Webutuck to begin board policy handbook revamp

WEBUTUCK — The Webutuck Board of Education agreed that its  board policy handbook is in dire need of revision, and took the first steps at its Aug. 30 meeting toward hiring the New York State School Board Association (NYSSBA) to  assist in updating its policies.

Superintendent Steven Schoonmaker said that the update would create consistency for the board and would also protect the district from potential liability issues.

The services do come at a price, however — $9,500. Schoonmaker said that cost could be spread out over two or three years.

“Plain and simple, our current policy book stinks,� board President Dale Culver said frankly. “Some of the jargon has been in there since 1972.�

Trustee John Perotti wasn’t convinced that a policy overhaul would be of much use to the board; he remembered that it was done once years ago and then became obsolete the following year.

“I hate spending that kind of money, and I don’t think it’s going to be as useful as you think it is,� he warned.

Schoonmaker replied that from experience in previous districts, boards usually took each year and went through revisions of a third of the policy book, meaning that every three years the book would be completely updated.

“It provides board members with the opportunity to become more educated and knowledgeable as to what exactly is in that policy book,� he said. “But of course, if it just sits on the shelf, certainly over the years it’s going to become less and less useful.�

In response to Perotti wondering whether NYSSBA’s services would apply to a rural school district like Webutuck, Culver reminded him that every policy that made it into the school district’s handbook would have to be approved by the board.

“It doesn’t become official Webutuck policy until we adopt it,� he said.

Schoonmaker explained that NYSSBA would provide recommendations to the district on updates to make. The district’s policy committee would then decide if anything needed to be adjusted to better fit Webutuck. Finally, any revisions would go back to NYSSBA to make sure that the proposed changes didn’t bring up any legal issues.

Both Perotti and Culver were in agreement that in addition to the school’s policy committee, each of the board members should go through the policy line by line before any final decisions are made.

No action was taken at the Aug. 30 meeting; it’s expected that at a future meeting the board will vote on officially contracting NYSSBA’s services.

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