OCSD Board Of Education Discusses Budget Items During Meeting

OSWEGO – The Oswego City School District Board of Education held their bi-weekly meeting January 3, 2023, with all members present.

Superintendent Dr. Mathis Calvin III opened the meeting up congratulating members of the OHS National Honor Society for collecting and donating items to Human Concerns of Oswego Food Pantry, and also to the Kingsford Park Student Council for collecting and donating toys to the Golisano Children’s Hospital.

Calvin then moved the Board’s attention to Budget Presentation No. 2, offering information regarding the upcoming 2023-2024 budget approval process.

Calvin discussed pertinent items from the Strategic Plan Initiatives, referring to a series of meetings that were held during the fall.

According to Calvin, the English and Math curriculum’s will be brought to the “next generation learning standards” by New York State, with work underway to align the district’s efforts in these areas.

The current math program must be replaced, as the state has declared the Common Core Math Programs obsolete. Calvin said that a new program would be selected “before the year is out.”

Calvin stated that efforts are underway to increase professional development to bring staff to the anticipated level of the new curriculum.

Calvin mentioned the importance of a number of credit recovery efforts that are in place throughout the district, all in an effort to increase graduation rates.

“We would like to see those continue to be in place for the next year,” Calvin said.

Calvin discussed student support efforts across the district, noting the growing need to address trauma and its effect on students’ lives, as well as an effort to address chronic absenteeism.

Calvin said that the district is interested in partnering with ConnextCare to place school-based health centers in the Oswego City Schools, noting that the start-up costs would be centered around creating the physical locations for these centers; eventually creating three sites over the course of three years. Several Oswego County districts already offer this service.

Calvin then brought the attention of the Board to the Capital Budget, displaying a slide that illustrated the increase in Foundation Aid over the last few school years.

The next slide presented information illustrating the fact that although the district’s budget has increased over the last few years, the tax levy has remained fairly constant.

The district is proposing the purchase of 12 new school buses of varying types, at a cost of $1.416,000. This would continue with a strategy in place to keep vehicle repair costs under warranty.

Board President Dr. Lisa Glidden suggested buying the buses outright – utilizing “cash on hand,” which led to a discussion of the pros and cons of this method, which was generally found to be a risky move for the district.

The Facilities, Buildings and Grounds Budget shows a 4% increase for 2023-2024.The total Capital Budget for 2023-2024 shows a decrease of 6%, or $834,000.

Calvin directed the Board’s attention to the playground equipment needs at Minetto. Executive Director of Business and Finance Nancy Squairs stated that the $141,000 expenditure for this equipment could be found within the ARP funds.

Calvin then presented information regarding Oswego County’s Shared Services Plan. Calvin said that the County is planning to convert playing fields behind the Sheriff’s Department to artificial turf.

If the district decides to help defray the cost of this conversion, the fields would then be available at certain times for the district to utilize. Board member David Crisafulli noted that the fields in question are softball fields.

Calvin noted that there may be some issues to be considered regarding shared responsibility for these facilities, saying that a decision on this did not have to be made immediately. “It is something to think about,” Calvin said.

All three items on the Consent Agenda passed unanimously.

Under the Personnel Agenda, three retirements were approved, as well as Items A -I, unanimously. Under the Finance Agenda, Items A and B were passed unanimously.

Student representative Maura Dempsey shared her hope that all Board members had a great Holiday Season. The Board then moved to Executive Session.

To view the full agenda, please click here. All OCSD BOE meetings are held the first and third Tuesday of every month, the next meeting to be held on January 17 at 5:00 p.m. at the Oswego High School. The meeting will also be live-streamed and can be viewed on the district’s WBUC YouTube channel. To view last night’s YouTube meeting, please click here.

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