AUBURN - Joseph D. “J.D.” Pabis had only one word to describe how he felt after being sworn in as the next superintendent for the Auburn Enlarged City School District on Tuesday: “elated.”
“I look forward to working in an excellent community with an excellent staff to deal with the daily challenges that are both short and long term,” he added.
The Board of Education voted unanimously to accept Pabis' contract for a term of five years with an annual salary of $155,000 for 2007-2008.
Pabis' full contract was not disclosed.
The district, during the superintendent search process, had set a minimum salary of $150,000 for the next district leader. Former superintendent John Plume's salary was $147,087.
In June, the board voted in favor of extending Pabis' contract as assistant superintendent for personnel, finance and operations for a term of five years with a salary of $115,000 and an approximate 4 percent raise each year.
Pabis was appointed superintendent by the board on July 17 to succeed John Plume, who retired on July 27.
Embedded within his contract is a residency requirement, which would require Pabis to relocate from his home in Groton in Tompkins County to the city of Auburn by Sept. 1.
“I will be residing in Auburn effective Sept. 1,” Pabis said. “My furniture might not be,” he added with a chuckle.
According to board president David Lansford, the board will be understanding if Pabis has difficulty taking up permanent residency within the district limits.
“We agreed to pay reasonable moving costs if he can't relocate by Aug. 2008,” he said.
Applause and wishes of congratulations erupted in the board meeting room as Pabis officially became the next leader of the district.
Also on Tuesday, Laura Owen, director of Special Education, presented to the board the Special Education Quality Assurance Plan, a district-wide plan to address Special Education academic achievement issues that contributed to the district being deemed by New York State as a District in Need of Improvement, Year 1.
The district did not meet adequate yearly progress in English Language Arts for students with disabilities at both the Kindergarten through 8th grade and high school levels. Adequate yearly progress was made in math for students with disabilities, but only using Safe Harbor Target, a safety net.
And there is a significant gap in the graduation rate between Students with Disabilities and mainstream education, 30 percent compared with 72 percent.
The plan called for the implementation of the Quality Improvement Plan, funded by a $65,000 grant from the discretionary funds of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which would address achievement issues for students with disabilities.
Using state assessment scores, Owen and her team will identify the skills students with disabilities are lacking, prioritize them, and then identify the best practices to teach the skills.
“Our goal is to improve literacy and math skills in the middle schools,” Owen said. “Once we locate key areas we will be marching them back to the elementary buildings and our staff so we can look at how quickly and soon we can address these deficits.
“It's a catch-22 for kids who are significantly below grade-level,” she continued. “They obviously have gaps in their skills, and if we spend time filling in the gaps, it will interfere with the time working in the grade-level curriculum. That's why we really are trying to catch kids up.”
In other news:
* Jeffrey Pirozzolo joined the board on Tuesday as interim superintendent for personnel, finance and operations, filling Pabis' former position. Pirozzolo, an assistant principal at West Middle School, will hold the position for three months.
* The board accepted the withdrawal of an offer by David Brooks of Auburn to purchase Lots 5 and 6 of the vacant land on the Garrow St. Extension for $28,000. The board then accepted an offer by Gregory J. Lennox of Auburn to purchase the land for the same cost.
* The board approved the proposed agreement between the district and Larry Bell of Multicultural America, Inc., providing workshops for multicultural training in an effort to close the achievement gap between socioeconomic condition and cultural or gender differences in the 2007-2008 school year.
* The next Auburn Board of Education meeting will be held on Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. in the Harriet Tubman Administrative Building.
Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at alyssa.sunkin@lee.net or 253-5311 ext. 239.
The Board of Education voted unanimously to accept Pabis' contract for a term of five years with an annual salary of $155,000 for 2007-2008.
Pabis' full contract was not disclosed.
The district, during the superintendent search process, had set a minimum salary of $150,000 for the next district leader. Former superintendent John Plume's salary was $147,087.
In June, the board voted in favor of extending Pabis' contract as assistant superintendent for personnel, finance and operations for a term of five years with a salary of $115,000 and an approximate 4 percent raise each year.
Pabis was appointed superintendent by the board on July 17 to succeed John Plume, who retired on July 27.
Embedded within his contract is a residency requirement, which would require Pabis to relocate from his home in Groton in Tompkins County to the city of Auburn by Sept. 1.
“I will be residing in Auburn effective Sept. 1,” Pabis said. “My furniture might not be,” he added with a chuckle.
According to board president David Lansford, the board will be understanding if Pabis has difficulty taking up permanent residency within the district limits.
“We agreed to pay reasonable moving costs if he can't relocate by Aug. 2008,” he said.
Applause and wishes of congratulations erupted in the board meeting room as Pabis officially became the next leader of the district.
Also on Tuesday, Laura Owen, director of Special Education, presented to the board the Special Education Quality Assurance Plan, a district-wide plan to address Special Education academic achievement issues that contributed to the district being deemed by New York State as a District in Need of Improvement, Year 1.
The district did not meet adequate yearly progress in English Language Arts for students with disabilities at both the Kindergarten through 8th grade and high school levels. Adequate yearly progress was made in math for students with disabilities, but only using Safe Harbor Target, a safety net.
And there is a significant gap in the graduation rate between Students with Disabilities and mainstream education, 30 percent compared with 72 percent.
The plan called for the implementation of the Quality Improvement Plan, funded by a $65,000 grant from the discretionary funds of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which would address achievement issues for students with disabilities.
Using state assessment scores, Owen and her team will identify the skills students with disabilities are lacking, prioritize them, and then identify the best practices to teach the skills.
“Our goal is to improve literacy and math skills in the middle schools,” Owen said. “Once we locate key areas we will be marching them back to the elementary buildings and our staff so we can look at how quickly and soon we can address these deficits.
“It's a catch-22 for kids who are significantly below grade-level,” she continued. “They obviously have gaps in their skills, and if we spend time filling in the gaps, it will interfere with the time working in the grade-level curriculum. That's why we really are trying to catch kids up.”
In other news:
* Jeffrey Pirozzolo joined the board on Tuesday as interim superintendent for personnel, finance and operations, filling Pabis' former position. Pirozzolo, an assistant principal at West Middle School, will hold the position for three months.
* The board accepted the withdrawal of an offer by David Brooks of Auburn to purchase Lots 5 and 6 of the vacant land on the Garrow St. Extension for $28,000. The board then accepted an offer by Gregory J. Lennox of Auburn to purchase the land for the same cost.
* The board approved the proposed agreement between the district and Larry Bell of Multicultural America, Inc., providing workshops for multicultural training in an effort to close the achievement gap between socioeconomic condition and cultural or gender differences in the 2007-2008 school year.
* The next Auburn Board of Education meeting will be held on Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. in the Harriet Tubman Administrative Building.
Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at alyssa.sunkin@lee.net or 253-5311 ext. 239.
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