Lowdown on North Rockland School Board Meeting 9/25

BY MICHAEL CAHILL

The North Rockland Central School District Committee of the Whole met Tuesday afternoon at the administration building for their regularly scheduled meeting.

The meeting opened with an announcement by school board president Deborah Gatti that the board is now going paperless for their meetings. Gatti briefly talked about the new software they are using called “BoardDocs” which will now contain the board’s agendas and reports.

Gatti also informed the attendees that starting next month the board will no longer be offering printed agendas for those at the meeting. Those looking to follow along with the agenda will have to print it from the website and bring it from home.

During the public participation section, former North Rockland teacher Mary Dylan asked the board for an update about the planned dedication of part of the North Rockland High School library to the late teacher and administrator Tom Casey, who passed away in 2009.

Gatti admitted that the board had stalled out on the plans for the project. Last year, she said, as the district transformation project was taking shape a lot of other projects fell by the wayside. But Gatti promised that the board will pick back up where they left off on the project. “It’s on my radar,” she said. “We’ll move forward and see what we can do.”

Parents at the meeting also wanted to thank the board for quick action earlier in the week when afterschool activities were cancelled on Monday afternoon, and parents were swiftly informed. The move came because of concerns about a murder suspect from Haverstraw who was still at large.

The board then turned to several items on the agenda up for discussion. Talk turned to when the school district can expect to receive late or overdue taxes from the towns in the district.

Also discussed was the selection of a new accident insurance provider for students in the district. Even though the district is not required by law to have accident insurance it has in the past provided students and parents with a valuable service.

Board president Gatti also talked about the meeting she had with New York State Senator Larkin, who will soon be representing North Rockland in Albany. Gatti said she was very impressed with Larkin’s knowledge of the situation in North Rockland, specifically the Mirant situation.

The NRCSD will meet again on October 2, at 7:30 p.m. in the North Rockland High School auditorium.

  boarddocs, Haverstraw, North Rockland, paperless, rockland county, Stony Point, taxes