The communities of the South Orangetown Central School District are served by a five member, elected Board of Education. The Board is the official legislative body charged by law to carry out the mandates of the New York State Education Department. The members serve three-year terms without pay. 

The Board holds its regular business meeting and special topic workshops on Wednesday evenings according to the Board of Education Meeting Schedule. The Board of Education meetings are scheduled to begin at 7:30pm.  The Board of Education meets in room 165 at the South Orangetown Middle School, 160 Van Wyck Road, Blauvelt unless indicated otherwise. Please park in the Erie Street parking lot. Residents are welcome and encouraged to participate in these meetings.

To email the board, please contact the District Clerk

Policies:

South Orangetown Central School District Policy Manual

The policies below had a first reading:

Policy 4850 - Animals in the Schools
Policy 5695 - Students and Personal Electronic Devices
Policy 6471 - Website Publishing Policy

Any comments or questions should be forwarded to Annmarie Uhl, policy subcommittee member at: boardtalk@gmail.com

Board Of Education Members of South Orangetown CSD  2011 - 2012

• Rosemary Pitruzzella, President

• Leon Jacobs, Vice President

• Steve Spiro

• Guy DeVincenzo

• Annmarie Uhl

Board Responsibilities
 

As a legal arm of the government of the State of New York, our Board of Education is responsible for:

• Affirming a shared vision for the school district.

• Establishing district goals and setting priorities.

• Overseeing the general operation of the district (including educational programs, public relations, facilities and contracts).

• Setting educational policy.

• Adopting and maintaining current policies in written format.

• Approving and adopting the annual budget.

• Hiring and evaluating the superintendent.

• Approving the appointment of all personnel and related.  Collective bargaining agreements/contracts.

• Deciding on the best utilization of resources.

• Setting high standards of governance.

• Meeting all requirements of New York State law.

Types of Board Meetings

Regular Board Meeting: 

A regular meeting of the board is considered a business meeting, where a specific agenda is developed by the Board and Superintendent prior to the meeting.  This agenda includes resolutions that must be voted on and personnel actions that must be taken in order for the district's general operation to continue smoothly.  Regular Meetings may also include presentations on various topics and updates on important ongoing initiatives.

 In South Orangetown, Regular meetings always include a Public Commentary time, where anyone from the community may speak.  The protocol surrounding Public Commentary is as follows:

• All voices are heard.

• Everyone must be an active listener.

• Each of us is responsible for managing our own behaviors.

• Respect diverse perspectives.

• Be conscious of your speaking time and tone.

• The Board reserves the right to close commentary on an issue if participants become unruly, disrespectful or if the topic is something that the Board is, by law, not allowed to discuss in public.

• If there are many people wishing to bring up items in public commentary, the Board reserves the right to place a two-minute time limit on each speaker until everyone is heard.

Workshop or Roundtable:

A Board Workshop is a commentary on a particular topic chosen by the Board.  These meetings are considered a Board work session, or roundtable, for the purpose of sharing ideas or for a particular presentation of information.  Although the public is welcome to attend these meetings, there is not a "Public Commentary" portion in these meetings.  There may be times when the Board may not entertain commentary from the public, unless it specifically relates to the topic at hand.

Who's Who On the South Orangetown Board

Rosemary Pitruzzella, President

Contact Info:  359-9269  


Rosemary has resided in South Orangetown for forty three years and is a graduate of Tappan Zee High School and the University of Buffalo. She and her husband of 25 years, Sam, have a son, Marco, a graduate of Tappan Zee High School who is now in his junior year of college. Rosemary has over ten year’s experience as a manager in both the private and public sectors.
 
A member of SOCSD PTAs on all levels during the past 14 years, Rosemary has held PTA leadership positions as: SOMS PTA President; SOMS PTA Co-President; SOCSD PTA Council President,; editor of Central Hudson Region PTA Newsletter; and member of the Central Hudson Region PTA Board where she currently serves as Treasurer. In addition, Rosemary has served on the following SOCSD committees: Curriculum Council; Generation Exchange Committee; and the TZHS PTSA Legislation Committee. She is the board liaison for the Curriculum Council, Wellness Committee, and the SAVE Committee.
 
As a board trustee, Rosemary believes that it is her responsibility to keep abreast of all legislative and educational issues which may affect the students and residents of her district. With this in mind she has made it a priority to attend conferences and workshops regionally and at State level so that she can return to her district informed and ready to share. She currently serves on the Rockland County School Board Association.
 
Rosemary is the recipient of the NYS PTA Honorary Life Membership Award 2000, the Jane Skrzypek Volunteer of the Year Award 2001, the NYS PTA Distinguished Service Award 2002 and the National PTA Lifetime Achievement Award 2006.

