| On Board Online • November 19, 2012 By George Basler
Books? No, the 17-year-old senior is selling beverages and baked goods at the Blue Stone Café, a student-run coffee café located in his school’s library. Borrowing a concept from Barnes & Noble and other retailers, Windsor Central School District officials opened the café three years ago in hopes of increasing traffic – and circulation – in the library. “We wanted it to be the hub of the school,” said Jason Andrews, superintendent of the Broome County school district. Coffee cafés have been popping up in school libraries nationwide, according to Susan Ballard, president of the American Association of School Librarians. No count is available, though. Ballard acknowledged the idea of students sipping coffee and munching on muffins is quite a change from when she first started as a school district librarian in New Hampshire in 1975, when even bottled water near the stacks was frowned upon. |
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| On Board Online • November 19, 2012 By the New York State
District’s authority to lease school buildings Education Law section 403-a authorizes boards of education to lease unneeded school district property if they determine that leasing is in the best interest of the district. Section 403-a requires: (i) the rent must be at least fair market value, as determined by the board; (ii) the lease cannot be for more than 10 years, (except that the voters can approve a longer term or it can be renewed for up to 10 years with the consent of the commissioner of education); and (iii) the lessee is obligated to restore the property to its original condition, unless the board of education waives this requirement because removing improvements would cause substantial damage. While school districts are expressly authorized by statute to lease school district property, significant legal issues may offset the benefits. Will the school district’s property lose its tax-exempt status once it is leased? Will the school property and buildings be subject to local zoning laws and local ordinances if the property is no longer used for public education purposes? |
| On Board Online • November 19, 2012 By Pilar Sokol It is well-established that school districts have an obligation to adequately supervise students, and they have been held liable for student injuries that occurred as a result of inadequate supervision. On the other hand, districts are not necessarily liable in every case in which a student injures another, as in the Court of Appeal’s ruling in Stephenson v. The City of New York. In Stephenson, two students were involved in an altercation between classes. The district kept them apart for the rest of the school day and the following day during school hours. But when they saw each other on school grounds the second day, after school hours, one threatened the other. The following morning, before school hours, the threatening student assaulted the other two blocks from school. The victim’s parents sued and alleged that school officials were negligent as a result of their failure to ensure their son’s safety. They also argued that the district should have informed them of the threat. Relying on prior rulings, the Court of Appeals – New York’s highest court – explained that the duty of care a district owes a student ends when the student passes out of the “orbit” of its authority and parents are “perfectly free to reassume control” over their child’s protection. According to the court, the school had properly addressed the first incident, and the second assault occurred outside the school’s orbit of authority. It occurred off school premises, prior to the start of the school day and outside school staff supervision. The court also noted that districts have no statutory duty to inform parents about “generalized” threats. Under the circumstances in the case, the district did not have a common law duty to inform them of the threat issued by the other student, either. |
| On Board Online • November 19, 2012 By Pilar Sokol A state appellate court has upheld the termination of a school custodian found to have possessed and used crack cocaine. In McKenzie v. Board of Educ. of the City School Dist. of Albany, the police found the custodian in possession of 3.5 grams of crack cocaine during his arrest in connection with a domestic violence complaint. Based on those circumstances, the district charged him with conduct unbecoming a school district employee and misconduct, and dismissed him after adopting the recommendations of a hearing officer following a disciplinary hearing conducted under the state’s Civil Service Law. |
| On Board Online • November 19, 2012 By Pilar Sokol Determinations regarding parental requests for a religious exemption from immunization requirements can be difficult for school officials, who are often called upon to assess an individual’s sincerity regarding alleged religious beliefs. The commissioner of education recently heard the appeal of a parent whose children were denied a religious exemption in Appeal of C.O. Identifying herself and her husband as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints, the mother stated: |
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Allen Stout starts his school day by handing out items to students and staff members who line up at a counter in the Windsor High School library.
Since 1970, elementary and secondary public school enrollment in New York State has dropped by 800,000 students to less than 2.7 million. At least 250 school buildings have closed across the state since 2006, and many school districts have sought tenants for these buildings to create a new source of revenue. When a school building is leased, local government officials may claim the district is no longer entitled to local tax or zoning exemptions. In such cases, school officials need to know how the law applies and often protects the district’s interests.