Oakfield-Alabama Central School District board elects president, assigns committees and approves personnel

The Oakfield-Alabama Central School District Board of Education held its pre-organizational meeting on June 11, swearing in new members, electing a president and approving committee rosters and personnel appointments.

The board elected Justin Stavel as president for the 2024–25 school year after a nomination and voice vote. The new president repeated the oath of office on the record, pledging to “support the constitution of The United States and the constitution of the state of New York” and to “faithfully discharge the duties of office” as required by the oath administered at the meeting.

Why it matters: the election establishes leadership for the coming year and the board also placed a series of administrative and personnel items on the consent agenda to be handled collectively. That included committee appointments, routine financial approvals and several staff hires that set operations for the next school year.

Board action and committee appointments: by voice vote the board approved consent-agenda items including officer appointments and a slate of committee assignments for 2024–25. The Instructional Technology Committee was listed as Mallory Benjamin, Health and Wellness as Natalie Emerson, Safety as Jackie Juncker Davis, Code of Conduct as Justin Stavel, the SOAR committee as Matt Lamb, Jackie Juncker Davis and Maria Thompson, and Facilities as Tate Zielath and Justin Stavel. The GCEDC committee roster was amended to include Pete Zeliff and Matt Lamb. The board also appointed Natalie Anderson and Matthew Lamb to represent the board on the Paxton scholarship selection committee.

Financial and operational items: the board approved payment of warrants and internal claims following an audit and accepted the treasurer’s reports for May 2024 by voice vote. Staff reported that external auditors visited in mid‑June and the state comptroller has completed field work and is preparing an initial draft report focused on procurement; staff encouraged board members to attend upcoming webinars and public hearings on foundation aid and related topics.

Nonresident tuition and reimbursements: trustees discussed the district’s process for establishing a nonresident tuition rate and mileage reimbursement. District staff said the nonresident tuition figure fluctuates with state aid reporting and final financials; one preliminary number cited for elementary nonresident tuition was “1,800” and staff committed to sending a follow‑up report with calculations. The board approved the establishment of mileage and tuition rates as part of the consent agenda.

Personnel approvals and donations: the board approved several staff appointments by voice vote, including a four‑year probationary special education appointment for Catherine Zimmerman effective Aug. 28, 2024, and a four‑year probationary appointment for technology teacher Julia Urenic effective Aug. 28, 2024. The board also accepted a donation from the OA PTO of benches and a picnic table for the elementary playground.

Remarks and next steps: board members welcomed new member Mallory Benjamin and a student ex‑officio representative, praised graduation events and custodial staff for summer preparations, and noted ongoing capital project planning with plans to submit documents to the State Education Department. The board voted to enter executive session at 6:42 p.m. for personnel matters.

Representative quotes: Chair (S1) welcomed new members, saying, “I wanna welcome Mallory Benjamin to the board of education.” A board member involved in business office reporting noted auditors’ focus on procurement, stating, “it focuses on procurement, which was something we are already focusing on here as far as updating our policies, procedures, and manuals.” District staff provided an estimate used in discussion: “1,800 for elementary,” referring to a preliminary nonresident tuition figure.

The board adjourned the pre‑organizational portion of the meeting at 6:22 p.m. and moved into executive session later in the evening; the meeting record indicates more work on audits, capital plans and policy updates is expected in coming months.