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Board approves contracts, personnel actions and reserve planning items; majority by voice vote
Summary
At its Nov. 11 meeting the Rome City School District Board approved the consent agenda and multiple action items — including a $2.0M professional services contract for a 2024 capital project, several personnel appointments and a reserve‑fund update — all carried by voice vote with no recorded roll‑call tallies in the transcript.
The Rome City School District Board on Nov. 11 approved a package of routine contracts, personnel actions and policy updates in a series of motions carried by voice vote.
Among the larger items the board approved a professional services agreement with CNS companies for the district’s 2024 capital improvement project with a maximum fee of $2,006,774 and a project schedule that includes submission to the New York State Education Department in June 2025 and construction from February 2026 through March 2028. The board also authorized a BOCES cross contract with the ILO Group for school leader coaching in 2025–26 at a total not to exceed $35,007.72 and a facilities use agreement with Woods Valley LLC for ski team practices and a meet during the 2025–26 winter season (usage fee $1,150 plus $15 racer entry fees).
The board accepted a $300 donation from Day Automation for opening‑day refreshments and approved an amendment to the contract with the Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CABVI) to provide services for one additional student at a cost not to exceed $2,325 (revising the overall CABVI total to $42,325).
Personnel actions approved included tenure for Britney McCartney (special education teacher, effective Oct. 11, 2025), the probationary appointment of Eric Reynold as assistant principal at Rome Free Academy at a salary of $92,000 prorated through Nov. 11, 2028, acceptance of a separation agreement with a non‑instructional employee, and the resignation of school monitor Rebecca Mowers effective Nov. 10, 2025.
Board members also completed policy business: second readings and adoptions for student records and student privacy protections and first‑readings for video conferencing of board meetings, surveillance camera use, leave of absence procedures, and a cancer‑screening leave exhibit.
A governance measure of note: the board passed a resolution to temporarily adjust the term length for one vacancy to five years (07/01/2026–06/30/2031) at the May 19, 2026 election to restore a balanced election cycle after the district reduced board seats from nine to seven. The resolution will be submitted to the commissioner of education as required by Education Law §2502.
Votes and procedure: the transcript records motions, seconds and multiple unanimous voice votes (“Aye,” “Motion carried”) but does not record roll‑call tallies for most items; where members asked substantive questions (for example, about retroactive payment for a homecoming DJ), staff explained timing and invoice procedures before the board approved payment.
What happens next: staff said the finance committee and audit committee will resume meetings in the coming weeks to refine reserve allocations for the 2026 capital planning and the Board directed staff to publish related budget briefings.
