Board weighs bus‑driver incentives and fields heated community criticism over transparency
April 16, 2024 | CARMEL CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, School Districts, New York
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The board heard a focused presentation on transportation staffing and retention alongside extensive public comment demanding clearer budget transparency.
Trustee Curzio and the Facilities & Transportation committee described recruitment and retention problems in the district’s transportation department and recommended modest incentives, including reimbursement of training costs after a successful year of employment and other measures to make driver openings more competitive with neighboring districts. Committee members noted that driver training is costly and often paid by applicants; reimbursing those costs after a set tenure could expand the applicant pool. Transportation supervisor Mike Klonotitz and union representative Laura Barrett participated in the committee discussion and administration said it would return with formal MOA language for board approval.
Earlier in the meeting, under public participation, students from George Fisher Middle School and the Carmel High School jazz program performed under the direction of Megan Cabal and Mr. Balentoni; trustees praised the performance as exemplary of the district’s arts programming.
The evening’s public comment portion was lengthy and pointed. Residents criticized repeated line‑item errors in the budget binder, asked why payroll codes had not been corrected earlier, and urged the board to provide the Excel budget feeds trustees requested. Several speakers said they could not afford even modest tax increases and urged the board to pursue alternatives to levying higher taxes. Community members also pushed for district responsiveness and faster turnaround to trustees' information requests.
Provenance: Transportation discussion began at SEG 2836 and the student performances were presented at SEG 138–176; public comments on transparency and budgeting extended throughout the meeting but were concentrated in SEG 228–320 and later community‑comment blocks including SEG 6180–6360.
Trustee Curzio and the Facilities & Transportation committee described recruitment and retention problems in the district’s transportation department and recommended modest incentives, including reimbursement of training costs after a successful year of employment and other measures to make driver openings more competitive with neighboring districts. Committee members noted that driver training is costly and often paid by applicants; reimbursing those costs after a set tenure could expand the applicant pool. Transportation supervisor Mike Klonotitz and union representative Laura Barrett participated in the committee discussion and administration said it would return with formal MOA language for board approval.
Earlier in the meeting, under public participation, students from George Fisher Middle School and the Carmel High School jazz program performed under the direction of Megan Cabal and Mr. Balentoni; trustees praised the performance as exemplary of the district’s arts programming.
The evening’s public comment portion was lengthy and pointed. Residents criticized repeated line‑item errors in the budget binder, asked why payroll codes had not been corrected earlier, and urged the board to provide the Excel budget feeds trustees requested. Several speakers said they could not afford even modest tax increases and urged the board to pursue alternatives to levying higher taxes. Community members also pushed for district responsiveness and faster turnaround to trustees' information requests.
Provenance: Transportation discussion began at SEG 2836 and the student performances were presented at SEG 138–176; public comments on transparency and budgeting extended throughout the meeting but were concentrated in SEG 228–320 and later community‑comment blocks including SEG 6180–6360.
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