schools

This is a transcript of an interview conducted with Catherine Huber, Ed.D., superintendent of the Alexander Central School District, on May 15. It's taken us some time to prepare the transcript for publication. It's been lightly edited for clarity.

The interview came about following publication of a story published April 25, Group of Alexander parents express frustration at how the school is handling discipline, student safety. Shortly after publication, the attorney for ACSD, Jennifer Schwartzott, e-mailed The Batavian and demanded a retraction. The Batavian did not retract the story, and the school district eventually dropped its demand for a retraction and agreed to an interview with Huber.

Context for the interview also includes the stories: Five school districts in Genesee County restrict speech for board members and NYSSBA deputy director addresses confusion about free speech rights of school board members.

Huber became superintendent of Alexander in December 2016.

THE BATAVIAN: We've heard from several parents, especially after our story a few weeks ago, who express frustration with the school district. They feel they are not being heard and they're powerless. This is more than just a few disgruntled parents. Why is this so pervasive? How did it become this way, and what changes are you making sure the parents are empowered?

CATHERINE HUBER: I just want to respond to that we listen to all concerns, questions that are brought to our attention. When I say we, I mean me, I mean teachers, building administrators, and our Board of Education. We deal with every situation that's brought to our attention and while sometimes there might not seem to be a resolution or might not be a resolution that people have all the details about does not mean that we're not responding.

TB: Is there anything you need to review that parents aren't getting -- how can you help parents feel more empowered, that they are being listened to?

CH: Do you have a specific situation that you --.

TB: Well, we're not supposed to discuss specific situations --.

CH: Correct.

TB: And, you know, there was the parents with the two meetings that had come up and then after a story posted we got so much feedback and social media emailed to me of like, "right on, finally somebody standing up for us." So, there is definitely a feeling out there that parents don't feel empowered and don't feel like they're being listened to. So, I'm wondering if there is a self-reflection of anything, anything you can do differently?

CH: I can assure you that we're always reviewing our processes and reflecting on how we conduct our business.

TB: Does it concern you to have this pop up like this?

CH: So, one of the things that is so fantastic about Alexander is that this school is the heart of the community and there is nothing like this community. This community loves its schools and there are so many outstanding things that are happening in this school every day. We have students who are successful on the stage, on the field, academically. We have community members, faculty, and staff who are engaged in all sorts of processes around the school all to make sure that people know that they have a voice in this school.

CH: One of the things that I'm most proud of, and I know that you were privy to some of this during your budget presentation last week, is that we've set up a whole system of committees. They are open to anybody -- community members, faculty, staff. We have student representatives on our committees. Some of the committees that we're working on right now, we have a capital project committee, we have members of our community, We have people from our transportation department, our administrators, our teachers, our staff, we have a student representative, who are not only talking about what we're going to be doing moving forward with our next project -- and I think you walked in through our last project, our beautiful new foyer -- but we're also talking about what's our vision for what Alexander will be in the next five or 10 years and then how our facilities can match up with that.

CH: We have community members and faculty and staff and students involved and all our hiring committees so we're about to start hiring for two of our retirements and those committees are important things that we're doing. We have our safety committee that has community members on it as well. We have a wellness committee. Again, representatives from across our community. Tim and I actually once a month meet with the mayor and the town supervisor in Alexander, again, as an opportunity to reach out to the community and to make sure that we always stay focused on the fact that this school is the heart of the community.

CH: That's what I want us to be focusing on. Our practices and the way that we communicate, the way that we are available -- those are all things that as any good professional will do. We're reflecting on all the time but what I'd really love to do is to get back to the conversation about all the great things that are happening at Alexander.

TB: I appreciate that. If there is any parent out there who feels that they haven't been heard, what would you encourage them to do?

CH: I would encourage them to follow the chain of command and the chain of command would be that you start with the classroom teacher. You move to the building administrator. If you still don't feel satisfied, you would move to the superintendent. And then, as appropriate, I could refer that to the Board of Education. That's in our policy.

CH: Being heard is not the same necessarily as getting the answer that you expect. We all know that. But I can assure you that parents are heard. Community members are heard when they reach out.

TB: Moving on, why should the board speak with one voice?

CH: The board should speak with one voice for several different reasons. The board by policy designates a spokesperson for the school district. We have that policy for you and I know that you've gathered those policies from other school districts as well and the board by policy has designated the superintendent as the spokesperson. Our board has also gone a step further. Recently we did a board retreat and the board established norms, which you also probably saw on our website, and one of the norms that the board established was that they would speak with one voice. They would speak with one voice on matters related to the school district. Board members individually don't have power on their own. They have power and they come together around the board table. That is not the same as their inability to express an opinion. Anybody has the ability to express an opinion. But in terms of commenting on district business, the board members only can speak with that same one voice as a board and not as individuals and they've designated the superintendent, as they probably have in most school districts, as the spokesperson for the district.

TB: Before this whole issue came up, I never, in 30 years of journalism come across agencies that said we must speak as one voice, that individual people are not their own independent agents who are responsible to their constituents. What you describe sounds like the kind of thing we would expect in Communist China where we all must be on the same page, people aren't allowed to dissent.

CH: You have the policies and I know you have the policies from the other school districts as well.

TB: Do your members have a right to dissent?

CH: Absolutely, they do.

TB: So why are they not allowed to speak those opinions if asked?

JENNIFER SCHWARTZOTT: That isn't what she said. She didn't say --

TB: I'm asking this, this because this has been my experience. Nobody can speak their opinions individually, from my experience in dealing with this school district. So I don't know, why that is?

CH: Can you maybe use a different word than allowed? Where are you finding that nobody can speak?

TB: That's comes from your statements and her statements to me.

JS: That is certainly not my statements as we've -- I'm not part of this interview, so if you want to ask Dr. Huber what her statements are you certainly can but she can't speak for me --

(NOTE: Since this interview, The Batavian has twice emailed Schwartzott offering her an opportunity to clarify her position. She hasn't acknowledged the emails.)

TB: When the first time I tried to talk to you the clear message as we speak with only one voice.

CH: Correct.

TB: Which is negating dissent or individuals’ views.

CH: It's in keeping with our policy. An important thing to keep in mind, too, is that one of the central jobs of a Board of Education is that they get to approve a policy. So, Boards of Education approve the policy that talks about things like who is the spokesperson for the board.

Continued after the jump (click "read more" below or the headline):

TB: Moving on. This gets to some Special Ed stuff. So, parents have complained that there are not enough trained personnel for Special Education and that the Special Ed room aides have no training. Are you doing anything to address this?

CH: We have outstanding faculty and staff. We have regular and robust professional development in our school district.

TB: Are the aides in Special Ed trained for dealing with Special Ed?

CH: Aides and all our staff, faculty and staff, are providing professional development.

TB: For what they're doing?

CH: They're provided professional development, yes.

TB: When there's a threat of violence at the school, how's that handled and when is it appropriate to communicate that to parents and the community?

CH: Every situation that's brought to our attention is investigated as necessary. We bring in our partners in law enforcement and when it's appropriate we certainly communicate that as appropriate.

TB: Are there any examples of when you think that might be appropriate, that the whole community should know?

CH: I'll have to think about that a little bit.

TB: When a student makes a threat of violence is law enforcement always called to investigate and document?

CH: Every situation is situation-dependent and situations are complex and they are different. When it's appropriate, law enforcement is brought into place and as you know we have a great relationship with the Genesee County Sheriff's Office. Part of our budget that's up before the voters today has to do with bringing in an SRO (School Resource Officer) as a full-time person to Alexander. We also take very seriously our commitment to safety. We have a very active safety team. Our safety committee not only reviews the code of conduct every year but they talk about safety issues in general in the district.

CH: Some of the things that came out of the safety committee and our leadership team were making our parking lot safer, for example, so we have a different traffic flow this year just to make sure that everybody's safe. We also have developed a single point of entry system. We have invested in an ID system, you're wearing the ID badge right now. We are always doing our mandated drills to make sure that when and if anything does happen, we're always available. We are grateful for the opportunity to put up to our voters bringing an SRO on staff to just add an additional layer of safety.

TB: Your code of conduct, I believe, states that, in following with state law in regard to punishment for Special Ed students -- when a child in the general population brings weapons school the student can be suspended for one year. A Special Ed student can be suspended for 45 days. In the wake of what happened in Parkland, do you feel this is sufficient? Are there any changes that should be made to the law?

CH: I'm not going to comment on the law. I can tell you that our Code of Conduct is updated every year and by a committee of teachers and administrators and it's reviewed by a parent and a student. So our Code of Conduct is a living document that we follow, understanding that every situation is complex and unique.

TB: Do you feel like the state or the authorities are given enough tools and resources to deal with unique circumstances that hit these safety issues, considering what we're seeing now?

