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Superintendent reports on athletic council, PowerSchool inquiry and student‑member requirement
Summary
Superintendent Schwartz updated the board on formation of an athletic council, the district's outreach after a possible PowerSchool data breach, an upcoming student job fair and a required student board member policy after a state law change.
Superintendent Schwartz told the Scotia‑Glenville Central School District Board that the district is forming an athletic council and will notify nominees around Jan. 22, with an initial meeting planned for Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 6 p.m.; the district is still selecting a venue for the larger expected turnout.
Schwartz also described the district's response to a possible data breach involving PowerSchool, saying district staff sought confirmation from the vendor and worked on clear community communications. In the meeting she thanked staff member Megan for staying on the issue: "Breach fiasco, Megan really stayed on that, so, vigorously, for lack of better words, even though we it took us quite some time to get a real answer from PowerSchool about whether or not our data had been breached." Schwartz said community communications were handled with care to make them accurate once information was available.
The superintendent reminded the board that the student‑led Capstone 6 project will host a job fair on a Thursday morning from 9 a.m. to noon and encouraged board attendance.
Legislative and policy matters Board member Kim reported on the governor's state‑of‑the‑state proposal to provide free breakfast and lunch for all students regardless of income; Kim described the proposal as "very exciting." Kim also reminded the board that state law now requires a student board member by July 1 and urged the board to begin planning a selection process: "I would love to see the board involved in figuring out the process to to get to there." The transcript indicates the district staff and board members will review options reported in recent communications.
On academic policy, the board discussed changes to the Advanced Placement/placement process and a mechanism to appeal Tanner scores. A district presenter said the district has been working with Drs. Buff and Henley to draft a document that would allow parents to request an override of the Tanner score, while retaining other qualifying criteria: "We will still have kids qualify through APP. But if you're not, satisfied with the result, there will be a way to appeal that 1 section, you would still have to, be successful on the other sections." Board members said a separate policy or regulation will be needed to implement a student board member once the details are settled.
Safety forum and calendar posting Board members noted a school safety forum scheduled for Thursday at 6 p.m. in the middle school cafeteria. One board member said the event was not visible on the district calendar and asked staff to post it on the school calendar and social channels; district staff confirmed an article about the forum ran in the Gazette and provided printed copies at the meeting.
Ending: The board moved on to formal business and votes after the superintendent and committee reports.
