WELCOME TO HALDANE
Haldane Central School District
Dr. Mark Villanti, Superintendent of Schools
October 3, 2007
Dear families, staff and students:
At last night’s Board of Education meeting Dennis Geisler was appointed interim principal of the High School replacing Andy Irvin who now serves as the Director of Human Resources with Rockland County BOCES. Mr. Geisler is a retired school administrator with 10 years of teaching and 30 years of district administration experience. Recently, Mr. Geisler served as the Haldane interim business administrator. Unlike Mr. Irvin, Mr. Geisler will only oversee the 9-12th grades. Julia Sniffen, middle school coordinator, will administer the 6-8 program.
An interview committee has been established consisting of the following members:
Dr. Villanti, Makaria Gallagher, Evan Schwartz, Maggie Davis, Julia Sniffen, Nancy Martinez-Cirelli, Bob O’Malley, Ginny Pidala, Lee Posniack, Judy Hammond, JoAnn Larese, Carolyn Panthen, Terese Olsen, Kathy Marino, Tommy DesMarais, and Sabrina Scanga. We received approximately 70 applications and will begin the interview process on October 10th. I anticipate making a recommendation to the Board at their first meeting in November. We expect that the successful candidate will begin in early December. The committee includes representatives from various stakeholder groups, and were selected from the PTA, HFA, CSEA, student council, HAA and the Board of Education.
Schools in Putnam County will be conducting their annual early dismissal drill on Friday, October 12, 2007. Students will be dismissed 15 minutes early. After-school activities for grades 6-12 will not be postponed or cancelled, but students will need to evacuate the building during the drill and follow their principals’ direction. We will also test our NTI parent notification system that day. If for some reason you do not receive notification, please inform your child’s building principal so that we can update the system.
The entire Haldane School community was saddened by the news of Joseph Frisenda’s passing yesterday. Please remember to follow our attendance procedures in the event that your son or daughter will miss school to attend the wake and/or funeral. The Board of Education President, Dave Merandy, held a moment of silence last night at our Board meeting. Our thoughts are with Mr. Frisenda’s children, Ceara, Granite, and Logan, and his wife, Diane.
Sincerely,
Mark Villanti, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
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September 5, 2007
Dear Community members, Families and Students:
Today marks the first official day of school for our students. I join them in their excitement of returning to school. As I listened to our middle school coordinator, Mrs. Sniffen, address the student body, I was struck by the simplicity of her message, “work hard and do your best.” First impressions are so important and I hope that our students embrace her advice, a message that should resonate in every home in the district.
I will equally accept the challenge reiterated by Mrs. Sniffen. A few of the items that I am working hard to address include:
- Staffing. Dennis Geisler is serving as the interim Business Administrator through October 1. Anne Dinio will be joining us on September 24th as our new Business Manager. Ms. Dinio leaves the City of Poughkeepsie Schools after 21 years in one district.
- Dr. Thomas Turchetti will join us as an interim Director of Special Education while we contemplate the best use of the position next year. Dr. Turchetti is also a retired administrator with strong central office and building experience.
- As you probably know by now, Mr. Irvin, MS/HS principal recently announced his resignation to accept a position as Director of Human Resources with Rockland County BOCES. He will be sorely missed. We will be launching a search for a new principal shortly. An interview team will be established that will include teachers, support staff, students, Board members and parents. We will seek representatives through the official school organizations, i.e., union leadership, student council, and PTA.
- Capital Project. The district has been contemplating a capital project referendum for over a year. It is anticipated that a time line, project scope and public input will be decided upon by the Board of Education during the early fall. This project will address heating needs, energy efficiency issues, roofing, ventilation, parapet degradation and the gym locker area of the elementary / middle school building.
There are many other areas of the district which consume the time and attention of the superintendent. I am excited about meeting the student body, their families, members of the community and staff. This is a great community. I am honored to serve as your superintendent. I have confidence that by working together we will have a great school year!
Sincerely,
Mark Villanti, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Haldane Reorganizes for New School Year
Mark Villanti takes over reigns as Superintendent
[pcnr - july 17, 2007]
While Haldane students still savor the joyous sound of the final school bell, school board trustees and administrators are already getting their house in order for the next time that bell rings early in September to mark the beginning of the 2007/08 school year. The Haldane School Board met on July 10, 2007 to reorganize on a number of fronts.
Dave Merandy was re-elected unopposed as President of the Board. Trustee Bruce Campbell was elected as Vice President in a run-off with newly elected Trustee Michael Junjulas. Campbell replaces Joe Curto who did not seek re-election to the Board. Other 2007/08 Trustees are Evan Schwartz and Makaria Gallagher. Ms. Gallagher participated in part of the meeting via telephone but was not permitted to vote in the election as a matter of procedure.
The meeting was the first for Mark Villanti, who replaced John Di Natale as Superintendent of Education. Villanti indicated that one his first challenges will be "getting everyone to work together - with all our oars in the water at the same time." He plans to use part of the summer to get to know the community and local leaders as part of that process. Villanti also sees rethinking the Board's approach to finances as a major objective. "We need to think beyond 'budget to budget' and begin to think in terms of long-term financial health," something he indicated is especially challenging in light of tough state budgets in recent years. His views on the educational issues sounded a similar chord. "We have to get to the point where we think beyond just passing exams. Every student must be able to find their niche - whether it's in computers or art." He indicated that adding to "the richness of the curriculum" is a key in achieving that goal.
As part of the consent agenda the Board approved more than thirty routine items that must be agreed upon annually - ranging from the appointment of internal positions such as clerk and tax collector to approval of the board's committees, banks, tax shelter annuity companies and the per diem pay rate for substitute teachers.
Beth Kennedy, Bob Mack and Michele Valenti were appointed as teachers of the HEART Program while Carolyn McLaughlin and Jacqueline Orsino were appointed as tutors.
Dennis Geisler was appointed Interim School Business Administrator, a move necessitated by Meryl Rubinstein's recent resignation. Superintendent Villanti indicated that he hopes be in a position to recommend a new full-time administrator to the Board by September. The Board also accepted the resignation of Geraldine Kurdziel as tax collector and claims auditor. Airinhos Serradas and Terese Olsen were appointed to the audit committee.
Patricia Compton was appointed teacher of the deaf. Jodi Champlin and Cesarina McGovern were appointed as full-time teacher aides with Tina LaBelle and Mary Ann Robinson appointed to part-time teacher aide positions.
The Board authorized spending up to $18,200 to repair a water leak in the high school. The leak is believed to have been caused during construction when grade changes were made without appropriate adjustments to waterproofing levels. The Board will seek reimbursement once the cause is determined.
Innovation grants totaling $13,978 were accepted from the Haldane School Foundation. The Board also approved a side letter of agreement with the Civil Service Employees Association and passed an annual resolution authorizing the continuation of existing board policies and bylaws.
Joel Stanford was appointed as varsity volleyball coach. The Haldane School Board will next meet August 14 at 7pm.
Haldane Central School District