School board swears in members

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July 12, 2012

School board swears in members

By Mark Boshnack Staff Writer The Daily Star Thu Jul 12, 2012, 03:30 AM EDT

The Oneonta City School District Board of Education welcomed its newest member and elected the same officers as last year at Wednesday's reorganizational meeting. It was held in the former Center Street Elementary School library.

The oath of office was administered to Susan Kurkowski, who was first elected to the board in May.

Jamie Reynolds, who was re-elected at that time, was also sworn in. Grace Larkin will continue as board president and Rosalie Higgins as vice president, after they were unanimously re-elected to those posts during the meeting. With Superintendent Michael Shea retiring Sept. 1, he and interim Superintendent David Rowley, who will fill that post, were both designated to fill several positions. Rowley, who was in the audience, said he has attended meetings and workshops to help with the transition.

He went on a tour of the district last week with Shea to look at some of the issues and meet some of the staff.

"It is a good district going through an interesting transition," which includes working on the same issues facing other districts, such as declining enrollment and aid, Rowley said.

Those problems led to the recent Center Street Elementary School closure and reassignment of students and most staff.

"The more I learn this summer, the more helpful I can be," Rowley said. He will be working with staff to make sure the upcoming school year is a good year for the district, he said.

During the regular meeting that followed, Janice Pidgeon, manager for the school's energy management program, talked about the endeavor and showed a video. The program has saved the district more than $1.1 million in energy costs during the five years the school has participated, she said.