Last night (2021-10-12) was a meeting of the Honeoye Falls-Lima Board of Education (BoE).
There appeared to be an executive session before the meeting. I could guess on who’s contract was being reviewed, but I’m sure it will come out if it matters.
Dayna Orione-Kim (hopefully spelled correctly) was back again to comment on para-professionals pay. She had some interesting comparisons with other districts. I commend her for taking the time and effort to share what she clearly thinks is important. The question now becomes what, if anything, is done on the topic. Perhaps something to be discussed during the next budget season.
Gene’s (Superintendent) report covered a variety of topics.
6 more people were recently inducted in the HFL Hall of Fame. A good activity to tie into fall weekend, along with the parade and sporting events.
There will be early release emergency drills soon, looks like October 14. So if you get a phone call don’t panic, it’s all part of the plan.
There are a number of staff openings. And Gene expects it to get worse over the next few years. Sounds like this isn’t effecting just HFL, but schools all over. If not all employers in general. If you are willing to work at the district, I’m sure they would be thrilled to hear from you.
Recent covid case counts were shared. Long story short, it’s not as bad as it was expected to be and HFL is below average for the area. And in this situation ‘below average’ is where you want to be. To paraphrase Gene, the data is not supporting the fear, at least when it comes to students. Various respiratory issues have been reported, but testing shows it’s not covid. While I could only speculate, it is about time for the seasonal flu to start showing up again. Could also be side effects from mask usage. Or could just be kids being kids. Regardless, Gene states his focus is on keeping students in school.
And the next meeting (Oct 26) will include a workshop on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Next topic that stood out to me was the disposal of plow equipment. Was amusing in that winter is just around the corner and a number of people wanted to be sure the replacement equipment was actually here before we get rid of the old stuff. After all, an old plow that barely does the job is better then no plow at all.
To continue from last meeting, there was discussion on the public comment portion of the meeting. Overall, it feels like a more formalized process. Which has value, if only in making it easier to know what to expect. Unfortunately, it also seems to add bureaucratic hurdles, which may make it harder to comment. Regardless, the discussion ended with the policy committee deciding to make more adjustments. So it will be back for another ‘first read’ at the next meeting. As was said, better to take the time to get it right.
And despite this being so early in the school year, it’s already time to start looking at next years budget. In particular, the schedule of meetings and how to organize them. The past few years BoE and PBAC have had joint presentation, then split up for discussion. From the BoE’s point of view, this has caused issues where certain staff were with the PBAC when the BoE wanted them for their own questions on various topics. From the discussion, it seems like moving the BoE meeting start time earlier is the preferred solution, but no decision was made.
On that topic, I will applaud Kelli Eberle for pointing out what I have felt was the worst part about being on the PBAC. You miss part of the BoE meeting. Not a large part, but if you care enough to be on the PBAC, odds are you also want to listen in on the Board’s discussion.
As Erin’s Law has been passed, educating kids to prevent sexual abuse is now required. While this is a worthwhile idea, the details are what concern me. Explaining what sexual abuse is in any detail runs the risk of being sexual abuse itself. I suspect there is a way through that challenge, and I’m sure the teachers are looking at it. After all, it’s the obvious problem.
Time for the year end Athletics report. As should surprise no one, last year was challenging. Due to how sports were broken out, there were more ‘seasons’ then normal. In addition, there were attendance restrictions, which cut down on cheering fans. On the plus side, they learned how to live-stream games. Having passed on links to the recordings, I know that’s pleased a few residents.
Final topic for the evening was a discussion on the Board’s goals, in particular producing a letter (or similar) for the public. While I don’t doubt the value, it is entertaining to hear a group talk about how to talk about the group. Will be interesting to see how this plays out over the year.
And those are my Observations From Audience Land for the October 12, 2021 meeting of the Honeoye Falls-Lima Board of Education.
Agenda’s and similar information can be found at HFL’s BoardDocs page. While a recording is also available.