At their regular meeting on Feb. 9, Westfield Academy and Central School Board of Education members voted to table the creation of an HIV/AIDS Advisory Committee, pending further discussion.

Board President Wendy Dyment introduced the first reading of Policy 8210: Safety Conditions and Prevention Instruction. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Instruction in Health Education is part of this policy.

The policy stipulates an advisory committee should be created, consisting of school personnel, board members, parents, religious representatives, and other community members in order to make recommendations for curriculum content, implementation, and evaluation of an AIDS instructional program.

The policy also notes the board will determine the content of the curriculum, approve its implementation, and be responsible for the evaluation of the District’s AIDS instruction program.

WACS superintendent Ryan Sikorski noted parents have the right to opt out of that portion of the Health curriculum, based on their family values.

“Parents would present their home instruction plan for this, like they do for home schooling” he said.

Board member Tom Tarpley raised the question of how the Health policy would be presented.

“Who is going to see it first – the board or an advisory committee,” he asked.

Fellow board members agreed that this needs better clarification.

After more discussion, board member Deanne Manzella proposed a motion to table the formation of the advisory committee until the matter could be looked at further. Board members unanimously agreed.

During the period of public participation, WACS parent Celia Molitor told board members that the current AIDS curriculum and entire Health program “is in dire need of overhauling.” She noted that parents are not currently represented on the proposed advisory committee.

“One key element is not represented at all — parents,” she said.

Molitor also told the board the manner in which AIDS instruction has been conducted in the past was poor and often embarrassing to students.

“There are far better and more respectful materials we could use,” she said.

In other business, Sikorski told board members the district has partnered with the Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care at the University of Buffalo to offer a 15-hour professional development course.

Those who take part will learn about systematic trauma, adverse childhood experiences and the impact these have on learning, behavior and health, he said. “They will also learn about and discuss effective strategies for managing the effects of trauma within their classrooms,” he said.

Sikorski said the program will run from April through June. Already 40 individuals from the district have indicated an interest in the course, he added.

Sikorski also reported that the district received a rating of “no designation” regarding its fiscal stress condition. The rating is given by the state comptroller and is the highest rating a district can achieve, he said.

“Scores in this category range from 0 to 24.9, with 0 representing the strongest fiscal position. Our district received a score of 0,” he said. “Congratulations to Mr. (Josh) Melquist and his team, along with our audit committee, for their diligent work in maintaining our district’s excellent fiscal health.”

In another matter, Sikorski told board members that Erie 2 BOCES and other BOCES districts have been hosting discussions about regionalization. He noted that WACS has engaged in several partnerships with other districts to share resources.

“We begin by putting forth what we currently offer and go forward by seeing how we can combine resources,” he said.

In his report, interim secondary principal Darrin Paschke said WACS is striving to facilitate the Regents experience. “We are in the process of developing a Regents Exam Guide to help streamline and firm up the entire Regents process,” he said. “We are looking at supporting our teachers of Regents courses by looking for workshops to help facilitate the change to the new curriculum.”

Paschke also told board members that he has been working with Nate Scriven and other staff members to stop students from taking their backpacks to their last period.

“We cannot put convenience before safety,” he said.

Paschke said the district has begun to distribute “WACS PRIDE Cards” to team leaders and staff. “We will begin sending them out to parents when we observe students demonstrating Preparedness, Respect, Integrity, Dedication, and/or Excellence,” he said.

In business, Dyment reminded members that the budget vote and board member elections will be on Tuesday, May 19, and noted that there are two, three-year term open seats on the board.

Dyment also mentioned that the Senior Citizens’ Breakfast is May 14 at 9:15 a.m., and that the superintendent would like to enhance the annual event. “Mr. Sikorski has offered to give tours of the building,” she said. “So, that should probably be included in the advertisements for the breakfast.”

“The Friend to Education Award is also something we need to be thinking about,” Dyment said. She told the board that she sent each of them a list of past recipients. “Please start considering this and e-mail me with questions or suggestions,” she added.

In matters of personnel, the board approved the permanent appointment of Jacob Alonge as transportation supervisor, effective Feb. 11. Melquist enthusiastically supported the appointment.

“Jacob is a key to the smooth operation of our district. He values knowing all the kids by name and providing a personal experience when he interacts with them,” he said. “We are fortunate to have Jacob as part of our team. He is dedicated to our district, and I feel he has earned this permanent appointment as transportation supervisor.”