To enhance its commitment to keeping its constituents well-informed, the Niagara Falls City School District Board of Education will be providing summaries of its bi-weekly board meetings. Here are the notes from its Jan. 25 meeting.
David Rust, executive director of Say Yes Buffalo, outlined the program and the possibility of establishing a Say Yes partnership with the Niagara Falls City School District. Say Yes Buffalo works to remove barriers to educational achievement, employment and economic mobility. Centered on racial equity and inclusion, Say Yes Buffalo covers the cost of postsecondary tuition. In addition, the program provides wrap-around services from pre-K to career to increase the rates of high school graduation, postsecondary completion, and fulfilling professional employment. Say Yes Buffalo also helps the economy. For every 1% increase in the number of Buffalo adults with bachelor’s degrees, an additional $191 million in income is added to the WNY economy annually.
Rust outlined steps to establishing a Say Yes program in Niagara Falls:
Remainder of this school year:
• Develop scholarship pro forma for Niagara Falls City School District
• Develop a budget for a potential expansion, including a planning year in 2024-2025
• Meet with Niagara Falls union(s) and school board
2024-2025 school year:
• Scholarship fundraising and guidelines, if pro forma results are feasible
• Key stakeholder briefings and engagement
• Formation of advisory operating committee
• Planning for program launch
The otential launch would in the 2025-2026 school year.
Superintendent Laurrie and Administer for School Business Services Rebecca Holody presented a first look at the 2024-2025 NFCSD budget. Laurrie pointed out that this first iteration of the budget is not based on the state foundation aid allocated in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget. Laurrie said the district is only receiving an increase of $489,471 in aid, which is “highly unfavorable and detrimental to education.” Budget presentations will be made at board meetings through April.
NEW BUSINESS
The Board of Education approved the following items:
• The affirmation establishing the official legal name of the school district as the City School District of the City of Niagara Falls by New York State Education Law and Commissioner’s Regulations
• The acceptance of a contract between the Niagara Falls City School District and Niagara County Community College (NCCC) for College Writing I Class for the NCCC in the Neighborhood program (free college courses offered to parents of students in the Niagara Falls City School District only)
• A contract between the Niagara Falls City School District and Niagara University for the Adult English as a New Language Program.
• Raising the compulsory education age from 16 years old to 17 years old. Raising the mandatory age at which youths must stay in school to 17 will give educators more time to work with students to decrease the dropout rate and increase the graduation rate.
SUPERINDENT’S REPORT
The district’s information technology department has implemented a multi-factor authentication system to prevent phishing.
Congratulations to District Clerk Judie Glaser for working with the Niagara County Board of Elections to establish a Pathways initiative program in which Niagara Falls High School students become poll workers for elections. This initiative will encourage civic readiness, engagement and voting.
The Niagara Falls High School Future Star Students had a successful trip to a leadership conference at Disney World.
The Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) trip is set for March. This year, 20 students will travel to Atlanta and visit Morris Brown College, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College and Spelman College.
On March 23, 12 Niagara Falls High School students will travel to Ghana, Africa, to assist residents in building boats for commerce.
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s Fiscal Stress Monitoring System 2022-2023 results show that the NFCSD is under no designation for fiscal stress.
Laurrie called on city residents to contact their elected officials and use public advocacy to convince the state government to allocate more funding for schools in the state budget.
The next Niagara Falls City School District Board of Education meeting is Thursday, Feb. 8 at 5:30 p.m. at the Central Office, 630 66th St.