|
|
THE STATE
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY
OF THE STATE OF |
|
TO: |
Full Board |
|
FROM: |
Jean C. Stevens |
|
SUBJECT: |
Status Report on Roosevelt Union Free |
|
DATE: |
December 20, 2006 |
|
STRATEGIC
GOAL: |
Goals 1 and 2 |
|
AUTHORIZATION(S): |
|
|
|
|
SUMMARY
Issue for Information
Monthly status report on key
issues for the
Reason(s) for Consideration
Requested by members of the Board
of Regents.
Proposed Handling
For information.
Procedural
History
Not applicable.
Background
Information
Section 1 of the statute authorizes the Commissioner of Education to
appoint and supervise the superintendent of schools; he may disapprove the
appointments of assistant or associate superintendents, building principals and
other school administrators and supervisors, including tenure appointments.
Furthermore, the Commissioner exercises fiscal and educational program
oversight. The interim BOE must provide a five-year education plan with annual
updates and a five-year financial stabilization plan for the district, which
shall ensure that revenues and expenditures are in balance. The interim BOE must also provide the
Board of Regents with periodic updates of the educational progress of the school
district.
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the
Regents review the attached status report and SED/Roosevelt monthly meeting
agenda that provides information on the operations and oversight of the
·
Attachment A: SED Status
Report on Roosevelt Union Free
·
Attachment B:
Timetable for
Implementation
Not applicable.
Attachments
ATTACHMENT A
SED STATUS REPORT ON ROOSEVELT UNION FREE
The following provides information regarding five areas of continued Department focus during this reporting period.
1. State Education Department (SED) Oversight and Support
The State Education Department continues to provide ongoing and sustained
oversight of the
On November 28-29, 2006, a team of SED and regional network experts conducted central office and school-level reviews to determine progress and needs related to the following areas: general education (ELA and mathematics) instruction and resources; special education services; Academic Intervention Services; student support services, including attendance and census report; child nutrition; early childhood services; bilingual education; facilities, technology and data; fiscal administration; leadership; governance; professional development and library services.
The review of the
Ø Stage 1. November 20-21, the SED Title I Office completed a district-level review focused on instructional, fiduciary and accountability requirements. On November 22, preliminary findings, observations and considerations were verbally presented to teams who would conduct the stage 2 reviews.
Ø Stage 2. November 28-29, seven review teams completed reviews in each building and with central office personnel. The building-level reviews included interviews of principals, assistant principals, teachers, guidance personnel and students (at the middle school and high school levels); and classroom visits across program areas (primarily in ELA and mathematics).
Ø Stage 3. December 4-5, the Office of Child Nutrition Program Administration completed a review of the nutrition program in all schools in the district.
Ø Stage 4. A Roosevelt School District Community Meeting will be held in
early 2007. The meeting will be led by Commissioner Mills who will
present information regarding school district performance, and community
members/organizations will have the opportunity to present
recommendations and comments.
Following the site visits
described in stages 2 and 3, the team prepared draft reports which include
observations and recommendations. It is anticipated that this comprehensive
review of the district will provide SED with more complete information upon
which to determine whether the district’s Five-Year Education Plan is approvable
or in need of revisions. In addition, the school district will have objective,
factual information to be considered in making programmatic and resource
allocation adjustments during 2006-07, and for the development of the 2007-08
school district budget.
2. Interim Board of
Education
Mr. Edward McCormick, Dr. Laval Wilson, and Mr. Glenn E. Simmons have
announced their resignations as members of the Interim Board of Education for
the
3.
Academic
·
Five-Year
Education Plan
The Department Roosevelt team completed a review of the Five-Year Education Plan and made recommendations that will help the district strengthen sections of the plan. Additional recommendations are expected to result from the comprehensive site visit. A final revised plan is subject to the approval of the Commissioner. When the Commissioner approves the plan, the revised plan will be presented to the community at a public meeting by the Roosevelt Board of Education and the Commissioner or his designee.
·
Title
I
The Title I School
Improvement Grant Extension for the
·
SURR
Status
The district has petitioned for the
4.
Finance
Based upon information provided by the
district, the fiscal administrator successfully completed the task of costing
out the $6 million special academic improvement grant. The analyses provide an accounting for
funds appropriated by the Legislature for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years.
The district’s independent auditors have
completed their report for the 2005-06 fiscal year. Though the auditors have confirmed a
$5.7 million operating loss, there has been an improvement in the type of audit
opinion received. For example, the district received a disclaimer of opinion for
the 2004-05 school year, which means that the records and supporting
documentation were in such poor condition that the auditors could not render an
opinion. Due to a combined
SED/district effort this year, sufficient evidence was provided to support an
unqualified audit opinion. From a
financial reporting standpoint, the district is certainly headed in the right
direction.
