AUBURN - There was a time when Auburn school district residents knew Seward Elementary School as a middle school.
Beth Toepp remembers.
Toepp began working at the building in 1977, when it made the switch. For the last eight years, Toepp worked there as a part-time remedial instructor in math. She also worked part-time teaching remedial math at a private school. After a protracted school board debate Tuesday night centered on abolishing those and other instructional positions, Toepp lost both jobs.
Discussion around Toepp's status stood in stark contrast to an equally lengthy presentation on the synthetic turf issue - for which the district stands to receive more than $1 million in state and BOCES aid.
While she will remain a district employee - her skills transferred to another, yet to be named position - Toepp and her supporters attended Tuesday night's board meeting for Auburn Enlarged City School District schools to publicly decry a reduction of remedial support for children they say acutely require added instruction.
“We have kids in this district desperately in need of services,” Susan Coomber, another part-time remedial teacher at Seward, told the board.
The decision to abolish Toepp's position - along with similar posts held by an instructor at Herman Avenue Elementary - was tied to a $169,000 shortage in Title I funding. Superintendent John Plume said that in previous years, the district had allotted more Title I money to non-public schools than was their share; neither the state nor the federal governments were forthcoming with additional funds.
Plume said the district was hard-pressed to keep on all instructional staff, especially in light of voters' approval May 16 of the school district's budget, for which the board had added $290,000 to maintain school resource officers.
“I can't recommend to the board to make the reach of $169,000 dollars,” he said.
J.D. Pabis, the assistant superintendent in charge of personnel, told members the schools were targeted for cuts in part because students there had exceeded the state benchmarks mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind act.
“We had to look at where are we spending Title I money,” he said.
The district plans to look more closely in the fall at where remedial teachers are needed most, and in some cases float them between schools. Plume suggested that it may become necessary to consolidate classrooms, to ensure all students who need it can receive added instructional support.
“We'll still have remedial staff throughout all the buildings,” he said.
The question of both positions was part of a larger consent agenda on which the board would normally move as a whole. Member Kent Brandstetter's refusal to approve abolishment of the positions gave way to a motion for further discussion.
“It's hard for me to walk into a classroom and see that kid who's struggling,” Brandstetter said. “I can't support losing people that need the help so desperately.” Member Sam Giangreco voiced similar concerns.
“As much as it kills me, as much as it hurts me, I have to urge the board to support this recommendation,” said president Michael Stearns, calling the state government to task for the shortage in funding. He recommended members galvanize with other school districts in the Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES and collectively lobby legislators in Albany for increased aid.
When it was all over, the board voted 6-3 in favor of abolishing the instructional positions, with members Brandstetter, Landsford and Leogrande against the motion.
Earlier that evening, members heard a presentation from SWBR Architects and Parrone Engineering around part of the district's capital project that recommends installing synthetic turf in one of the existing playing fields. Michael Montalto, the project manager at Parrone, gave cost breakdowns for a variety of options he described to the board as an “a la carte menu.” The options:
- Synthetic turf installation and facility upgrades around Holland Stadium at an estimated cost of $1.6 million. Optional and other upgrades would include grandstand improvements - including a new pressbox, a jogging track, re-aiming the lighting system, a new sound system and additional fencing, a plaza or walks.
- New stadium at Auburn High School, at an estimated cost of $2.1 million. The project would include optional and other improvements like a synthetic field inside the existing track, a new 1,200 spectator grandstand - with a new pressbox, concession stand and bathrooms, upgraded lighting system, a new sound system, a scoreboard and fencing or walks.
- Practice field at Auburn High School at an estimated cost of $1.1 million. The project would include a synthetic field, band platform, a 500 person grandstand and additional fencing and walks, with the option of a lighting system.
- Natural turf improvements and facility upgrade at Holland Stadium, at an estimated cost of $722,000. Upgrades would include drainage improvements and soil augmentation, grandstand improvements to meet safety code standards, an optional jogging track, re-aiming the lighting system, a new sound system and additional fencing or walks.
- Upgrading the field at Holland Stadium, with facility improvements at the high school practice field, at an estimated cost of $1.9 million. Improvements would include installing a synthetic practice field at Auburn High School and enhancing the natural turf field at Holland Stadium.
The public will hear all the above recommendations and estimated costs at Wednesday's listening session. Parrone will have turf samples on hand and plans to offer the public the Web link to a definitive study on synthetic versus natural turf undertaken by Pennsylvania State University.
Should voters approve installation of a synthetic turf field in an October referendum, the district plans to use a one-time $1.6 million state allotment specifically for construction projects. The undertaking is also 85 percent aidable at the BOCES level.
Beth Toepp and her supporters stayed the length of the meeting; as the board withdrew into executive session, they spoke further with Pabis, who expressed his regrets for the abolished positions. Still, he said, the district's hands were tied in light of government funding and how to distribute it.
Susan Coomber understood that government funds for construction and state funds for teachers are two separate, non-interchangeable lines, but could not suppress her profound disappointment.
“It seems pretty sad that if the government can pay for dirt, but can't help kids to learn to add and subtract.”
