Board approves extension with Niagara Falls Coach Lines, accepts grants and confirms personnel actions

The Niagara Falls City School District board approved multiple consent items and a transportation contract extension during a routine May board meeting.

Transportation contract: The board approved item 6.07 to extend the district's transportation contract with Niagara Falls Coach Lines (motion by Mr. Petrosi; second by Mr. Kinsami). The motion was carried on roll-call vote. The superintendent had recommended the extension to allow up to the five-year maximum the state permits for bus contracts so the district would be subject primarily to CPI adjustments rather than more volatile price changes.

Grants and funds: The board accepted several fund awards, including Title III ELL funding, Title III immigrant funds, the statewide universal full-day prekindergarten allocation and additional school-based mental health funds. Administrators said the UPK allocation will be consolidated into broader state aid lines going forward.

Personnel and bids: The board received and filed certificated and classified personnel reports, including tenure conferrals that become effective on the first day of the recipients' tenure year (Sept. 1). The board also approved routine bids for athletic apparel, musical instruments and on-call plumbing services, and approved short-term contracts for Saturday Academy and district photography services.

Public comment: Jacqueline Pryor, who identified herself and said she is a board candidate, urged the board to address short-term contracts for after-school programs and raised concerns about possible conflicts of interest if contractors are also board-affiliated; the board did not take formal action on that request during the meeting.

Outcome and next steps: The transportation-extension motion passed by roll call (motion carried). The board also set a follow-up statutorily required meeting to certify the May 19 election and budget results and to swear in two newly elected board members at an 8:00 p.m. session the week after the vote.