The Department continues to press the
district to encumber its fixed costs.
Once this exercise is completed, there will be a clearer picture of the
fiscal state of the district for the current year (2006-07). The district has also begun the process
of preparing the 2007-08 budget.
5. Audit
- Final Audit Report (SD-0205-5)
Six of the original 62 audit recommendations
remain unimplemented. The school district needs to provide the status of those
remaining recommendations as they become implemented. The Office of Audit
Services (OAS) will analyze the information provided by the district and prepare
a status report for the Board of Regents.
- Data Audit
The Office of Audit Services (OAS) completed
field work on the audit of the reliability of the district’s data. The last
phase of the audit is an assessment of the reliability of the 2002 cohort data
which was submitted to the Department in August. The data is being analyzed and
a report will be prepared. The final report on the results of the audit will be
provided to the Board of Regents.
- State Comptroller
Audit
The Office of the State Comptroller audit
was scheduled to be completed by the end of November 2006, but additional time
was needed. It is projected that
the work will completed before the end of December.
6.
Construction
On November 28-29, SED Office of
Facilities Planning staff visited
In general, the projects are
progressing well and within budget.
One exception is the middle school, which is on budget with respect to
the construction of the facility, but significantly over budget with respect to
the unanticipated costs for remediation of the debris-filled site acquired from
The Office of Facilities Planning
is considering several possibilities to defray the cost of site
remediation. These include
negotiating with
- Centennial
Elementary
Phase I of this project is
complete and operational. Minor
“punch list” items continue to be evaluated and corrected. Phase II, consisting of the gymnasium
and cafeteria spaces, will be constructed after the completion of
·
Washington
The building masonry is complete. Some staining of the exterior split face block is under investigation. The manufacturer and installer are visiting the site this week to resolve the problem. Final roofing is installed. Windows and doors are installed with final interior and exterior trim being completed. The elevator technicians have begun installing the elevator. Fire sprinkler work will begin shortly when approved by the Nassau County Fire Marshall. Site work continues with various areas receiving concrete walks.
The HVAC contractor is in
financial difficulty and is not completing the project. SED is working with the bonding company
to identify the remaining work in order for them to staff and complete the
project. The original schedule of
December 15 for completion will not be met. However, Superintendent Ross had
recently determined not to move into the new facility until after the
administration of State assessments.
This decision is based on avoiding disruption and confusion just prior to
exams. This will allow some
additional time to ensure the completion of “punch list” items and final
adjustments to the facility prior to occupancy. It is now expected that the facility
will be completed in late January, and the move will be scheduled over the
mid-February winter break.
- Middle School
Exterior completion of the remediation plan involves the complete excavation and removal of all debris on-site with appropriate testing of soil to determine what soil may stay for re-utilization and what soil must be removed and disposed of off-site. The district’s environmental consultants, as well as DEC and DOH, are monitoring the process. Exterior remediation is under way.
Due to the delays experienced at this site in order to address soil contamination, the facility will not be completed on budget, or on schedule. Current estimates based on the amount of debris discovered, and the cost to date of implementing the approved remediation plan, are that the middle school is currently $10 million over budget, and over one-year behind the original schedule. A meeting is scheduled for December 12, 2006 with DEC, DOH, SED, and the district, as well as the district’s consultants, to discuss progress on the remediation plan, and to discuss the possibility of holding Nassau County responsible for the cleanup costs as it originally contaminated the property. Based on the outcomes of this meeting, a plan of action will be developed to complete the project.
A public meeting will also be
scheduled in
Bids were opened for
It appears that this project will either be on budget or possibly $1 million below budget based on final evaluation of the site contractor. It is expected that this project will be completed on schedule for occupancy in September 2008. Start of work will be slightly delayed by the current HVAC delays at Washington Rose, but this will not impact the occupancy date for Ulysses Byas.
·
High
School
All future work will continue to be delayed contingent upon the completion of the middle school. The high school project cannot be commenced until the new middle school is completed. Cost overruns at the middle school will ultimately impact the scope of the high school renovations. SED is meeting with the district to evaluate available options including the use of RESCUE and EXCEL funding. When the second phase of Centennial is bid SED will have a further understanding of those costs, as well as more definitive estimates of the middle school remediation costs, and will have a complete picture of the funding available for the high school.