Tonight (2021-02-23) 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 High School and Sports Department gave their presentations tonight. Between being on the PBAC, the presentations being recorded (available), I don’t have anything to say on them. The meeting afterwards though…
While I didn’t hear the Capitol Project discussed, there was a report in the documents. As the best part was pictures of concrete floors, I was not surprised I heard nothing on this. As with all infrastructure, concrete floors are best when boring. Even as we do need something to stand upon.
Gene (Superintendent) gave a nice monologue where he summarized the past regulations on school reopening. To summarize his summary: Whatever the rules are today, they will be different tomorrow.
He pointed out how if the ‘social distancing’ rule was 4 feet 6 inches, instead of 6 feet, they could have all the students on campus tomorrow. But that making that choice isn’t up to the school (or superintendent) until the ‘crisis’ is over. Until then, control rests with the Department of Health. So at least we know where to send the angry letters.
He believes that students are safer on campus then at home. There being less risks, less temptations, and better support structures. While I’m not sure I entirely agree with him, there are some good points there.
Reading between the lines, from the way things were described, I think the school staff has been rather traumatized by this panic. Much like the rest of us. Does leave the question of how this trauma will express itself, once the event causing it stops. If it stops. If the theories about a ‘COVID-industrial complex‘ are true, it won’t. Too much money and power in the ‘new normal’.
The school approved their side of the Summer Rec program. Has been interesting watching this go through the Town and Village, before it got here. No great surprises, just the gradual steps of the process.
There was talk about naming things, or having memorials. Acknowledged that power is one of the Board’s, but trying to figure out how they would go about doing it. Apart from being sure to take the time to consider actions, they sounded uncertain exactly what to do. As this was the ‘zero read’, they will have at least two more times to review this before adopting the policy. It was pointed out, that in the districts lifetime, only one thing has been named. So there isn’t exactly a massive demand to sort through.
And those are my Observations From Audience Land for the February 23, 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.