bus stop directly in front of their home every day. For those students who walk the quarter mile to school or a bus stop–our drivers will stop at every house on the route when I call to say “the Cold Weather Plan” is in effect. The National Weather Service guidelines show that sustained exposure of 30 minutes at -18 to -41 is the average temperature that may result in frost bite. With door to door pick up in those temperatures, we should have no reason to close just for cold weather. If we implement the Cold Weather Plan, families will receive a phone call just like they do for a snow day.

Thanks to everyone who works hard to help us prepare and transport our students safely!