Tonight (2020-10-27) was a meeting of the Honeoye Falls-Lima Board of Education (BoE).
Buried in the ‘consensus agenda’ was the revision of minutes from a meeting last December. I don’t have the original to compare with, so I don’t know what was changed. It was interesting, as the meeting was about three hours of executive session, before discarding a short term suspension and implementing a long term suspension. I’m sure there is a story behind this, possibly involving ‘Eliza‘, but it’s likely not as exciting as it may appear.
At the start of the meeting there was a report on the capitol projects. To summarize, project 2.0 is effectively done. Project 2.5 is in the bidding stage, with a projected end of construction in December 2021. Overall, this project feels like stuff that wanted to be in 2.0, but didn’t make it (for whatever reason). Lights for the new turf field, replacing old boilers, more air conditioning, all things that were proposed in previous projects.
Worth noting that the reoccurring air conditioners is actually part of a plan. The idea is to stagger their implementation so that they don’t all reach end of life at the same time. Thus their eventual replacement will also be staggered.
And as tends to happen, there was a claim of ‘$0 local tax impact’. Which is true from a certain point of view. But as the local cost is being paid for from reserves, and those reserves will want to be refilled, there will be a local tax impact. Ideally spread out over time, and already built into the operating budget, but impact all the same. Which isn’t criticism of the method, this is exactly why reserves exist. Better to build up a reserve for inevitable projects then take out debt. My complaint is on the message. While it may be technically accurate, it comes across as deceitful.
Apparently someone has been driving their car on the track. And now that the school administration is aware, apparently they will be checking the camera recordings. I would have thought the fence would have stopped them, but people do strange things.
The District is taking out liability insurance for their gas tanks. Seems prudent with, as was pointed out, a creek around the corner. While a leak may be unlikely, insurance is good to have. Although it doesn’t cover acts of terrorism. For all the terrorists out there that can’t find a better target then a gas tank…
Tonight’s agenda included a workshop session, on the topic of what the students thought of the year so far. While there was much discussion, I found the method amusing. The Board members dispersed and used Zoom breakout sessions to talk with school staff. And while the process did work, it showed that this was a new experience for some of the people involved. Which in many ways was the message of the workshop: Online tools work, but they are inadequate in comparison to face to face methods.
The kids seem to want to be back in schools, and complained about too much screen time and mask wearing. To be fair, this information came through the school administration, so it may be biased. Having students on campus is in the organizations best interests, as it is why it exists. But at the same time, we are social animals and benefit from schedules. As such, it’s hard to argue that gathering to learn (as a concept) is a bad idea.
During the discussion it was pointed out that part of what makes this so hard is that there is ‘no end in sight’. While this is true, it has always been true, and likely always will be. While the details to covid-19 are unique, the generalities are common enough. If by some miracle this disease disappeared entirely from the Earth, another would replace it in due time. Much as it is also called SARS-2, as there was a similar disease previously. Did we panic then? While some people did, it wasn’t like this.
There is nothing new under the sun. Thus the question shouldn’t be ‘when does this end’. The question should be: Is our current approach viable, and we just need to refine it? Or is it time to return to what we did last year, and trust in the same general methods that our ancestors relied on for thousands of year?
As a silver lining, vaping is down so much as to be essentially a non-issue on campus. Again, this could be because the staff is busy with other things and doesn’t notice. Or it could be an actual massive decline. Lawbreaking is hard to measure like that. Still, it does sound like an improvement.
The Board continues to try and figure out how to recognize people who have done something worth recognizing. When this idea was first mentioned, it sounded like it would be implemented at the next meeting. I remember a name being mentioned (even if I can no longer recall it, a shame there isn’t some sort of permanent record), and they were going to be invited to the next meeting to be recognized. And two meetings later they are still trying to figure it out.
I really think they are overthinking this. Just make it an ongoing ‘Discussion Item’ on the agenda. Board president asks ‘Does anyone have anyone to recognize?’. If so, we hear a nice story about whoever. If not, on to the next item, Questions from the Audience. Which has been used to recognize people in the past. Various Board members have taken that time to point out someone who they felt has done something worth noting. No formal process or procedure, just said they did good.
KISS. If you think someone has done something worth thanking them for… Thank them for it.
And those are my Observations From Audience Land for the October 27, 2020 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.