CH: We have highly trained administrators in this school district. We have highly trained faculty and staff. We do everything we need to do in terms of safety protocols including the review of our Code of Conduct. And again, we are asking our voters to approve the additional position of an SRO in our school district.

TB: What is your authority, or do you have an authority, if there's a child who has repeatedly shown violent tendencies or threats to remove them from the population or get them out of the school?

CH: I have the legal authority to follow what we are legally bound to do. And part of that is making sure that we never forget our commitment to educating all children, providing appropriate supports and creating a safe environment for all our learners. If you'd like me to go into the process of what happens when a student doesn't behave in alignment with the Code of Conduct and how that goes, I would be happy to fill you in on all those details.

TB: Well, I think what I want to kind of assure people is, if there was a student who was a repeated problem, and it would probably a Special Ed student, that you have the processes in place and you have the authority to make sure that that threat is mitigated.

CH: I disagree with the premise that it's likely a Special Education student. I think that that's --

TB: I think that's where a public concern is now, that's why I'm phrasing it that way.

CH: OK. But I'm disagreeing with your premise.

TB: I appreciate that.

CH: We certainly have support in place for our students. We certainly have the authority to do what it is that we need to do. We have processes that we need to follow and we keep student safety and well-being as our top priority. What I'd like to share with you as well is that we very proactively added a school social worker to our elementary building this year. We did that because we understand that students are coming to us with more and more complex needs and we know that we need to provide additional layers of support. So, in addition to our school psychologists and in addition to our classroom teachers and our aides, we added a school social worker to provide all of those different levels of support.

CH: The other thing that we're doing right now is, and you heard this as well, at the budget presentation, we have a group of teachers and administrators who are working together on our Response to Intervention model. Now that might sound completely academic in terms of meeting students’ needs, but it's not because we know that students need to feel safe and have their well-being in mind before they can really achieve academically. This team has come together to study models and best practice for Response to Intervention and are developing a plan so that we can implement a K-12 system of Response to Intervention. How to meet the needs, the very diverse needs, of all our students beginning in September. That's not to say we haven't been doing that before. We have lots of systems in place. We are really focused in the school district, and to use the language that you used in an article last week, I believe, when we're talking about the budget, this really is about building capacity.* It's about building systems. It's about making sure that all our community members both internal and external feel like they're part of this school district. (*NOTE: That was Huber's language that The Batavian reported.)

CH: That RTI (Response to Intervention) model is a partner to the work that our school psychologists, our social workers, our counselors did with their comprehensive school counseling plan that's mandated by New York State and that the team presented to the board several months ago. So we are doing many things to make sure that all of our students' needs are being taken care of on a daily basis because students safety and well-being is our top priority.

TB: One thing I want to clarify, another reason I asked the question the way I did, with Special Ed there are different state mandates; how you deal with (those students), so that's also why I phrased the question earlier the way I did.

CH: And, again, I'm happy to take you through what happens when a student, Special Ed or otherwise, does not act in alignment with the Code of Conduct. I'm happy to take you through all of that because I think actually that might help just in terms of background --

TB: I'm not opposed to that, - -

CH: OK --

TB: I just recognize your time limit so I'm not sure how much that would take. If you think that would take five minutes or whatever --.

CH: I think it's important to keep in mind that when a student acts in a way that we move toward the Code of Conduct that everything is thoroughly investigated. The school principals can, if warranted, suspend a student for up to five days. There are of course many other things that could happen other than putting a student out of school. There are things like in-school suspension, detention. There also might be bringing some of our supports like I just talked about, social workers, counselors, school psychologists, in to help those children. If the principal recommends a five-day suspension, they can do that. They also can say you know what this is serious enough that maybe we'll do the five-day suspension and we'd like to recommend a superintendent's hearing.

CH: When the superintendent's hearing process gets put into play, we appoint an outside hearing officer. That person comes in. They hear what the district's take is on this particular incident. The parent can bring an attorney and if they don't have an attorney they can present their case and then the hearing officer makes a recommendation to me about if the suspension should be longer than the five days. I either agree with that, disagree with that. Ultimately, the superintendent in any school district is the one that makes that decision. If a child is a child who has a disability, there's also part of that process called a manifestation hearing, where a team comes together with teachers, administrators, parents are part of that team, the student is often part of that team, and the question really is, 'Is this child's disability, is that the reason for, perhaps, this conduct?'

CH: That's another layer of protection for students, because all of these layers when we do implement the Code of Conduct, are all to protect the students. They're all to make sure that their due process rights are maintained. But also, to make sure that we're able to give disciplinary consequences when appropriate.

CH: That's a long answer but it's important for you to know that everything, not only this school district but every school district, is done deliberately. It's done thoughtfully. It's also done within the legal framework that we have and that we must operate under. And I also hope that just that small explanation to you underlines the fact that these situations are complex and unique and they certainly are not something that everybody has access to all the information except for the people who are involved in those situations.

CH: I know that you know that I take student confidentiality very seriously. It's not only just for every student but it's also especially for those students who maybe aren't acting in alignment with the Code of Conduct. I'm going to defend that child's right to have their matter be confidential just as much as any other student and that's something that I take very seriously.

TB: It occurs to me, when a child has gone through a discipline process, especially if they've been removed from school for a time and there are perhaps some ongoing behavior issues, what kind of support can the parents expect from the school in dealing with that situation, and to be sure and continue the (child's education) during that period?

CH: We are lucky enough to be in the Genesee Valley BOCES and we partner with BOCES to provide tutoring services, so if there is ever an extended suspension, tutoring services are set up for that family immediately.

TB: I've never thought about it before, but is there support a parent that is having a hard time with a child can get through the school district? Counseling? Is there any other support they can get? I've never thought of asking that question before ...

CH: Yes, we have as I mentioned before we have lots of different supports. The other thing we do is we have lots of connections in the community. So, one of the things that we tend to do is reach out to community agencies to help families. We're here every day to make sure that students are safe and their well-being is taken care of and part of that role is really taking care of the families as well. That's something that we take really seriously.

TB: There's a couple of questions I'm looking at that I think you've already answered so let me just take a second here.

TB: If a child is feeling stressed because of the situation in the classroom with the doctors concerned about anxiety disorder is there an opportunity for that child to be moved to another classroom because of the issue in a classroom.

CH: I'm not going to respond to that question because you know that that's about a specific student and I'm not going to talk about a specific student.

(The conversation switches for a few questions to a topic of another possible story.)

TB: How many new positions were added 2017 and 2018 and you're planning for 2018-19?

CH: I am thrilled that you asked that question because it's time really; I want to make a point of the fact that we're here about the students and we're here about our programs and we're here about teaching and learning every day. And during those 16-17 school year, we offered an incentive, and districts often offer incentives to reduce staff and reduce cost. We all recognized that there were some areas that we needed to shore up a bit. There were different levels of support that our teachers needed, that our students needed. Rather than not replace the few positions that went out through this incentive we, in fact, added seven positions last year, in the 17-18 school year. We added a second-grade teacher. We added a third-grade teacher. We added a Spanish teacher full time. We added a school social worker. We added a full-time ESL teacher. That the social worker and the ESL teacher were positions that were added in the spirit of building capacity and building systems and building levels of support.

CH: We also added a Special Education teacher at the high school level. In addition to those things, we brought back classes from BOCES. Oftentimes in Special Education, districts can't sustain the level of programs by themselves that they can we all partnered together in BOCES. We brought back two specialized classes, one in our elementary building and one in our high school, so that we not only could keep our students in our district but also, we had the opportunity to tuition-in students from other school districts so then we provided that level of support. In addition to all those positions. We invested in a reading series to develop consistency in our literacy program.

CH: One of our four-year district goals right now is that all our students will be reading at grade level by the end of third grade. The elementary literacy team the year before last, so that would be 16 and 17, did a study of what needs to happen for our program to be even more responsive to the needs of all our learners, and that was before we even set the goal of everybody reading at grade level by the end of third grade. Their recommendation was to adopt a reading series. The district invested over $65,000 in their reading series. We also moved to classroom teacher from the classroom into a literacy specialist position. That position is specifically designed to help teachers and to support teachers with the implementation of this new reading series. That teacher is in classrooms doing model lessons. She's coaching teachers. She's making sure everybody has the resources that they need. She's gathering the data. She's leading data meetings. And she also is working with students. So, we added that position in. We also added in -- this was last minute -- we got an influx of kindergartners last June and we had one of our teachers who is on our payroll moved into our UPK (Universal Prekindergarten) position. But we had these kindergartners come in and so we had to make the decision about what do we do with this? Do we have class sizes that are not really acceptable to our standards in terms of class size? Do we bring in an aide into each of those classrooms? What do we do?

