OSWEGO – The Oswego City School District Board of Education their bi-monthly meeting last night, April 18, 2023, with all members present. The meeting was brief.
>Several attendees spoke during the public session, including a person named Kristen, who questioned the length of time allotted to selecting a new Superintendent. Board President Dr. Lisa Glidden noted in her response that the timeline, much shorter than the period of time utilized to select former Superintendent Dr. Mathis Calvin III, was created to attempt to ensure that a new Superintendent will be in place at the beginning of the 2023-2024 academic year.
In the Superintendent’s Report, Interim OCSD Superintendent Jeffery Gordon listed several events, including this upcoming weekend’s All County Choral Festival, to be held at Pulaski Academy and Central School’s Middle/Senior building. Gordon also mentioned the Board’s meeting scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 26, to vote on the CITI BOCES Budget and BOCES Board candidates. This meeting will be held at the Education Center.
After the Board passed all items on the Consent Agenda, Gordon explained an alteration to the school schedule, stating that due to the High School having utilized more than the allotted snow days because of a burst pipe emergency day use, students in the High School only will report to school for a half day on May 5, 2023. The second half of the day will be made up by staff reporting for a half day on May 26, 2023.
All items on the Personnel Agenda were passed unanimously. All items passed on the Finance Agenda; with the Board then performing a roll call vote to approve the 2033-2024 budget. Board member Pamela Dowd commented that the number was higher than she would like to have seen, and that although State Aid is somewhat unpredictable, the current slow but steady rise is “unsustainable.”
After listing several potential challenges to the future of OCSD’s finances, Board member Dr. James MacKenzie said, ”I fully support this budget as is.” The item passed with Board member Sean Onmacht voting against the measure.
Student Representative Maura Dempsey addressed the Board, speaking in positive terms regarding the High School’s recent Spirit Week festivities; also announcing several upcoming athletic events.
BOE meetings are held the first and third Tuesday of every month, the next meeting to be held on May 2 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the Oswego High School Library. The meeting will also be live-streamed on WBUC’s YouTube channel. To view the full agenda, please click here.
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