The Board of Education gathered at the administrative building on August 21 for the last meeting of the summer. 

During the Superintendent’s Report, Dr. Joseph Giani congratulated 22 graduates who received diplomas during the summer commencement ceremony earlier in the day. He also welcomed the District’s 25 new teachers, who attended orientation from August 20-22, followed by a luncheon with faculty and the administration. Dr. Giani announced that the District will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 3 to officially open the new South Haven Early Childhood Center. He also invited members of the Board to attend the tour of facilities on August 30.

The Board discussed with Dr. Giani a memorandum of agreement that consents to the Suffolk County Police Department’s remote electronic device access to the District’s cameras in case of an emergency. Dr. Giani expressed concern regarding how the language in the agreement potentially affects student privacy under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and asked that counsel review and guarantee that the memorandum’s language is clear and addresses all of the District’s concerns. 

The Board also passed three policies: Information Security Breach and Notification (5672), Data Networks and Security Access (5674) and Immunization of Students (7511). Revisions to the Code of Conduct were also approved, and all policies can be viewed on the District’s website, www.southcountry.org.

There will be one more draft and continued discussion on the Board of Education’s 2019-2020 Board Priorities, which were discussed in detail during the meeting. Vice President Jack Nix said he would like to add additional information about “communication,” while President E. Anne Hayes mentioned the need to expand on community involvement. Trustee Cameron Trent said he felt the Board Priorities were very similar to the District’s Strategic Plan and that there needs to be a way to measure the outcome of these priorities. Dr. Giani explained that Board Priorities are items for the Board to focus on and may overlap with some of the items in the Strategic Plan. Melissa Aruta added that a subset of measurable goals would be beneficial to the Board and the District.

The next Board of Education meeting will be held on September 11 at 7:30 p.m.