CH: We decided, the board was in support of this as well, that we would partner with the YMCA. They took our UPK program. We could then move that teacher who we had designated as UPK into kindergarten, which then further reduced class sizes. I believe our class size in kindergarten is 14 students. Our average class size in our elementary building this year is 17 students per class.

CH: In Addition to all of those -- I mean that's a lot, right, for the 17-18 school year. And I want to go back to the things that we were talking about earlier. This is about building capacity. This is about building systems. This is about building the type of school district that creates the conditions for all our students to be those confident learners that our mission statement talks about in that safe environment. It's from that mission statement that we developed our four goals. We have for teaching and learning goals. We have for learning environment goals. Again, these are all about collaborative structures. It's all about student engagement. But to get to student engagement we need to have that overall community support. That's what we're building in Alexander.

CH: For this year, we actually have two retirements. We are going to replace both of those positions and we're also adding in, if the voters vote for this, an Instrumental Music person. The reason that we're adding and growing our Instrumental Music program is that we have over 370 students in our school district of 850 who participate in either vocal or instrumental music. That's not counting all our students in general music classes nor is it counting our third-graders who take recorder lessons. That type of activity for our students not only speaks to the level of engagement, but speaks to something that we're proud of. Our vocal and instrumental music bands just went to a festival in Boston. They came away with seven big huge trophies, sort of Best-of-Show types of trophies.

CH: We also just had 22 students participate in the vocal all-state event that happened in Pioneer. I'm telling you all of this because our commitment to student engagement is our top priority. Our commitment to our mission is our top priority. We're not just saying that we're building systems. I came on board in December 2016. So, I haven't been here for long. But I can tell you that in the time that I have been here we have done deliberate work to build on the great foundation that has always been Alexander. This has always been a school district that is proud of its schools. This school is the heart of the community. There's great stuff happening here. Our work is just continuing on, building capacity, building these structures, and building systems.

TB: You have several how many staff have been added over that period time?

CH: We added seven people last year. We're adding one this year. (Also, replacing two retirees).

TB: Have there been any positions that have been proposed that have turned down, decided not to fund?

CH: Not that I'm aware of.

TB: OK.

CH: Are you aware of a position?

TB: No. I'll tell you the reason I'm asking is when you're doing your proposal, and I have the same thought here, is it seems that any time position is proposed and you can define it as below capacity, you added it. We've lived in New York for 12 years now, moving from California, I've had this discussion with lots of New Yorkers -- school districts seem to -- there is no regulation on spending. There's no regulator on it. You have these palaces for schools. Everything they want to get funded, seems to get funded. You talked about fiscal responsibility at the public hearing and I'm trying to look for where there is an example of fiscal responsibility.

CH: There is fiscal responsibility in the school district and to suggest otherwise is just not accurate. One of our goals right now, again we've developed those four-year goals, is that we will consistently continue to create fiscally responsible budgets and Tim has done a masterful job in making sure that we have a great foundation here. We take very seriously our commitment to the taxpayers. To suggest otherwise is a mischaracterization of this work. We don't go out on just because I'm able to make an argument for building capacity. We add on because of our commitment to our students and to our teachers and to our community to create the conditions in the school district that are the finest conditions that we can create.

CH: We, like every other school district in the State of New York, are up against some really difficult times. Around 2008, and with the Gap Elimination, this board and the school district, and this predates me, made a commitment to make sure that this school district had the best programs possible. That this school district had what students needed and that involved making some difficult choices because a penny only stretches so far. But I can guarantee that one of the things that the school does extraordinarily well, and I could list for you many other things that the school district does extraordinarily well, is to make sure that we're always being fiscally responsible. Certainly, adding teachers, I think that in this day and age adding staff to support teachers and students is actually something that should be celebrated. That school districts like ours, a small rural school district, is finding out a way to do that and to do that in a fiscally responsible way, and that our board is putting together budgets and supporting budgets that continue to support students is remarkable, and something that they should get a lot of credit for.

(The final part of the conversation dealt with questions about another potential story.)

Alexander Central School hosted its second annual Jazz Invitational on Thursday night, which featured performances of Alexander's brass band, the Alexander Jazz Cadets (photos), and the Alexander Jazz Experience, along with a performance by the Warsaw Jazz Ensemble.

Kayla Harding, with teacher Lorna Klotzbach, was named the seventh grade Citizen of the Year at Oakfield-Alabama Middle School during an awards ceremony in the auditorium yesterday.

Below, Jessica Brown, seventh-grade winner of the Citizen of the Year Award in 2017 with best friend with Victoria Kruppenbacher, the 2018 eighth-grade winner and Jonathan Boje, Social Studies teacher.

The high school held its awards ceremony earlier in the morning and named Justina Pruski valedictorian and Lauren Reding salutatorian.

The high school Citizens of the Year were:

• Julie Muntz, freshman
• Margaret DeMare, sophomore
• Colin Graham, junior
• Jessica Hicks, senior

By the fall, three deputies with the Sheriff's Office will become school resource officers in Alexander, Pavilion and Pembroke, so the County Legislature is being asked to add three new positions to the Sheriff's Office staff.

Sheriff William Sheron said the three deputies who will become SROs have been interviewed by their respective school districts and approved. He plans to announce their names next week after the Legislature approves the new positions and the contracts with the school districts.

The deputies will join Deputy Matt Butler, serving Byron-Bergen, and Deputy Chad Cummings at BOCES.

Pavilion has budgeted for a deputy serving as SRO for 12 months. Alexander and Pembroke, for 10.

The members of the Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday had questions about what happens with the SROs when school is out of session.

For BOCES and Byron-Bergen, there are events, as well as summer school, where the deputies' presence is possible.

In Butler's case, Sheron said the deputy will also build up a lot of comp time over the course of a school year, primarily from covering sporting events, and that Butler will take his comp time and vacation time during the summer. He will also work some road patrol and assist with Darien Lake security.

This will be the first summer for Cummings since becoming SRO at BOCES.

Each deputy will decide how to balance ongoing school needs, vacation and comp time during the summer, Sheron said.

In the case of the district's with only 10-month contracts, those deputies are more likely to wind up back on road patrol during the summer.

"Historically, both these schools that have them now, started off with 10 months but went to a whole year," said Legislator Gordon Dibble, former chief deputy for the Sheriff's Office. "I don’t think there is any reason these other schools won’t experience the same thing and eventually absorb that cost. I think it’s getting your foot in the door. It’s a lot easier to get your foot in the door for 10 and then add 12 after, from what I've seen."

Patrick McGee, principal at Byron-Bergen High School, attended Wednesday's meeting to discuss his school's experience with an SRO. He said Butler is more than a cop on the beat. He's a mentor, a positive influence, and a deterrent.

"He was at the prom," McGee said. "That’s the ultimate thing — no kids are going to come to the prom under the influence when you have a drug recognition expert. They know he’s standing right there. It’s not to scare them but it is a deterrent to certain behavior."

There's no price you can put on the safety of children, Sheron said, and such deterrence is invaluable.

"That’s the thing with deterrence," Sheron said. "You don’t know what you’re stopping. You’ll never know."

Yesterday, Batavia fourth-graders got a chance to try out various track and field events and demonstrate their athletic skills.

This is Nolan Ball.  He has a strong arm.  Three times he threw the softball at least 138 feet.

The boys participating in this year's B Squad, a running group coached by Sarah Gahagan and other Batavia Middle School teachers, celebrated their first year as a team with a pizza party and individual recognition for their accomplishments.

Each boy was nominated for an award by a teacher or administrator based on improvements or contributions they made throughout the school year.  There are 50 boys who participated this year.

The group runs as a team and often to locations where they learn about the community or local businesses.

A heavy rainstorm delayed the start of the annual mother and sons Mud Run at John Kennedy School today, but once the clouds cleared, the race was on.

Jennifer Desautels, covered in mud, gives a mock hug to her uniformed father, Firefighter Tom Douglas.

Hailey Coniber’s favorite subject to study in school is science, which she learns through her robot, Lenny, which attends classes every day at Wolcott Street School in Le Roy for her.

The fifth-grader was one of the first students in the district to use double robotics to attend classes from home for the last three years.

Hailey said it is fun learning through the robot, and she doesn’t feel like she is missing out anymore, not being at school.

“I get to be with my friends,” Hailey said.

Hailey was diagnosed with Stage 4 Adrenal Cortical Carcinoma in 2009 and is currently being treated at Golisano Children’s Hospital in Rochester. Due to weekly clinic appointments and 27 daily doses of medication, Hailey needs to attend school from home.

In Hailey’s treatment, her mother, Missy Coniber, said she doesn’t see a near future where Hailey can attend school in person.

“The doctors would like the scans to be clear for five years, and we haven’t reached anything near that point,” Coniber said.

That's where double robotics comes in.

