The Cornwall Central School District Board of Education on Jan. 13 approved a letter-of-intent with the Palumbo Group for pre-referendum consulting on a potential capital bond and renewed a yearly contract with Green Chimneys for out-of-district special-education placements.

The actions were taken during a work session at the district office after the meeting’s planned curriculum presentation was postponed because Assistant Superintendent Megan Argenio was ill. Board members also received an update from the facilities committee, which is narrowing a list of projects to include in a possible bond referendum.

Board members voted to approve the full consent agenda (items 1–8) and then separately approved item 9, the Green Chimneys contract, and item 10, pre-referendum consulting services with the Palumbo Group. The chair called for voice votes; each motion carried and the chair stated the consent agenda motion passed unanimously.

John (district staff) described Green Chimneys as “one of our long standing partners for out of district, placed special education students, with high needs,” and said the district provides families with a menu of placement options the families can visit and choose from. The board discussed that providers serve different student needs and that Green Chimneys is one of several options offered to families.

The board also approved a letter of intent to have Palumbo Group, together with the district’s architect and engineers, perform pre-referendum work needed to price and design projects the facilities committee identifies. Lou Rodriguez, identified at the facilities committee meeting as the Palumbo Group construction manager, has been working with the committee to put prices on an existing list of projects the district inherited from a prior capital project.

At the facilities update, board members said the district has about $5,000,000 in a capital reserve; at an assumed 75% state aid level that sum could translate into roughly $20,000,000 in project funds. Committee members said the list of needs exceeds that amount and that the committee will meet again to whittle down the list with the goal of producing a recommended package for voters. The facilities committee scheduled a meeting one week after the work session to continue that effort and expects to bring recommendations to the full board, possibly at the first February meeting.

Other committee updates included planned school visits to Willow Avenue, Lee Road, COH, Cornwall Central Middle School and Cornwall Central High School; a communications committee discussion about a possible public forum on chronic absenteeism; and an audit/internal-audit scheduling note for spring. Board members also noted an upcoming capital conference on Feb. 7 and one district-affiliated organization’s upcoming Zoom presentation on a school cell-phone policy.

There was no public comment. The board adjourned after a motion to close the meeting.