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Superintendent reports donations, retirements and MECO building constraints; mold testing at Park Terrace came back negative
Summary
The superintendent thanked donors, noted two retirees, reported negative mold tests at Park Terrace classrooms and kitchen areas, and described complications with leasing or selling the MECO building because of DASNY-related bonding and outstanding project debt.
The Gloversville City School District superintendent reported several donations to schools, announced retirements, and updated the board on facilities and administrative staffing, while flagging legal and financial constraints on leasing the district's MECO building.
The superintendent said the district received books from the Covey Fable Memorial Fund for Pre-K through fifth-grade students, a $225 donation from Joe Bowman for Kingsborough Elementary School’s art show and science fair, and a $2,500 donation from Fidelis Care to support the district’s backpack program. He also thanked First Choice Federal Credit Union for donating winter apparel.
Two staff retirements were announced: Paula Malagizzi, a reading teacher at Boulevard with 37 years of service, and Kimberly Messino, the district music teacher at the high school with 32 years of service.
Facilities and health testing The superintendent said staff conducted mold testing at six classrooms at the middle school in Park Terrace and at an area near the Park Terrace kitchen after parental concern. He reported that both air and tape tests were negative. "Our engineers and architects told us they did not think it was mold and, happily to report, it is not," he said and offered to share the reports with any interested individuals.
Administrative staffing The superintendent updated the board on administrative appointments: Tom Ciacchio is serving as interim high school principal (present three days a week), Christina (last name not specified) is spending additional time in the high school to support curriculum work, and Sarah Matarazzo and Brian Nashorn have begun in special education and student-dean roles, respectively.
MECO building status and constraints The superintendent described outreach from the Family Counseling Center, which expressed interest in renting the MECO building for program expansion. He said district staff are examining whether leasing the building to a noneducational agency would violate a pledge associated with past capital aid administered by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY). He said district consultants (RG Timbs and Associates) provided preliminary figures, and the district still needs bond counsel input before concluding whether a lease or sale is permissible.
Kathy (district finance official) told the board she had received numbers from the district’s financial consultant and that bond counsel at Barclay Damon will advise the district; she said the district currently owes $155,000 related to the EPC project and that other aid-generating items are not currently being generated. The superintendent said a rough estimate for outstanding work such as the water system could be in the range of $750,000 to $1,000,000 but characterized that as a ballpark figure and said the district was still assembling exact numbers.
The superintendent asked the board for direction to continue due diligence—market assessment, appraisal and precise accounting of outstanding debt—and said he would report back to the board with legal guidance and updated financials. He cautioned that if a July 1 occupancy deadline exists for the Family Counseling Center, the district currently might not be positioned to commit to a lease to noneducational tenants without further review.
No formal board action to rent or sell the MECO building was recorded in the public portion of the meeting.