Double  robotics is  a term -- also the name of the company that makes the devices -- for a robot that is on wheels, has a camera and display screen, allowing it to travel through a remote space from the robot's user to allow that user to virtually be in that location. Hailey is using it for school but double robotics are also used by remote workers to connect with the home office. 

As long as Hailey's robot is turned on, Hailey can control everything from her laptop.

“I control it with the keypad,” Hailey said.

Hailey signs into an app which allows her to control the robot’s movements.  

Not only can she control the movements with the arrow keys, but if Hailey has a question, the robot itself can be raised up, like she would be raising her hand.

Lenny has changed Hailey’s schooling drastically, Coniber said.

“Before the robot, we did two years of tutoring, and we were only getting six hours a week of tutoring and she was falling behind,” Coniber said. “We knew her medical treatments could be a long process.”

The idea came from the WSS principal, Carol Messura, who heard of double robotics and reached out to EduTech to learn more.

The Coniber family offered to pay for a robot because it was a test and they weren’t sure how well it would work, and the school system got it approved through the Board of Education and purchased the robot.

“We’re very fortunate to have the school system that we do,” Coniber said.

The summer before Hailey started using the robot, associates from EduTech tested it to make sure they fully understood how it operated.

“There were some quirks at the beginning that we had to work out, and once we got that worked out, it has become a smooth transition,” Coniber said.

Once the robot was put into the classroom, teachers, students, and the robot adapted well, Coniber said.

“The students don’t see it as a robot anymore,” Coniber said. “They see it as just Hailey.”

Coniber said she would highly recommend the robots for other families in similar situations, as a cost-effective alternative for school systems.

“Now she’s getting a full day of school,” Coniber said. “We can take the laptop or iPad to the hospital and she can attend school from the hospital if she is in-patient, so it has cut down on the number of absences.”

Photo courtesy our news partner, 13WHAM. For 13WHAM's story on Hailey, click here.

The Family Consumer Science students at Pavilion Senior High School and Middle School have been recognized for the creativity and hard work in coming up with a beef-based food product.

The competition was sponsored by the NY Beef Council and New York Agriculture in the Classroom.

The middle school students competed with students from eight other middle schools and took first place and the two, just two, seniors in the class, came in second in a competition among 21 high schools.

The $350 total in prize money was used to purchase a new Weber grill from Crocker's Ace Hardware in Le Roy.

The middle school students came up with a product they called Grabbables. It consisted of a meatball, Hawaiian roll, and mozzarella.

"It was really fun," said eighth-grader Alexa Wolcott, who was in charge of quality control for the middle school students.

"Well," added the group's CEO, Adeline Milligan, "you get food in the end."

The two classes were served a catered lunch yesterday of BBQ beef, baked beans, potato salad, and salad, courtesy the Beef Council.

The competition required the students to develop a recipe, determine a target market, come up with a marketing campaign and cost out their expenses and anticipated revenue.

"There's a lot to manage," Milligan said. "You learn what actually goes into running a business."

The competition is meant to be demanding, said Cindy Phillips, director of nutritional education for the Beef Council.

"This is a project that really challenges them to apply all of their classroom learning, from math to critical thinking, social studies, into an experiential project," she said.

Catherine Johnston, AKA "Miss J," is Pavilion's Consumer Family Science teacher. She said it was important to her to get her students involved in the competition because of the lessons they would learn.

"I really want to promote the fact that Family Consumer Science is the next step from ag," Miss J said. "We are the processors. We freeze things. We dry things. We can things. We learn all about food science in my class.

"I'm hoping students want to go into the new factories that are around here and become lab techs. There are a lot of job opportunities that go into this besides being a chef."

Photos and statement submitted by Tim McArdle, principal at Le Roy HS.

Today was an amazing morning for our seniors! The day began with our annual Senior Yearbook Breakfast where the Class of 2018 received their yearbooks and enjoyed a breakfast. Seniors enjoyed many laughs and conversations looking over the Oatkan!

Big kudos to yearbook advisors Ms. Castro and Mrs. Curtis and our student staff for an awesome job on this year’s yearbook! The senior dedication went to Mr. Crowe & Mrs. Brotherton! 

Next, we boarded the bus and traveled to Wolcott Street School for our third annual “Decision Walk.” Seniors wore T-shirts or sweatshirts representing the college or career they are going into next year and created a poster showing a visual of their chosen career. The elementary staff and students lined the hallways and sidewalks as the seniors paraded past all grade levels.

It was a very powerful experience as it represents one of the major reasons we do what we do; guiding students through years of education and creating a launching pad for them to use for the rest of their lives. It was great for the elementary staff to see their former students and the directions they are taking in the future. We also had our staff wear their own college gear representing their alma mater!

It was a great way to celebrate the future of the Class of 2018! Check out @LeRoy_Knights on  Twitter and Instagram for more videos and pics! 
 

This year's Class of 2018 fundraiser that allowed seniors to paint their own personal parking spaces at Batavia High School was a huge hit, the Board of Education was told Tuesday night, and representatives of the junior class pitched the board on continuing the project next year but with some additional features.

The juniors would like next year's seniors to pay $20 per space and allow juniors (who previously could only reserve an unpainted space) to paint theirs for $30.

They would also like to come up with an employee of the month space that is painted by students as well as sell reserved spaces for teachers, at higher prices, that would be painted by students.

The 2018 class raised more than $700 with its project and there were no problems reported in the student parking lot throughout the year.

There were 35 spaces painted and another 19 spaces reserved.

"It is probably one of the easiest fundraisers that the officers have ever had to do," said senior Mikey Lullo. "We would call it a very big success."

The proposal for the 2018-19 project was presented by Madison Dedman and Brianna Bromley.

Based on feedback from the 2018 class, they would start to start painting in July, get five days instead of two to complete the painting, and be able to paint at night when it's cooler.

The board will vote on the proposal at its next meeting.

The Board of Education meeting Tuesday night included a department review from Amanda Antonucci, art teacher at Batavia High School.

Antonucci shared the art accomplishments and progress for Jackson, John Kennedy, Batavia Middle and Batavia High schools.

At the elementary level, first- and second-graders held their annual monster swap. The first-graders draw monsters and the second-graders re-draw them. She said the project is so popular the teachers are thinking of expanding it for next year to include middle school students, who will make monster sculptures from the drawings.

Jackson just held its annual Fine Arts Night, which gives the students a chance to see their art displayed as if in a gallery.

The middle school was engaged in several cross-curriculum projects, including students drawing their portraits with adjectives describing themselves instead of regular lines. They also looked at cells under a microscope and painted pictures of what they saw.

Once again, this year, on May 30 and 31, the middle school will hold its Human Rights Heroes project.

At the high school level, there were two new electives, both very popular: Digital Photography and Graphic Design.

The students also had a number of electives to choose from, including Drawing, Printmaking, Studio Design, Portfolio, and Sculpture.

"We have great electives," Antonucci said. "For a school our size, it is really outstanding. I really appreciate it."

One of the guest artists who visited the school this year was a 1969 graduate of BHS who is a sculptor.

A popular new activity was mARTch Madness. Antonucci said in March, all the kids can talk about is basketball so the teachers set up a bracket of 16 contemporary artists and the students discussed and debated their work.

"There was a lot of great commentary and discussion," Antonucci said. "We're going to do this forever now because it was such a big hit."

She encouraged her students to enter work into a 6x6 show in Rochester. Antonucci herself entered a solo show featuring portraits she painted of students; and she and student Sophia Dinehart entered a show just for an art teacher and an art student to share a gallery space.

BHS will host its Art Appreciation Night May 30.

Below are photos of student-created and painted murals that are being completed in the hallway of the district administration building.

The Board of Education for City Schools handed out their monthly awards to start last night's meeting. Below are pictures of the winners with write-ups supplied by the school district.

Valle Jewelers invited Mrs. Torrey’s first-grade classroom to their store to further their study of gemstones and minerals in their History of the Earth Unit.

Students were able to see equipment discussed in lessons that jewelers use, find their birthstones and look at them under a microscope!

This was a hands-on way for first graders to learn and we appreciate Valle Jewelers for opening their doors to our students.  What a great experience for them! 

Photo: Stephen Valle, Pat Burk, Carrie Lawrence and her daughter, Sophia.

Jaheim Dana had a rocky start to his high school career and did not earn enough credits to progress to the 10th grade. He struggled academically, lacked motivation, and even talked about dropping out of high school.

When students have to repeat the ninth grade, we often see them lose their desire to graduate, and we struggle to get them back on track to graduate on time. This was not the case with Jaheim.

Over the last year, we have seen him make an incredible transformation! He has passed every class, is planning to study Auto Technology at BOCES in his senior year, and is right on track to graduate in 2019 with his class.

He plans to enter the military after graduation. Mrs. Garner is continually impressed with Jaheim's ability to shut out negative peer pressure and keep his eye on his goal of graduation.

