Marion School Board meets
By Beth Hoad

Kevin Adriaansen was unanimously elected 2004-05 President of the Marion Board of Education at the re-organizational meeting Monday.

Sharon Varalli, last year's president, was elected Vice President for the coming year.

Williamson Medical's Dr. Krishna Persaud was appointed the new School Physician. Superintendent Dr. J. Richard Boyes said since Dr. Persaud also serves as Williamson Central School Physician, services offered at Marion would be similar to those in Williamson.

After much discussion, board members voted unanimously to continue with two board meetings each month to be held on the first and third Mondays unless announced otherwise. Boyes suggested they consider cutting out one regular meeting with board members meeting with administration and community committees at other times instead of a second regular meeting. Varalli said she was concerned because they had unsuccessfully tried one meeting per month previously. 'I'm concerned about our being well enough informed to make good decisions. We need to be able to share information effectively,' she said.

Newest board member Kim Tennity also expressed concern that perhaps if only one board member attended meetings on the off-meeting night that bias could affect the report that came back to the board. That, in turn, could affect the outcome of any resulting votes. She also said she thought the time commitments would work out the same either way.

The proposed capital project was discussed in some detail. Given the fact that a poll had been conducted in the spring to determine community opinion about possible expansion projects, Tennity asked if another such poll would be useful in helping the board decide which option to choose. 'The public elects the school board to make final decisions like this. I don't think time and money spent for another poll is justified,' Boyes said.

Varalli was in favor of additional science classrooms at the High School, but questioned whether or not the extra half-gym and Large Group Instruction room suggested in Option IA would enhance the educational process.

High School Principal Nick Prezioso said most schools now have LGI rooms to accommodate testing situations where as many as 150 students could be taking the same examination at one time, as well as multi-class programs.

Prezioso also defended the additional gym facility when Linda Bush asked the reasons for the half-gym idea. He said that gym classes are crowded and overflow space in the weight room has to be used at times during the winter months. 'All students are required to take Physical Education, and the two gyms (Elementary and High School) we have now aren't adequate ... There's also extra stress placed on the facilities when community groups use them.'

After acknowledging the community needs for expanded recreational assets, Boyes said community and school are not one in the same. He suggested that perhaps the town had not been as aggressive as they could be in seeking funding for that purpose. 'It all boils down to deciding which plan is more affordable and if the community could support that choice,' he added.

The discussion led to a unanimous vote declaring Lead Agency status to the project so the same legal and financial issues could cover all work done at both schools. They also voted to declare the High School as Unclassified for purposes of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) applications, and added letters would be sent to affected neighbors.

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