Board of Education

The Scotia-Glenville Board of Education is composed of seven non-paid members who serve three-year terms. Members are elected by the voters in the district to establish policy and govern the schools. The board works cooperatively with the Scotia-Glenville Central School District to ensure all students are provided with the highest quality educational experience possible.

The Board of Education typically meets on the second and fourth Mondays of the month (though that may be altered in months with Monday holidays). All meetings begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Meetings are held at the various school locations throughout the Scotia-Glenville community. Locations may change, so please check back before a meeting to confirm the location.

The district livestreams Board meetings on YouTube

2024-25 School Year

All meetings begin at 7 p.m. in the middle school cafeteria unless otherwise noted

Click the link of each date to read the days agenda and supporting documents

Former Board of Education Agendas and Minutes

Click this link for 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 Board of Education Agendas.

Board adopts goals for the 2024-25 school year

  1. The Board of Education Policy Committee, in conjunction with the Superintendent, will complete the first review of the district policies from 4000 to 6900 and make recommendations for updates, insertions, and deletions. The Policy Committee will report on progress to date at the monthly business meeting. The Board of Education will also determine whether to include new policies such as weighted grades and the Athletic Placement Process (APP); and if so, draft and approve the same.
  2. The Board of Education will review learning opportunities and support to provide for district students outside of, or in addition to, traditional programming and resources such as STEM offerings, job fairs, Career and Technical Education Programs, Distance Learning, AP and College in the High School programs and mental health resources.
  3. The Board of Education, in conjunction with the Superintendent, will plan and conduct community forum(s) for the purpose of gathering community feedback in regard to policies, mandates, pre-budget fact finding and overall climate within SGCSD.

 

In addition, the Superintendent and her team are working on the following items:

  1. The feasibility of creating a regional UPK program for Scotia-Glenville, Niskayuna, and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake students.
  2. A study of, and recommendation, regarding weighted grading.
  3. Superintendent’s DEI Council and Assistant Superintendent’s DEI Workgroup are working through several DEI initiatives.
  4. A study on the declining enrollment, including gathering of statistics throughout the region and the state, where appropriate, and the solutions implemented in other school districts.

Scotia-Glenville Central School District 2024-25 budget approved by voters

“We want to emphasize our appreciation for the community’s steadfast support of public education at Scotia-Glenville CSD,” said Superintendent Susan Swartz. “It is our privilege to serve you, and we are thankful for the ability to sustain our current programs and services to cater to the needs of all our students. Additionally, with this budget, we are further addressing the crucial areas of mental health and safety.”

On Tuesday, May 21, Scotia-Glenville Central School District voters approved the district’s proposed $65,085,194 budget for the 2024-25 school year by a margin of 851 to 265; and elected two Board of Education members – current president Hal Talbot (695 votes) and newly elected Chad Roberts (624 votes) – to serve three-year terms on the Board of Education starting July 1. Dave Massaro received 572 votes.

Voters also approved three other propositions:

  • Out of 1,118 voters: 841 approved a proposition to purchase three school buses.
  • Out of 1,098 voters: 629 approved an electric bus proposal.
  • Out of 1,100 voters: 869 approved a proposition for capital improvement projects.

Because the proposed tax levy increase of 2.83% or $919,347 is below the district’s 2.86% tax levy increase allowed under the state’s property tax cap law, the district needed a simple majority vote (50% plus one vote) for budget approval. The budget proposal was approved by 76% of voters.

With an estimated tax rate increase of 1.92%, the tax bill on a $160,000 home would increase by an estimated $74.40 per year or $6.20 per month before STAR.

Proposition 2

Bus Purchases

The anticipated purchase of three new buses, totaling $329,000, is presented to the community with no additional cost due to the payoff of old debt.

Proposition 3

Electric Bus Proposal

An electric bus proposal, again, at no increase to the 2024-25 tax levy, is contingent on receipt of state or federal funding to offset purchase.

Proposition 4

Capital Improvement Project

The proposed $12.5 million building proposition will have no additional tax impact for voters. The project will focus on safety and other necessary upgrades to buildings throughout our six schools. The project will have no impact on the tax levy due to debt service reserve funds, building aid, and debt from other projects falling off the books.

RFP for EV Infrastructure Contractors

District seeking contractors for electric vehicle supply equipment, charging infrastructure and related services for future electric school buses

When the Scotia-Glenville School District opened up the competitive process for EV Infrastructure in January 2024, they announced School Business Manager Andrew Giaquinto was accepting questions from contractors and would post the answers on the district website. Click link for reference. The questions and answers are listed here.

    Interested in running for the Board of Education?

    The New York State School Boards Association has created this webpage entitled The School Board Member Experience to answer questions from new and potential school board members. Check it out!

    To run for office:

    • download this petition and collect signatures from 25 qualified voters in the Scotia-Glenville School District. The completed nominating petitions must be returned to the Business Office, 900 Preddice Parkway, Scotia by April 22, 2024.
    • Biographical information sheet for newsletter and website writeups
    • This form has to be submitted three times (as per these state requirements), indicating how much candidates spent on the election. The dates required for 2024 are April 22, May 16, and June 10.

    Board members serve three-year terms with no salary. They are responsible for overseeing the activities and policies of the school district. Meetings are typically held at 7 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays of each month.

    Click here for an overview from the New York State School Boards Association that details the responsibilities of a Board of Education member.

    New York State Open Meetings Law

    In accordance with recent changes to the state Open Meetings Law, the following supplemental files are provided from the Board of Education’s meeting.

    The revisions to the Open Meetings Law address two types of records that are “scheduled to be the subject of a discussion” during an open meeting:

    • Those that are required to be made available pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law; and
    • Proposed resolutions, law, rules, regulations, policies or amendments thereto.

    When either type of document is scheduled to be discussed during an open meeting, the law requires that they be made available to the public, to the extent practicable, either prior to or at the meeting. A school district or government body may either make copies available at the meeting for a fee, typically 25 cents per page, or may post them on the agency’s maintained website prior to the meeting.

    The Scotia-Glenville Central School District agrees with the Committee on Open Government that “through the disclosure of records scheduled to be discussed during open meetings, the public can gain the ability to better understand and appreciate the issues faced by government.”

    Here is a link about the Open Meetings Law: http://www.dos.ny.gov/coog/openmeetlaw.html

    New York State’s Freedom of Information Law

    The Freedom of Information Law reaffirms your right to know how your government operates. It provides rights of access to records reflective of governmental decisions and policies that affect the lives of every New Yorker. The law preserves the Committee on Open Government, which was created by the enactment of the original Freedom of Information Law in 1974.

    Here is more information about the Freedom of Information Law.