We are so proud of his accomplishments at BHS and can't wait to see him walk the stage next June!

Lauren Leone is an extremely self-motivated, hard-working, and flexible graduating senior who can be depended upon to get a job done and done well.

At the beginning of this school year, she took the initiative to follow up on my invitation (given at the end of her junior year) to do some writing for the District’s A+ Community Newsletter.

She then proceeded to contribute a quality article, on time, for each issue. In addition, she was flexible in what she wrote about, giving equal care to a topic she generated on her own or one that was suggested to her. Throughout the year, she could be counted on to deliver what was needed by the deadline of when it was needed.

This was no small feat for someone who was also busy with so, so many other activities and responsibilities as a class officer, athlete, volunteer extraordinaire, as well as a dedicated student taking many demanding classes, including college-level courses, all while maintaining a grade-point average that puts her at the very top of her class.

Riley Gonzalez works hard every day. He sets a great example of how other classmates should be and act.

He has been on GREEN or ABOVE every single month this year. This is over 130 days of EXCELLENT BEHAVIOR. Over 130 days of being respectful, responsible, safe and following all of the Whole Brain Teaching rules (following directions quickly, raising hand for permission to speak, participate, and leave seat, making smart choices, and making your teachers happy.)

Riley follows all of these, as well as being a polite, caring individual. We are proud to recognize his efforts.

After reading Monday’s story in The Batavian about policies in five local school districts that prohibit individual school board members from sharing their views in public forums, such as news stories, the attorney for the New York State School Boards Association suggested that maybe something has been lost in the translation.

The NYSSBA’s policy recommendation seems clear: “ … whenever communicating about issues related to the district, each board member should clearly state that he or she is communicating a personal opinion and is not speaking for the board.”

Somewhere along the line, some school districts have turned this into a restriction on speech even by individual board members.

The fact that individuals don’t give up their First Amendment rights when elected to any public office, including school boards, could perhaps be more clearly communicated, suggested Jay Worona, deputy executive director and general counsel for the NYSSBA.

“We’re the glad that you wrote the story,” Worona said, “it helps to remind us what the perspective of the press is related to covering their respective stories. Although board members, in the absence of being specifically authorized to speak on behalf of the board, may not do so (speak for the board). They certainly are not precluded from providing the press with their individual perspectives if they choose to do so.”

Further research by The Batavian on the topic also reveals the NYS Board of Education, as expressed in nearly a dozen rulings since 1978 by education commissioners, clearly supports the right of board members to speak freely. Ruling after ruling states, “Individual board members are entitled to express their views about issues concerning the district and engage in partisan activity, provided school district funds are not used.”

In our research, The Batavian also found another document from the NYSSBA that more clearly states that individual board members retain their free speech rights. 

“Individual school board members and other school officials, acting in their personal capacity, have the same right as any other member of the community to express their views on public issues,” the document states.

Yet, in Genesee County, there are five school districts – Alexander, Byron-Bergen, Le Roy, Oakfield-Alabama, Pavilion – that have articulated policies prohibiting individual board members from publicly stating their views outside of board meetings.

After reading The Batavian's story, Rick Blum, policy director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said he was baffled that elected bodies had such rules and the elected officials accepted such restrictions.

"I don’t understand how elected officials are not allowed to talk to their constituents," Blum said. "It doesn't make sense to me. If you are an elected representative, elected to run and administer a school board or any government agency or public office, you need to do it in a representative, democratic way."

Since the story appeared Monday, The Batavian has spoken with one local school official about speech restrictions.

Alexander Superintendent Catherine Huber, Ed.D., said -- in a single statement -- that board members both can and can't speak freely: They can't share their personal views on district business; and, they have the ability to express opinions. (NOTE: We will have more from this 45-minute interview in later stories.)

"Recently we did a board retreat and the board established norms, which you also probably saw on our website, and one of the norms that the board established was that they would speak with one voice," Huber said. "They would speak with one voice on matters related to the school district.

"Board members individually don't have power on their own. They have power and they come together around the board table. That is not the same as their inability to express an opinion. Anybody has the ability to express an opinion. But in terms of commenting on district business, the board members only can speak with that same one voice as a board and not as individuals and they've designated the superintendent, as they probably have in most school districts, as the spokesperson for the district."

In the interview, we compared the "one voice" policy to Communist China. Huber's only response, "You have the policies and I know you have the policies from the other school districts as well."

When The Batavian pointed out such a policy negates dissent or individual views, Huber responded, "It's in keeping with our policy. An important thing to keep in mind, too, is that one of the central jobs of a Board of Education is that they get to approve a policy. So Boards of Education approve the policy that talks about things like who is the spokesperson for the board."

When The Batavian tried to talk with Alexander board members after an April 23 meeting, Huber stepped in, and board members reiterated, that only she could speak to reporters, a communication transaction Huber confirmed during Wednesday's interview.

After that encounter and subsequent communications with the district, The Batavian decided to survey the seven other school district's in the county expecting to find Alexander's policy was an anomaly. What we found is, it is not. While the policies of Batavia, Pembroke, and Elba are, arguably, the anomaly, there are five districts willing to openly state board members can't speak freely.

There does seem to be some confusion in Elba about the policy. While Superintendent Keith Palmer said, "Board members should emphasize to the media when asked to speak as a board member that they can only speak as a private citizen," which is in keeping with NYSSBA guidelines. When, however, The Batavian attempted to send interview questions to Elba's lone school board candidate, Candy Bezon, she declined to answer citing board policy.

The story about board member speech restrictions seemed to surprise NYSSBA's Worona. He indicated he didn't know such policies existed at school districts in New York.

The NYSSBA serves 660 school boards in New York and provides information, training and advice on matters affecting school boards to its members.

Worona said if there is a lack of clarity among school boards, it something NYSSBA should address.

"We want to make sure our school boards are judged by what they do not how they do it," Worona said.

It's reasonable for school boards to have a designated spokesperson, whether that's the board president or the superintendent, because a spokesperson is likely to be the person with the most knowledge and information about a particular topic, but a board designating a spokesperson should not be confused with the right of individual board members to answer questions, or for reporters to ask them.

Board members, of course, have a right to decline interview requests for their own personal reasons.

“Some board member who wishes not to speak the press may not do so, not to be difficult, but because they don’t feel comfortable with that media," Worona said.

Some school district and board policies may not necessarily reflect that nuance, Worona said.

There's no nuance, however, in the decisions issued by NYS Board of Education commissioners going back to 1978 when a commissioner ruled on the appeal of Rita Wolfe. 

Wolfe was a Cold Spring Harbor School Board member who sent letters to residents of Cold Spring Harbor encouraging them to vote against a proposed school budget, an action the commissioner ruled was not illegal since Wolfe lobbied residents at her own expense.

"Although an individual board member or those members holding a minority view are not entitled to have their opinions published at the district's expense in board publications, this does not mean that the individual board member may not communicate his views at his own expense."

The Wolfe decision (which, given it is from 1978, is not available online) is cited in several subsequent commissioner decisions. Decisions that either site Wolfe or state the same principle include the application of Katrina Dinan, application of Rhea Vogel, the appeal of Kevin R. Allen, the appeal of Jeremy J. Krantz (which also notes that school district employees enjoy the same right to publicly express their personal views), the appeal of Guilaine Leger-Vargas, the appeal of Dione Goldin (which involves comments Goldin made to a newspaper reporter), the application of Kaila Eisenkraft, the appeal of Glen W. Johnson, the appeal of Vincent Wallace, and the application of Julianne C. Gabryel.

What an individual reporter can do about government policies that prohibit free speech by elected officials may be limited; though courts have found, such as in Chicago Reader v. Sheahan that government agencies can't argue that alternative newsgathering resources are available as an excuse for refusing direct access to a primary source. Yet this is what Attorney Jennifer Schwartzott -- who represents Alexander, Byron-Bergen, and Pembroke -- suggested when defending school districts' speech policies.

"Community members who are interested in what the local board members have to say can attend board meetings when the members discuss issues, share their opinions, and make decisions," Schwartzott said in response to questions emailed to her last week about individual board member rights.

Speech restrictions, however, abridge the rights most directly of school board members.

David C. Bloomfield, J.D., professor of Education Law at Brooklyn College and The CUNY Grad Center, and author of a book on education law written for community members who wish to better keep tabs on their local school boards, said board members who wish to challenge the speech restrictions might best be served by going to the NYSSBA to get information to bring back to their fellow board members. If necessary, however, they might need to file an application or appeal with the education commissioner.

"The new information (the decisions mentioned above that we found since the last story, with the help of Bloomfield) seals the deal," Bloomfield said. "Rather than speculating, it’s right there, spelled out in black and white. A district shouldn’t even discourage board members from speaking out. The First Amendment should be exercised."

