Sachem BOE Meeting News & Notes

If you missed Wedneday night's Sachem Central School District Board of Education meeting at Samoset Middle School, here's what happened:

District Administrator Contracts Approved

Paul Manzo, who will fill Paul Kopp's role of Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction for the Secondary level, as well as Jill Karp (Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction – Elementary), Gail Grenzig (Assistant Superintendent for Personnel) and Kristin Capel-Eden (administrator for personnel) all had their contracts approved by the board. Manzo's previous position of Assistant Superintendent for Business has been absolved.

It did not go without conversation regarding raises for district administrators. One school trustee immediately called the group into executive session midway through the meeting once approval was called for on the contracts. Though they were approved, it was far from a unanimous decision across the board. The Board voted 6-3 for Manzo, 7-2 for Karp and Capel-Eden and 5-4 for Grenzig.

"Some people have less than 12 months in their positions," said Board Trustee Mike Timo. "I vote no."

Class of 2014 Legacy Project

The school board approved a donation from Bissett Nursery, Nicolock and JLC Landscape of plants, shrubs and all materials for the Class of 2014 Freshman Legacy Project at Sachem High School North. The project titled the "Rain Garden," will include a small brick patio, professionally landscaped with a pondless water feature in the shape of a stone flame representing a Sachem Flaming Arrow. The granite flame measures 19.5(L)x10.5(W)x32(H). The value of the donation is $9,500. It will be unveiled on the 10th anniversary of September 11 in 2011.

EXCEL Bond Capital Projects

Sachem Patch will report on Phase I and II of the EXCEL Bond Projects around the Sachem district later this week. It was discussed in detail at Wednesday night's Board meeting.

Johnson Controls Construction

Bill Hayes and Dave Newman from Johnson Controls spoke about the new lighting retrofit being done at every school in Sachem. The project is about 45 percent complete. For those dreading the lights in the gymnasium at Sachem High School East, don't worry, they're being fixed this week.

Other Board Approvals

The following budget transfers of $50,000 or more were approved: $464,120.90 to allocate funds from the project holding codes for Phase I and II of the EXCEL Bond Capital Projects in the district; and $170,000 to transfer funding for McGraw-Hill science textbooks.

Sachem Legislative Committee Seeks Members

The Sachem Central School District Legislative Committee is seeking more members to join up this year. The committee helps bridge the gap between the district and members of various legislatures that affect the Sachem community from the county to state government levels. Last year, they focused their efforts on heroin and the many dangers associated with the epidemic that has hit Long Island in recent years. This year, the committee will hit on the topic of cyber-bullying, along with the Sachem PTA Council. The Legislative Committee will meet September 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the library at Samoset Middle School.

Next up

The next Sachem Board of Education meeting will be held September 15 at Samoset Middle School at the usual 7:30 p.m. start time.