Rotateller Rotary Club of Owego, NY
Tuesday, May 8, 2007 Gary Williams, Editor

VISITORS AND GUESTS:

• Jenelle Malia
• Bill Russell
• Laura’s son, David
• Orselle Luijuna, NV Interact (and she is Hollish in this country with the AYUSA Program)
• Leah, OFA Interact
• Suzanne and Mrinalini

MUSIC: R-O-T-A-R-Y

FINES: Steve

• All those who have not brought a guest in the last month
• All those who have not done anything with the exchange students other than lunch

District Conference:

While we didn’t hear much about the District Conference, it sounds like a good time was had by all. John played golf. Matt and Kathleen drove Mrinalini and Suzanne and were serenaded (and Matt got them CD’s) Matt also passed out chocolates to Annette, Carolyn, and Orv

Jeannette, announced that the HIGHWAY CLEAN-UP IS THIS SATURDAY MORNING.

INDUCTION:

Orv inducted Bill Russell, who is the OA Superintendent of Schools. He was sponsored by Steve Lounsberry. Thank you to Orv and Steve and we are looking forward to getting to know Bill better and his involvement in Rotary.

ELECTIONS:

Carolyn announced that the following people were elected to two-year terms on the Board of Directors; Merl Lessler, Jody Rose, and Carolyn Galatzan.

PAUL HARRIS DINNER IS NEXT TUESDAY. THERE WILL NOT BE A MEETING AT LUNCHTIME.

DISTRICT CONFERENCE:

Al reported that there were over 1000 in attendance with three districts involved. There were also over 200 students and Interact members. Annette was awarded the District Award for support the Rotary Foundation.

OFA INTERACT:

Leah gave the report and told of the large number of gently-used shoes they collected and about the P 10 project.

NV INTERACT:

Orselle shared that they earned over $1000 on their dance. The money was used to help a family in Dryden.

PROGRAM:

Steve introduced Bill Russell who explained the OA budget for the coming year. The vote is next Tuesday, so those of us in the District need to vote between work and the Paul Harris Dinner. Voting is from noon until 9:00 PM. Bill started by saying that he hopes that the budget meets all of the tenets of The Four-Way Test. They are well-aware of the tax problem faced by the citizens of NY. Their goal is to optimize the benefits to the children, programs, staff and facilities, while minimizing the taxes. He started by looking at a number of areas which have not been supported in recent years which he feels need long-term support. There are two instances in the district of population bulges which have created student-teacher ratios which are not ideal for quality instruction.

The Literacy Collaboration has been successful, but is a costly program. The state passed an unfunded mandate that for students to have graphing calculators. This cost the District $10,000. He feels that many of the extra-curricular activities in which the students need to put themselves and their work forward are very important for their development. These have been supported in the past by fund-raisers, but will now come within the school budget.

Staff Development is critical over the long-term. Many programs, such as music and athletics are sorely in need of new equipment. The score board for the pool needs to be replaced. Late busses to Apalachin are important so the children who live in that part of the District can also participate in the extra-curricular activities.

The District has saved over $1 million through energy efficiency, but there has to be investments to obtain these gains. Maintaining the buildings is cost-effective in the long-term and an important component of the quality of the program. New maintenance staff needs to be hired. Student summer help is funded again. Two full-time security guards have been hired, since the village can no longer afford to have a police officer on site.

The District was audited twice in the last year and passed both audits with flying colors. The District is decreasing expenditures through better management. The budget has not passed in three of the past five years. This is a trend which needs to be turned around. Budgets will be projected out for a decade to plan expenditures. A pamphlet was distributed about the benefits of using reserves to establish a Capital Reserve Fund. Monies spent from the fund are eligible for a 5:1 state contribution in addition to our local share for maintenance projects. The increased tax levy in the District was 6.7% last year. The proposal this year is for 3.5%, the third lowest amongst the 15 districts in our region. We have taken a hit on State Aid due to the formula. Bill is meeting with Tom Libous on this tomorrow. We are considered the fourth richest district in the region with 34% of our students living below the poverty level. This is due to our big companies such as LM, but they have been enticed into the area or kept in the area through tax abatements for economic development. OA had a 3.3% increase in State Aid while others in our region got 10.8%.

Back to Meetings