There is no specific state law, such as the Freedom of Information Law or the Open Meetings Law, that addresses directly a board member's right to speak freely but such a law shouldn't be necessary, said Robert Freeman, director of the state's Committee On Open Government. "We have the First Amendment.

“If a board member is speaking out, it’s up to the board to take action, and I don’t think a board would, if they thought about this, because I think a board would recognize the right of a board member to speak out, absent not representing himself or herself, as speaking for the board,” Freeman said.

Later he added, “If a board member wants to speak out then I think he or she should and challenge the policy.”

If board members won't protect themselves, it will be up to voters to make changes, said the Reporters Committee policy Director Blum.

"I think the public is going to have to elect people who are going to change school board policy," Blum said.

The Western New York Tech Academy, at Byron-Bergen High School, hosted its first mentor's breakfast Friday morning and handed out three significant awards for the first time.

Isaac Ladley, a junior in the program, received the first-ever Professional of the Year award. Pictured with Ladley are faculty members Miranda Wharram-Santillo, Thomas Schulte (principal), Mariah LaSpina, Kathryn Beaumont, and Sean Madden.

The breakfast was followed by a business fair and mock employment interviews.

Liberty Pumps was selected as Business Partner of the Year. Pictured are Jeff Cook, David Williams, Robyn Brookhart, Dennis Burke, and Thomas Schulte.

The Mentor of the Year is Gina Lathan. Pictured with Lathan, a student she mentored, Rebecca Haniscewski, and Thomas Schulte.

Ruger Starowitz for his science fair project at Byron-Bergen Elementary School made maple syrup. His father said he had ot use hand tools just like his grandfather would have done.

The science fair and an art show were part of an open house at the school last night. The student art show featured a unique black light art display.

Here are results from the elections in Genesee County's eight school districts. Voting was held today.

Alexander: 

Proposition #1, Budget: Yes: 152, No: 32
Proposition #2, Bus Purchases: Yes: 139, No: 46
Proposition #3, Equipment Capital Reserve: Yes: 132, No: 53
Proposition #4, Capital Reserve Fund: Yes: 146, No: 38
Proposition #5, Capital Reserve Fund: Yes 150, No: 34

Board of Education, Sara Fernaays: 151. Write-Ins: 8

Note: These results provided by our news partner WBTA. Alexander CSD did not respond to our request for results.

Batavia:

Budget ($52,189,152 (increase of $2,318,567 or 4.65 percent; 2.40 percent increase in tax levy): Yes: 371 (78.27 percent), No: 103 (21.73 percent)
Student Ex-Officio Board Member (non-voting): Yes: 422 (89.03 percent), No: 52  (10.97 percent) 

Board of Education positions (Three) (Top vote term is from May 15, 2018 to June 30, 2021, and the next two terms are from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2021):  Zachary Korzelius, 408, Shawna Murphy, 407, Patrick Burk, 387.

Byron-Bergen:

Proposition 1 (Budget) Yes: 448, No: 125, Passed
Proposition 2 (Bus Purchase) Yes: 439, No: 128, Passed  

Board Member Elected -- Three-year Terms: William Forsyth: 480, Debi List: 429, Amy Mathisen, 165.

Elba:

Proposition #1 -- 2018-2019 Budget -- $9,720,931: Yes: 108, No: 40.
Proposition #2 – Capital Vehicle Reserve to purchase one (1) 65-passenger school bus: Yes: 116, No: 33

Board of Education, Candy Bezon (Incumbent): 133

Le Roy: 

Budget: Yes: 319, No: 65
Library Budget: Yes: 345, No: 39

School Board Members (Vote for Three): William Mackenzie: 322, Lloyd Miller: 289, Lawrence Bonacquisti: 309. Write-ins (one vote each): Mickey Mouse, Stan Barringer, Phil Mangefrida.

Woodward Memorial Library Trustee (Vote for One): Philip Weise: 342. Write-ins (receiving one vote each): Rob Currin, Porpus Rogers, Brian Manley.

Oakfield-Alabama:

Proposition #1: Budget -- Yes: 255    No: 60, Passed
Proposition #2: Buses -- Yes: 278    No:  63, Passed

BOE Members:
Timothy Edgerton: 254
Lorna Klotzbach: 217
Douglas Esten: 141

Pavilion:

Budget, Yes: 156, No: 32, Passed

Board of Education, five-year term (vote for one): Christopher Jeffres: 93, John Bannister (Incumbent): 89.

Pembroke:

Budget Yes: 301 No: 73, Passed 80.5 percent
Authorization to Purchase School Buses, Yes: 301, No: 73, Passed 80.5 percent
Authorization to Establish a Facilities Improvement Reserve Fund, Yes: 296, No: 75, Passed 79.8 percent

Running for a Five-year Term on the School Board: John A. Cima,  335 Votes

Today is the day that residents of Genesee County are being asked to vote for school budgets and members of the board of education.

For the boards of education, we sent candidate questions to 17 school board candidates. Only four candidates answered the questions (noted below). For more information on rules aimed at silencing school board members see our story from yesterday Five school districts in Genesee County restrict speech for board members.

Here's available information for each district in Genesee County:

Alexander: Voters are being asked to approve a $17,704,810 budget with a tax levy of 6,154,675. Besides the budget, there are four other propositions on the ballot. There is one candidate for school board, Sara Fernaays, who did not respond to questions about her positions.

Batavia: From the district website: "The Board of Education, at their meeting on April 10, adopted a 2018-2019 school budget proposal to be brought to the Batavia residents for vote next month. The proposed budget presents a spending plan of $52,189,152, an increase of 4.65% over 2017-2018, but with slightly more than $2.1 million attributable to State aid through the Smart School Bonds Act. The projected tax levy increase associated with the proposal is slightly less than 2.4%. According to New York State's formula, this year's allowable tax cap for a simple majority vote in our District is 7.17%; the projected levy is 4.77% less than that cap." The school board candidates are Patrick Burk, Zachary Korzelius, and Shawna Murphy. None of the three incumbents responded to candidate questions.

Byron-Bergen: From the Byron-Bergen Newsletter: 2018-19 Proposed Budget The $22,998,010 proposed budget projects a 1.01% increase. The budget was balanced utilizing Fund Balance, Reserves, and various reductions in spending. The tax levy is at Byron-Bergen’s “allowable” tax levy limit (cap) of 2.77%. This will enable us to go out under law with a simple majority vote. There are two open school board seats and three candidates: Amy Mathisen, who responded to candidate questions, Deb List (Did not respond) and Bill Forsyth (Did not respond).

Elba: We couldn't find the district's budget information on its website. We were provided a link this morning. Here is a statement from the district's budget newsletter: "The proposed school budget for 2018-19 is in the amount of $9,720,931, an increase of approximately $447,000 (4.82%) over last year’s budget. Most of our increase will be reimbursed through an increase in State Aid and a local levy increase of $59,244 (2% over last year’s levy). " There is one candidate for school board, Candy Bezon, who declined to answer candidate questions.

Le Roy: The budget is $25,199,228 which is an increase of 2.77% or $678,510. The levy will increase by 2 percent, which is below the tax cap formula, and the rate will be $24.54. School board candidates are: William MacKenzie, Lloyd Miller, and Lawrence Bonacquisti. None of the candidates responded to our candidate questions.

Oakfield-Alabama: The school budget for 2018-19 is $20,250,350. There was no further information we could find on the district's website. There are two seats open on the school board and candidates are: Tim Edgerton (Click here for response), Lorna Klotzbach (Click here for response), and Douglas Esten (Did not respond)

Pavilion: We couldn't find budget information on the district's website. School board candidates are: John Banister (Did not respond) and Christopher Jeffres (Did not respond). UPDATE: We were told this morning the total budget is $17,485,851 and the proposed tax levy is $5,517,797.

Pembroke: The general fund budget is $22,284,632, an increase of $698,530 over this year. The proposed tax levy is $8,101,329. There is one school board candidate, John Cima, who did respond to our candidate questions (Click here for response).

For times and locations of polls, check with your school district.

Tomorrow voters throughout Genesee County will be asked to cast ballots for school board candidates in our area's eight school districts, although in many cases they will know little about the policy positions of those candidates because of school district restrictions on board member speech.

There are five school districts in Genesee County that bar school board members from publicly sharing their opinions on any school district issues -- Alexander, Byron-Bergen, Le Roy, Oakfield-Alabama, and Pavilion.

As The Batavian found over the past two weeks, these restrictions can even have a chilling effect on candidates who have not yet won a seat on a school board.

The first hint that these policies existed arose on April 23 when members of the Alexander Central School District Board declined to answer questions about policy issues in the district, citing a rule that required all statements to come from the district's superintendent, Catherine Huber, Ed.D.

