Tonight (2021-01-12) was a meeting of the Honeoye Falls-Lima Board of Education (BoE), and before that the Program Budget Advisory Council (PBAC).
Full disclosure: I sit on the PBAC, so some of these Observations aren’t exactly from the Audience.
The transportation and facility presentation was a bit different this year. Perhaps because they are sharing the same building, they offered a joint presentation. I have wondered for a few years if these departments would eventually merge, I think that is gradually happening.
Using pictures, a tour of the new operations center was given. It looks like a nice facility for them to work out of. And I appreciated the tour, as odds are none of us will be invited into the building anytime soon.
As expected, usage of transportation has been down somewhat. Still plenty to keep them busy, to such an extent mechanics fill in as bus drivers. The shortage of which (dedicated bus drivers, not mechanics) continues to be a challenge for the department.
Regardless of how many students are on campus, so long as the buildings are open the grounds have to be maintained. All 116 acres of them. Which they seem to be managing well enough, at least the place looks good when I visit.
In the discussion around how bus drivers are trained, I found the choice of words interesting. It was said that the staff must be ‘indoctrinated to operation’ within HFL. While I’m sure there was nothing malicious here, I found the choice of words a bit worrisome.
The possibility of electrical vehicles continues to be explored. By the sounds of it, there has traditionally been a lag time for new technology to make it into school buses. And that matches what we were told, electric buses would cost about twice as much as existing ones. Maybe at some point, but doesn’t look like it will be this year.
On a technical note, I can see benefits to having the PBAC meeting through Zoom. While I think being in the same room has significant benefits to communication, this method does produce a recording. Which can then be watched by those who are interested in the budget process, or how a particular department functions. Even if I do miss the tours of the buildings.
After discussion with the PBAC, it was back to the BoE meeting in process.
I returned in the middle of Gene’s (Superintendent) report. He was talking about the possibility of the school providing vaccines. Currently they are NOT providing vaccines. But they would if a supply was made available to them. At the current rate people are being vaccinated, it sounds like it will take ~14 weeks to work through the 1B group of people. So that’s April – May? Not soon enough to have any meaningful impact on this school year.
Worry was expressed, not about the vaccines, but about the potential repercussions of people choosing not to take them (for whatever reasons). If/when ‘restrictions’ start being relaxed for those who are vaccinated, what happens to those that aren’t? The term ‘vaccination wars’ was mentioned, which I think is an unfortunate, but all too likely outcome. There is alot of anger and distrust built up among parts (all?) of the population. While it predates the ongoing panic, I think the restrictions, and the resulting drop in social interaction, have only exasperated the situation. We all need to see our neighbors as people. Flawed and imperfect, yet doing their best to stumble through life, just as we are. Not paragons of virtue unable to do anything wrong, nor monsters out to destroy all that is good. Isolation only encourages such false beliefs. Sure, people will die if we socialize. But people will also die if we don’t. I think we are well past the point where more people die if we don’t return to the unrestricted social interactions civilization was built around.
Much of the rest of the meeting was an exercise in group wordsmithing. While wordsmithing can be fun to do (at times), watching it done is a different story altogether. I acknowledge words have value, and the ‘right’ ones should be used in the appropriate situations. It’s just that sometimes it’s painful to watch the process.
On a happier note, there was talk that maybe the legislature will be doing something about the “runaway train known as governor Cuomo”. Regardless of the man and what he has done, I find the idea of a person being a runaway train amusing.
And those are my Observations From Audience Land for the January 12, 2021 meeting of the Honeoye Falls-Lima Board of Education.
As has become the norm for this group, Agenda’s and similar information can be found at HFL’s BoardDocs page. While a recording of the meeting will likely be available soon.