Staff writer Olivia Goldberg can be reached at 253-5311 ext 235 or olivia.goldberg@lee.net
Toepp began working at the building in 1977, when it made the switch. For the last eight years, Toepp worked there as a part-time remedial instructor in math. She also worked part-time teaching remedial math at a private school. After a protracted school board debate Tuesday night centered on abolishing those and other instructional positions, Toepp lost both jobs.
Discussion around Toepp's status stood in stark contrast to an equally lengthy presentation on the synthetic turf issue - for which the district stands to receive more than $1 million in state and BOCES aid.
While she will remain a district employee - her skills transferred to another, yet to be named position - Toepp and her supporters attended Tuesday night's board meeting for Auburn Enlarged City School District schools to publicly decry a reduction of remedial support for children they say acutely require added instruction.
“We have kids in this district desperately in need of services,” Susan Coomber, another part-time remedial teacher at Seward, told the board.
The decision to abolish Toepp's position - along with similar posts held by an instructor at Herman Avenue Elementary - was tied to a $169,000 shortage in Title I funding. Superintendent John Plume said that in previous years, the district had allotted more Title I money to non-public schools than was their share; neither the state nor the federal governments were forthcoming with additional funds.
Plume said the district was hard-pressed to keep on all instructional staff, especially in light of voters' approval May 16 of the school district's budget, for which the board had added $290,000 to maintain school resource officers.
“I can't recommend to the board to make the reach of $169,000 dollars,” he said.
J.D. Pabis, the assistant superintendent in charge of personnel, told members the schools were targeted for cuts in part because students there had exceeded the state benchmarks mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind act.
“We had to look at where are we spending Title I money,” he said.
The district plans to look more closely in the fall at where remedial teachers are needed most, and in some cases float them between schools. Plume suggested that it may become necessary to consolidate classrooms, to ensure all students who need it can receive added instructional support.
“We'll still have remedial staff throughout all the buildings,” he said.
The question of both positions was part of a larger consent agenda on which the board would normally move as a whole. Member Kent Brandstetter's refusal to approve abolishment of the positions gave way to a motion for further discussion.
“It's hard for me to walk into a classroom and see that kid who's struggling,” Brandstetter said. “I can't support losing people that need the help so desperately.” Member Sam Giangreco voiced similar concerns.
“As much as it kills me, as much as it hurts me, I have to urge the board to support this recommendation,” said president Michael Stearns, calling the state government to task for the shortage in funding. He recommended members galvanize with other school districts in the Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES and collectively lobby legislators in Albany for increased aid.
When it was all over, the board voted 6-3 in favor of abolishing the instructional positions, with members Brandstetter, Landsford and Leogrande against the motion.
Earlier that evening, members heard a presentation from SWBR Architects and Parrone Engineering around part of the district's capital project that recommends installing synthetic turf in one of the existing playing fields. Michael Montalto, the project manager at Parrone, gave cost breakdowns for a variety of options he described to the board as an “a la carte menu.” The options:
- Synthetic turf installation and facility upgrades around Holland Stadium at an estimated cost of $1.6 million. Optional and other upgrades would include grandstand improvements - including a new pressbox, a jogging track, re-aiming the lighting system, a new sound system and additional fencing, a plaza or walks.
- New stadium at Auburn High School, at an estimated cost of $2.1 million. The project would include optional and other improvements like a synthetic field inside the existing track, a new 1,200 spectator grandstand - with a new pressbox, concession stand and bathrooms, upgraded lighting system, a new sound system, a scoreboard and fencing or walks.
- Practice field at Auburn High School at an estimated cost of $1.1 million. The project would include a synthetic field, band platform, a 500 person grandstand and additional fencing and walks, with the option of a lighting system.
- Natural turf improvements and facility upgrade at Holland Stadium, at an estimated cost of $722,000. Upgrades would include drainage improvements and soil augmentation, grandstand improvements to meet safety code standards, an optional jogging track, re-aiming the lighting system, a new sound system and additional fencing or walks.
- Upgrading the field at Holland Stadium, with facility improvements at the high school practice field, at an estimated cost of $1.9 million. Improvements would include installing a synthetic practice field at Auburn High School and enhancing the natural turf field at Holland Stadium.
The public will hear all the above recommendations and estimated costs at Wednesday's listening session. Parrone will have turf samples on hand and plans to offer the public the Web link to a definitive study on synthetic versus natural turf undertaken by Pennsylvania State University.
Should voters approve installation of a synthetic turf field in an October referendum, the district plans to use a one-time $1.6 million state allotment specifically for construction projects. The undertaking is also 85 percent aidable at the BOCES level.
Beth Toepp and her supporters stayed the length of the meeting; as the board withdrew into executive session, they spoke further with Pabis, who expressed his regrets for the abolished positions. Still, he said, the district's hands were tied in light of government funding and how to distribute it.
Susan Coomber understood that government funds for construction and state funds for teachers are two separate, non-interchangeable lines, but could not suppress her profound disappointment.
“It seems pretty sad that if the government can pay for dirt, but can't help kids to learn to add and subtract.”
Staff writer Olivia Goldberg can be reached at 253-5311 ext 235 or olivia.goldberg@lee.net
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