Dear Colleagues,
Hope you weathered well during the recent storm. I know dismissal was difficult and many of you had a very long, hard and dangerous commute home on Tuesday in the storm. Dismissal procedures during storms like this will be discussed with administration.
Below is a synopsis of the BOE Meeting on Jan. 23, 2014:
*Presentation by Stephanie Knowles on the M.S. Special Education Program
*It was reported that there was an increase of $422,000 in the State Aid Proposal for 2014- 2015. This equates to four classroom teachers. Board will wait for budget to see how to allocate this money.
*The actual 2 % Tax Cap for 2014- 2015 is 1.468% . (A lower tax cap means less money allowed to be tax = less money in budget)
*The Fiscal Stability of the School District is 8.3%. Herricks is in good fiscal stability (anything above 25% indicates fiscal stress)
*The process will soon open for enrollment into the new first grade Language Immersion classes for 2014-2015 (next Fall). There will be parent informational meetings held. These parent meetings will be required by parents of potential incoming students unless they have siblings currently enrolled in the program. There will be consideration of once again having the L.I. Program open to Kindergarten students in 2015-2016.
*Enrollment Zones - Recommendation that homes south of Community Center to Hillside Avenue be zoned back to Center Street School. This would apply only to new students. Students who currently attend Denton and their younger siblings would be grandfathered and would not have to change schools. These homes are physically closer to Center Street School. Over time this recommendation will alleviate over-enrollment at Denton Avenue. This is only a recommendation at this time. No decision was made on this issue.
*Herricks Community Fund awarded $16,014 in MIni-Grants to staff members
*"InBloom" and "Opting Out" are becoming Unanimous Issues throughout the State.
*InBloom - There is a growing increase of support to "Kill it" throughout the State. State Senate has drafted a Bill to kill InBloom
*Superintendent commented, "Need to change emphasis from testing to professional development
*Jim Gounaris will speak to Ken Wagner regarding "Killing" InBloom
*Approval of Affordable Health Care Act - Resolution for Ongoing Employees who work an average of thirty hours per week. Eligibility will be determined by average number of hours worked between the measurement period of Nov 1, 2013 through Oct. 31, 2014.
*Next BOE meeting: Feb. 6, 2014 - Budget Presentation 7:15 C.C.
Keeping you informed and strengthening our membership.
In unity,
Nidya Degliomini
President>
Herricks Teachers' Association