Leon “Lonnie” Jacobs, P.E. , Vice President
Contact Info:  398-0443 


Married with three children, two currently attend various schools in SOCSD and the third will follow when old enough. His wife Lisa is a SOCSD graduate and TZHS math teacher.  He has been a lifetime Rockland resident and 11 year resident of Orangetown.  Leon earned a Bachelor of Science cum laude in Civil Engineering from Northeastern University in Boston in 1985, a Masters of Science in Construction Management from Brooklyn Polytechnic University in 1988 and is a Licensed Professional Engineer in New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia.  He works for Frontier-Kemper Constructor's, Inc. managing the construction of large public works projects  in the New York metropolitan area heavy construction industry.   Leon is active in the industry and a member of the Civil Engineering Honor Society, Chi Epsilon, The Moles and The American Society of Civil Engineers.  He is also active with the Cub Scouts and was a past SOLL T-ball manager. 

Steve Spiro
Contact Info:   359-1674  


Steve Spiro is a resident of South Orangetown since 1975. He and his wife Kathleen have two adult children, who both attended and graduated from the South Orangetown Central School District. Steve is retired from the New York City Police Department and also retired from Pace University, where he was Assistant Director of Telecommunications. He attended both New York Institute of Technology and Pace University, Majoring in Criminal Justice and Behavioral Science. Steve has been involved in many school and community activities some of which include, the South Orangetown Little League, & the Knights of Columbus. He Co-founded Project Graduation and the SOS Sports Booster Club. He was a member of numerous South Orangetown school district committees, including Space Utilization, Athletic Fields, Master Plan and Superintendent Search. He also was the board liaison for the district wide building Project.  He has been a School Board Member since 2004.

Annmarie Uhl
Contact Info:  365-6901 

 

Be Informed!  Get Involved!  We welcome you to attend our Board meetings.

Board of Education Meeting Schedule  2011-2012
All meetings are on Thursdays, unless otherwise specified

The Board of Education meetings are scheduled to begin at 7:30pm.  The Board of Education meets in room 165 at the South Orangetown Middle School, 160 Van Wyck Road, Blauvelt unless indicated otherwise.  Please park in the Erie Street parking lot.
Check the website for up to the minute updates.

Print Schedule

Adopted 5/10/11

Download Adobe Reader if needed

Agenda

February 2, 2012

Board of Education Archived Minutes 
To view archived minutes click here

Board Meeting Audio Casts
(Please note, audio may take a minute to load)

Board Presentations
Click here to view archived presentations

Pupil Transportation Budget 2012-2013 (February 2, 2012) - view
 

Operations and Maintenance 2012-2013 Budget Presentation (February 2, 2012) - view
 

TZ Athletics 2012-13 (January 19, 2012) - view

2012-13 Technology Status Report  (January 19, 2012) - view

WOS 21st Century Skills  (December 15, 2011)  - view
 

Transportation Study - (December 15, 2011) - view

Tappan Zee Elementary (December 1, 2011) - view

Cottage Lane - How we're using data to inform instruction (November 17, 2011) - view

SOMS 21st Century Skills (November 17, 2011) - view
 

TZHS Teaching 21st Century Skills (October 20, 2011) - view

Property Tax Cap (October 5, 2011) - view

Public Concerns Policy

Policy 1400

Public Concerns

Constructive criticism of the schools will be welcomed by the Board when it is motivated by a sincere desire to improve the quality of the educational program or to equip the schools to do their tasks more effectively.

Although no member of the community will be denied the right to bring concerns to the Board, he will be referred through the proper administrative channels for solution before investigation or action by the Board. Exceptions will be made when the complaints concern Board actions or Board operations only.

The Board believes that concerns, complaints, and grievances are best handled and resolved as close to their origin as possible, and that the staff should be given every opportunity to consider the issues and attempt to resolve problems prior to Board involvement. Therefore, the proper channeling of complaints will be as follows:

a) Teacher or other staff member

b) School building administrator or other supervisor

c) Superintendent

d) Board

If a concern, which was presented to the Board and referred through the proper channels, is adjusted before it comes back to the Board, a report of the disposition of the matter will be made to the Board and placed in the official files.

Individual Board members will refer persons making concerns to the appropriate staff member, and will refrain from expressing any judgment until such complaint is submitted to the entire Board.

The Board expects the staff to receive concerns courteously and to make a proper reply to the complainant.

Matters referred to the Superintendent and/or Board must be in writing and should be specific in terms of the action desired.

Adopted: June 17, 2010

Policy 1400 Level A - Concerning Personnel

Policy 1400 Level B - To be completed by Principal or Supervisor

Policy 1400 Level C -  To be completed by Superintendent or Designee

Policy 1400 Level D - To be completed by BOE

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