That prompted an investigation by The Batavian into board member speech policies of all eight school districts in the county. We expected the Alexander policy to be an anomaly. But it isn't.

Five districts clearly prohibit school board members from making any public statements outside of a school board meeting.

School Board Candidate Questions
The Batavian sent five questions to each of the 17 school board candidates who are asking for your votes tomorrow. Only four returned responses.

Alexander Central School:

• Sara Fernaays (Did not respond)

Batavia City Schools:

• Pat Burk (Did not respond)
• Zach Korzelius (Did not respond)
• Shawna Murphy (Did not respond)

Byron-Bergen Central School:

• Amy Mathisen (Click here for response)
• Deb List (Did not respond)
• Bill Forsyth (Did not respond)

Elba Central School:

• Candy Bezon (Declined to respond)

Le Roy Central School

• William MacKenzie (Did not respond)
• Lloyd Miller (Did not respond)
• Lawrence Bonacquisti (Did not respond)

Oakfield-Alabama Central School:

• Tim Edgerton (Click here for response)
• Lorna Klotzbach (Click here for response)
• Douglas Esten (Did not respond)

Pavilion

• John Banister (Did not respond)
• Christopher Jeffres (Did not respond)

Pembroke:

• John Cima (Click here for response)

According to legal experts contacted by The Batavian, these policies likely violate the First Amendment rights of those school board members.

Robert Freedman, director of the state's Committee on Open Government, said he's run across these school district prohibitions before and he doesn't believe they would withstand a court challenge.

"Certainly, school board members should not be able to speak on behalf of the school board unless authorized," Freedman said. "But a school board member, like any other citizen of the United States, has the right, and should be encouraged, to speak on matters of public concern."

School board attorney defends speech restrictions
Jennifer Schwartzott, the attorney for the Alexander Central School District, defended her district's policy and said: "It has nothing to do with the First Amendment." She said state and federal law, along with regulations, commissioner’s decisions, and NYS case law support the position that only the superintendent can speak publicly.

NOTE:  Jennifer Schwartzott has left a comment on this story and communicated with us via email indicating she does not believe this story accurately represents her views. Please see her comment and our response below.

Schwartzott also represents Byron-Byron Central School District.

Asked for legal citations to support her claim, Schwartzott responded, "I am not going to provide you with free legal advice or do your research for you. The extensive statutory provisions of the Education Law and the corresponding regulations are available online if you wish to review them."

At her suggestion, we looked at articles 31, 35, and 37 of the state's Education Code and couldn't find a single sentence to quote that supports her assertion that state law prohibits school board members from expressing their personal opinions on matters of public interest.

Here's what Schwartzott said about the state law: "The Education Law dictates that boards of education must appoint Superintendents, and the Superintendents shall be 'the chief executive officer[s] of the school district[s],' and 'speak on all matters' on the districts’ behalves."

The question, however, isn't whether board members can individually speak on the district's behalf but whether they can publicly share their own point of view on issues of importance to the district.

New York's education law also says the "superintendent shall be under the direction of the board of education." 

At her suggestion, we also searched for case law that supports Schwartzott's assertion that board member speech can be restricted and could find none.

We did find a case that confirms elected officials enjoy First Amendment protection for speech related to their elected duties. 

Republican Party of Minn. v. White, for example, states, “The role that elected officials play in our society makes it all the more imperative that they be allowed freely to express themselves on matters of current public importance.” 

We also found reference to a case in Arizona where a school board VP was demoted after criticizing the superintendent. A court ruled that the board had a right to pick somebody with opinions better aligned with its own views on policy matters but the former VP was allowed to retain his seat on the board.

We also couldn't find regulations nor commissioner's decisions that support Schwartzott's assertion. We spent hours searching through commissioner's decisions using various search terms and could not find any decisions that indicated school districts could restrict board member speech.

David C. Bloomfield, professor of Education Law at Brooklyn College and The CUNY Grad Center, whom we contacted with the help the Education Law Association, said he knew of no law or case law that prohibited school board members from answering the questions of reporters, or any other member of the public, or otherwise publicly sharing their own personal views on matters of public interest related to his or her school district.

“That’s protected First Amendment speech," Bloomfield said. “Individual board members cannot be prohibited from expressing their opinions publicly on district policies. They are not required to express their opinions but they may express their opinions as a First Amendment matter."

School Taxes
School board members make many decisions each year that affect the lives of local residents, including determining how much we pay in taxes. Here is a sampling of what percentage school districts take in local taxes.

• Alexander CSD in the Town of Alexander: 49 percent.
• City Schools, in the City of Batavia: 47 percent
• Byron-Bergen CSD in the Town of Bergen: 48 percent.
• Byron-Bergen CSD in the Town of Byron: 53 percent.
• Elba CSD in the Town of Elba: 50 percent.
• Le Roy CSD in the Town of Le Roy: 58 percent.
• Oakfield-Alabama CSD in the Town of Oakfield: 50 percent.
• Oakfield-Alabama CSD in the Town of Alabama: 53 percent.
• Pavilion CSD in the Town of Pavilion: 49 percent.
• Pembroke CSD in the Town of Pembroke: 52 percent.

He added, “A school board member can speak about their understanding of school district policies but should be clear they don’t individually speak for the school district. That is properly the responsibility of the board president or superintendent.”

Batavia, Elba, and Pembroke all have more permissive policies than the five districts that have essentially placed a gag rule on school board members.

Candidate questions
To test school board member's understanding of their district's policies on board member speech, we sent five questions to each of the 17 candidates for school board seats in tomorrow's elections. We sent the questions last Monday with a deadline of 5 p.m. Thursday to respond.

We received responses from only five candidates.

Four of those candidates answered the questions (see sidebar).

One candidate, and a current school board member, from Elba, declined to answer the questions even though Elba's policy appears to allow school board members to express individual opinions.

"Thanks for reaching out," said Candy Bezon from Elba CSD. "I think it's great that you're doing that. Being a current Board member, I wish to decline to comment at this time as our current policy is that any media communication should be directed to our Superintendent, Keith Palmer or Board President, Mike Augello. Thank you and I hope you're having a great day."

Palmer shared the district's written policy, which says in part, "The Board President is designated as the spokesperson for the Board when the Board is making a statement on an issue. No other member of the Board individually will speak for, or in the name of, the Board unless by explicit direction of the Board. Board members should emphasize to the media when asked to speak as a board member that they can only speak as a private citizen."

For the 12 candidates who did not respond to the questionnaire, we sent a follow-up request for comment Friday morning (we also sent a reminder email Thursday morning, ahead of the deadline) and inquired as to why they did not respond to the candidate's questions. Not one of the dozen who ignored the candidate's questions acknowledged the follow-up questions.

We actually communicated with one candidate seeking votes, Sara Fernaays, who is unopposed for school board in Alexander, through Facebook messages. She also did not respond. The prior week, The Batavian attempted to interview her after a school board meeting and she declined an interview saying she feared trouble with the school district if she spoke with a reporter.

Policies in Batavia and Pembroke
In our research to uncover specific school board policies for all eight school districts in Genesee County, we first contacted Pat Burk, president of the board for city schools.

Burk said the way he understood New York law, school board members could share their personal opinions but should be clear they are not speaking for the board. They also must be careful not to discuss confidential information, such as information regarding specific students.

There are state and federal laws that protect certain student information (but not all student information) from disclosure.

"They (board members) are allowed to give their opinion but it is only a personal opinion, it is not reflective of the Board," Burk said in an email. "Most Board Members should, of course, say something on an individual issue to the extent of, 'While I feel___________, this is a matter for the entire Board and together we support _____________.  I stand by the Board's decision.'

"So with that in mind," he added, "many choose not to speak individually as it really doesn't carry any weight other than it is a personal opinion. I always tend to be pretty open about my personal opinions on school matters as long as they can be discussed, but I am very certain that the person I am speaking to realizes that it is a personal opinion and not the decision of the Board."

We were surprised, then, when Burk, as well as the other two school board candidates (Zach Korzelius and Shawna Murphy) in tomorrow's city schools election, did not respond to our questionnaire. Nor did any of the three acknowledge our follow-up email.

When they failed to respond, we followed up Superintendent Christopher Dailey, who also said school board members were free to express their own opinions on matters related to the school district so long as they protected confidentiality, though it is best to refer questions to a designated spokesperson.

"For District policies and issues that our BOE votes on, the Board practice is to have a spokesperson to share the result of the decision of the Board, if asked by the media," Dailey said.

The other school district in Genesee County that does not restrict board member speech is Pembroke.

Superintendent Matthew Caledron engaged in a transparent and lengthy email exchange with The Batavian about the issue.

Calderon said he believes board members in Pembroke would abide by the policy that questions from a reporter be funneled through the superintiendent; they are not prohibited from sharing their personal opinions on matters before the board.

