Niagara Falls board approves code of conduct and safety plans, hears graduation update and greenlights grant-funded summer programs

The Niagara Falls Board of Education on June 18 approved a district code of conduct, a comprehensive district-wide safety plan and building-level safety plans, and moved forward multiple grant-funded summer-learning contracts and vendor renewals.

The board voted to adopt the code of conduct and the district and building safety plans after a public hearing on May 7, board members said; the plans are scheduled to be submitted to the state by July 1. Superintendent Mark Laurie said those votes were the night’s main policy actions and stressed they will be delivered to the state on schedule.

The board also approved a range of vendor contracts and short-term agreements paid from grant funds, not from the district’s general fund. Laurie said the summer programs (resolutions 604–616) are funded by specific grant lines and will include formal internal and external evaluations; he told the board to expect an update at the August 27 meeting.

On graduation, Mr. Rotella, representing the administrative team, said, “we have what we would feel are 480 students that we could say graduate today,” while noting 81 students remain pending because of final quarter grades or exams. He summarized cohort figures: "Our overall cohort size is 545," with 48 students identified as cohort non-graduates (attrition across the 9–12 years) and eight special-education students who may extend services and therefore affect official counts.

Rotella cautioned that only some Regents exam results are in and that final grades are still being entered. "Final grades are closing tomorrow," he said, adding that Algebra 1 and English counts are included but other Regents (science, U.S. history, Algebra II/Trig, etc.) remain to be finalized.

Board members pressed for clarity on the effect of special-education and COVID-era exemptions on the reported graduation rate. Laurie and Rotella said the district expects an approximate graduation rate around the low-to-mid 80s (they discussed a range of roughly 81–85%), with a best-case scenario nearing the high 80s if pending students meet requirements.

Also on the agenda, trustees approved renewals with Johnson Controls for HVAC and fire-monitoring services, a property/casualty insurance renewal (with a reported year-over-year increase near 9.84%), and an expansion of interpretation and translation services for incoming English-as-new-language students. The board voted to join an Orleans–Niagara BOCES resolution to participate in a class-action-style standing against certain social-media companies; Laurie said this action carries no district cost unless there is a recovery, in which attorney fees would be deducted from any award.

The board bundled dozens of routine personnel appointments, special-education placement agreements, and professional-service contracts and approved them as part of its consent agenda.

The meeting packet and votes are available in the district record; the board expects to post evaluations of grant-funded programs this summer, and graduation is scheduled for next Thursday with a rain date the following evening.