Pearl River Schools Address Budget, Assessments, Energy Efficiency

Pearl River School District Director of Operations Quinton Van Wynen reported the district is on pace for a balanced budget for the year during Tuesday's board of education meeting at the district administration building.

The district is $146,910 below projected revenue, but $259,131 below expected expenses through May 2012.

"On the preliminary numbers, we are on target for a balanced year," Van Wynen said. "That will include using some reserves we set aside."

Van Wynen also recommended the awarding of unit price awards for fine art and photography supplies.

Pearl River Performs Well in State Assessments

Pearl River Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Sue Wheeler spoke Tuesday night about the New York State Assessment results released last week.

"Our students did very well," Wheeler said. "The actual numbers by grade were well above the state average."

Students in grades three through eight were tested in English Language Arts (ELA) and math.

Wheeler explained for all grades combined, the state average was 55.1% reaching or surpassing proficiency standards. In Pearl River, that number was 80 percent.

In Math, 64.8 percent of students tested reached or exceeded proficiency compared to 88 percent in Pearl River.

Wheeler said the district will continue to analyze the data to look for areas where the curriculum and resources will need to shift, but added that this is just one measure of student performance the district uses.

"What I'm interested in people understanding is this is a snapshot in time," Pearl River Superintendent Dr. John Morgano said. It's one test on one day. It is one measure of many that we take of kids' achievement in school. They need to be looked at in that perspective. Our kids, as always, did well. People hear about state testing and think that's all we do. It's just one measure of what a child does during the year."

Energy Efficiency Upgrades

Pearl River worked with Amaresco to complete energy efficiency upgrades in all district buildings last year. Van Wynen gave an update on the results Tuesday, comparing electrical usage from January through June in 2011 to the same months in 2012.

Usage dropped in all five of the district's school buildings as follows:

• Evans Park Elementary: 32.7%
• Franklin Avenue Elementary: 14%
• Lincoln Avenue Elementary: 30%
• Pearl River High School: 20%
• Pearl River Middle School: 12%

"We are very pleased with what we have seen so far," Van Wynen said.

Among other items addressed Tuesday:

• Adopted 2012-13 district Code of Conduct. 
• Held first reading of board policies, most of which were reviews with no change or revisions with minor changes.
• Responded to a question on the search for a new assistant principal at Pearl River High School by saying that the district is still taking applications.
• Reported that the school board's next meeting, which had been tentatively scheduled for Aug. 14, has now been moved to Aug. 21.