"I am the official spokesperson, and at Board meetings, it is the Board President," Calderon said. "Individual Board members cannot speak on behalf of the Board or District, and if an individual board members wished to share their personal views with a reporter (or anybody else), while they have the constitutional right to do so, they would probably opt not to do so because most matters are best left to the superintendent or Board President to discuss."

In Calderon's first email response to The Batavian, he pointed us to policy guidelines from the New York School Boards Association that recommends school boards have a designated spokesperson and that individual board members only speak publicly when they make it clear they are expressing their own personal opinion.

From Calderon's email quoting NYSBA policy guidelines:

... when making statements to stakeholders, the public or the media, school board members have a duty to distinguish personal opinion from the established policy or articulated views of the board.  Only the board as a whole, or its designee, has authority to speak for the board.  Therefore, whenever communicating about issues related to the district, each board member should clearly state that he or she is communicating a personal opinion and is not speaking for the board.

One of the four candidates to answer our candidate's questions is John Cima, school board president, and the only candidate on Pembroke's ballot.

What's interesting about Pembroke's more permissive policy is the law firm Osborn, Reed & Burk LLP represents Pembroke, according to the district's minutes for its 2017-18 organizational meeting. Jennifer Schwartzott, the attorney for Alexander and Byron-Bergen, who has defended the speech restrictions in those districts, is a partner in that Rochester-based law firm.

School districts that restrict speech
Here is an overview of the responses we got when we surveyed school district's on their policies:

Alexander: Their policy was uncovered through prior coverage, which sparked this investigation.

Byron-Bergen: Superintendent Mickey Edwards said "I am the official spokesperson for the District per my contract and Board Policy. 'All statements of the Board will be released through the Office of the Superintendent...' An individual Board member should not make public comment on District matters."

Le Roy: Superintendent Merritt Holley said: "Our Board Policy states #3110, 'All statements of the Board will be released through the Office of the Superintendent and/or District Clerk.' For Le Roy CSD, this policy would direct all statements or questions from the Board to come through my office for publication."

Oakfield-Alabama: Board President Kimberly Staniszewski responded to our inquiry and stated: "All communication is delivered to the media by our school Superintendent or his/her designee. No board member is permitted to speak to the media unless authorized to do so by the Superintendent. I have attached Oakfield-Alabama media policy #3110." The attached copy of policy #3110 is about news releases and is moot on the question of whether board members are entitled to their own publicly shared opinions. Nor does it explicitly direct board members to refer questions to the superintendent. We requested clarification from Staniszewski and did not get a response.

Pavilion: Board President Marirose Ethington responded by quoting the district's policy manual: "As the official spokesperson, the Superintendent or his/her designee shall issue all news releases concerning the District. All statements of the Board will be released through the Office of the Superintendent and/or the District Clerk. Identifying a media spokesperson who will be briefed on all details. This spokesperson shall be the Superintendent or his/her designee. Only this spokesperson shall talk to and maintain a timely flow of information to the media."

Policies elsewhere
The Batavian performed a deep search of online resources to find any legal support for speech-restriction policies and could find none. Where we did find school boards and school board associations that address the issue, the common theme is: School boards should have an official spokesperson and emphasize that school board members are free to answer questions for public review but should emphasize they are speaking for themselves only.

In Ohio, for example, the Ohio School Board Association says: "Dealing with the news media can be intimidating, but responding to journalists is an important responsibility of school board members and administrators."

Stacy Bogard, a public relations specialist advising the Michigan School Boards Association wrote in a column, "you’ll want to do whatever you can to ensure that the media receives openness, honesty, accessibility and trustworthiness from every member of your board and administration."

Even the National School Board Association says that part of a school board member's job is talking with the media.

There have been a couple of attempts we found around the nation of school board members pushing to prohibit other school board members from talking with reporters and in those articles, attorneys and school board associations tend to agree such policies are unconstitutional, such as in New Jersey.

Janet Bamford, a spokesperson for the New Jersey School Boards Association, confirmed in a statement to the Herald on Friday that board members do indeed have that right and do not forfeit their First Amendment rights when serving on a school board.

"Typically boards, as a best practice matter, will designate someone to be the spokesperson for the district, usually the board president and the superintendent," Bamford wrote.

"However, school board members retain their First Amendment rights to comment on anything; however, they must make certain that it is known that they are only speaking for themselves, and not on behalf of the Board of Education."

In Houston, it was school board members who complained that district policies violated their free speech guarantees.

Local government reaction
Over the past two weeks, as we discussed these policies with elected officials in local government, they expressed surprise that such policies existed in local school districts, especially when school districts take such a large chunk of tax revenue from local property owners (see sidebar).

We asked Bob Bauch, chairman of the Genesee County Legislature about it, and he was just as shocked as everybody else and has a hard time believing it's actually true.

“I just can’t imagine a basis for that, if, in fact, it’s true -- that you could possibly tell an elected official they cannot talk to the press, particularly during an election campaign when they’re up for office,” Bausch said.

The way Jennifer Schwartzott, the attorney for Alexander and Byron-Bergen, sees it, school board members speaking at sparsely attended school board meetings should be sufficient for the public to understand their thinking on issues of public interest.

"The Education Law also confirms that in their individual capacities school board members do not have any greater power than other community members," Schwartzott said. "Their power to exercise their board duties arises when they are collectively assembled as a board, as is the case with most boards in municipal and even corporate settings. Community members who are interested in what the local board members have to say can attend board meetings when the members discuss issues, share their opinions, and make decisions."

NOTE:  Jennifer Schwartzott has left a comment on this story and communicated with us via email indicating she does not believe this story accurately represents her views. Please see her comment and our response below.

At school board meetings, members of the public, of course, are generally prohibited from entering into a dialogue with board members during board discussions to better probe each member's thinking on issues.

Bausch said he understands the need of reporters to ask questions after a meeting and thinks it is simply part of the process of informing the public.

“If you believe in a free press and public elections, I don’t see how you could possibly say you can’t talk to the press," Bausch said. "I mean, I could say something at Ways and Means that I’m going to vote a certain way and I and the other legislators could all agree and then vote.

"That doesn’t necessarily explain to you in any way what my thinking is on why I voted the way I did. It happens all the time, you could say, ‘I understand your vote but could you explain it to me?’ That’s your job if you’re going to represent yourself as a news person or a reporter or a member of the public.”

The Batavian emailed candidate questions to all 17 candidates in Genesee County's eight school districts that are holding elections on Tuesday. Only four returned completed questionnaires.  

This is the response from John Cima, the candidate lone in the Pembroke Central School District.

1. What is your position on your school district’s proposed budget for 2018-19? What parts do you support? What parts would you change if you could?

The Board voted unanimously to approve the proposed budget and we collectively support every part of it. We have had many discussions during the school year where we analyze budget items as a corporate body and made decisions based on that data. All board members are heard and we talk through any sticking points and concerns to reach consensus as a group. The proposed budget being presented to voters is one that all board members support without reservation. 

2. Are teachers in your district compensated adequately?

Collectively, I believe if you ask our teachers, they will tell you that Pembroke is a special place to work! As long as I have been serving on the Board we have looked at the District as a school district of opportunity for both students and staff. Being a rural school district we sometimes find ourselves having to do more with fewer resources than wealthier districts. Our teachers have risen to the occasion with creativity and a strong resolve. Our Board, I believe has done the same. While our teachers are not compensated as much as our neighbors in Erie County, we have worked hard to offer competitive salaries, and we are extremely pleased with the academic and extra-curricular achievements they have accomplished with our students.

3. Parents are more nervous than ever about school safety. Is your district’s communication to parents about school safety policies and procedures adequate? Should parents and the community be informed when a student makes a threat of violence against the school?

Safety and security are paramount and communication to parents is ongoing. When threats of violence occur, our school officials work closely with local law enforcement to determine the best course of action, including communications to parents, on a case-by-case basis depending on the circumstances.

4. Are you satisfied that your district responds to parents’ complaints and concerns in a way that ensures the parents know they have been heard?

Yes. I hope that parents trust in the policies the Board has put in place to ensure open lines of communication when they have a complaint or concern. Sometimes parents are just looking for direction. I believe our Board has developed a policy that allows for open and honest dialog along with a proper chain of command. In most cases, this has led to the de-escalation of situations and rational solutions being agreed upon by all parties.

5. What two books published since The Enlightenment have influenced you the most?

I have read a lot of books and it would be too difficult to choose which two have influenced me the most. However, if you were to ask me why I wish to continue serving on the Pembroke Board of Education I will tell you that I have been influenced by a school district and community that is open to exploring OPPORTUNITY. Our students deserve the best that we can provide when it comes to their respective educations. Our role as a school board is to set policy that ensures that this happens in the most cost-effective, efficient, resourceful, and creative way as possible.