To enhance its commitment to keeping its constituents well-informed, the Niagara Falls City School District Board of Education is providing summaries of its bi-weekly board meetings. Here are the notes from its Oct. 17 meeting.
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The City School District of the City of Niagara Falls Board of Education met and approved 24 resolutions and 11 short-term contract agreements.
Prior to the voting meeting, the school board heard a parental presentation on instructing students with autism. The presentation stressed the importance of staff development, sensory rooms, and the utilization of either Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) or floor time strategies to interact with students.
A second parent presentation focused on screening and intervening with children presenting with dyslexia or dysgraphia. The New York State Education Department is currently seeking feedback on better dealing with students experiencing those conditions.
The Audit Committee and the Board of Education accepted the 2023-24 external audit. This audit is required of all school districts and must be conducted annually. Drescher and Malecki presented its findings and financial position statement of the school district as of June 30. They issued a clean audit with no material weaknesses or financial deficiencies in the report. The audit also illuminated that the district has fully funded the 4% unrestricted reserve fund. The district has also added reserves to four other restricted fund balance accounts. This positive news was unanimously accepted by the audit committee and school board by resolution.
Additionally, the board unanimously accepted two gifts to support this Saturday’s Walk the World Celebration. The gifts were from Jewish Family Services and the Teacher’s Desk.
The school board also unanimously approved the ability to refinance a $15.8 million bond for a previous capital project. This bond will be refinanced on Nov. 7. The board also approved the issuance of $36,560 to purchase cyber insurance for an additional school year.
Superintendent Mark Laurrie congratulated the Niagara Falls High School Golf Team on its 17–3–1 record with a second-place finish in the NFL division. He also invited everyone to attend a celebration of diversity with the district’s second Walk the World Celebration at noon on Saturday, Nov. 2, at Niagara Falls High School.
The next meeting of the Niagara Falls Board of Education will be on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 5:30 p.m. at 6:30 66th St.