Albert Leonard Middle School in New Rochelle, NY has been operating without power from Con Edison over the past two days. Con Edison tells Talk of the Sound they expect to have full restoration of power by 5:00 PM Wednesday. According to a Con Ed spokesperson, there were defective cables at the school.
Two Con Edison trucks have been on the scene since yesterday, one in the parking lot and one near the main entrance to the school. The school has been promised a generator truck to run the building tomorrow in the event power is not fully restored, say school officials.
Orientation meetings for Albert Leonard staff was moved to New Rochelle High School yesterday. No students or staff were put at risk due to the electrical problems at the school.
"There was no safety issue today as today was strictly for orientation", said New Rochelle schools spokesman Paul Costigliano. "Students came in at their assigned time to get their schedules, buy metro cards and agenda books and that is pretty much it."
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Below is a document describing the framework established by New Rochelle and Iona College for discussions on the future of Iona College student housing. Your comments are welcome below.
Read morePreamble
The City of New Rochelle and Iona College seek to form a stronger relationship that can better serve the interests of our entire community. The planning process and objectives described below are intended to confront common challenges and seize opportunities for mutually beneficial action.
It is understood that this planning process does not supplant or diminish the legal rights and authority of either the City or the College, that all participants reserve the right to withdraw from this process at any time, and that the recommendations that emerge from this process are not binding on either the City or the College.
The New Rochelle Board of Education met last night in their last meeting before the start of the school year. Here are a few highlights with some commentary:
Schools Superintendent Richard Organisciak said that harassment in the schools has gotten to the point where the district needs to go beyond what they have in terms of bullying prevention and sexual harassment.
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Iona College has suspended Dr. Warren Rosenberg, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs effective immediately after becoming aware of inaccuracies in student performance data reported to external agencies. Rosenberg is a tenured professor and so still employed by the college. Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences Brian Nickerson has been appointed as interim Provost.
Sister Patricia McGinley, SSJ, Special Executive Assistant to the President & Campus Director told Talk of the Sound she could not discuss details on the nature of the data or the agencies involved or when a report would be issued.
"Hopefully we get this resolved and move on to what we are here do, serving our students, said McGinley.
The college released a statement today disclosing that the school is undergoing a "comprehensive internal investigation by outside legal counsel and commissioned an audit by an independent, third-party accounting firm to determine the nature and scope of the reporting irregularities." The Provost's responsible for ensuring that the investigated data and reports to external agencies are true and accurate. All results of the completed audit, according to the statement, will be shared with the faculty, staff, and students. The Board of Legal Trustees and the administration have stated their commitment to take "all steps necessary to uphold the mission and integrity of Iona College, and to serve the interests of students and the Iona community of faculty, staff, alumni and supporters."
Read moreIona College voluntarily withdrew its proposed dormitory plan for Mayflower Avenue in a "collaborative planning process" which included a temporary plan to increase the occupancy levels of the present dorms. But this arbitrary agreement of New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson with the new Iona President, Dr. Joseph Nyre, was hotly contested. At the original meeting of Mayor Bramson (D) and Dr. Nyre a decision was made to withdraw the l0-story residence proposed in return for an agreement by the City to "adjust the local occupancy standards" for two years to less stringent New York State Dormitory Authority codes to allow more students to live in the present dorms. However, it is necessary for City Council to hold a public hearing before adopting new occupancy codes. The original occupancy levels relative to zoning were set in 2002. According to Chuck Strome, City Manager, this was an agreement of the City Council and Iona College at that time.
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With little fanfare, the New Rochelle School Board extended Superintendent Organisciak’s employment contract with some interesting perks:
1. Healthcare coverage for life with New Rochelle taxpayers footing 100% of the bill when he retires.
2. A late model (that is, new) car for his personal and professional use. We will also pay for his gas except in the case of “extended” vacations.
3. 40 vacation and sick days and each year he can exchange up to 5 unused days for cash!
4. A restoration of his salary even though the Board broadly advertised that he would take a pay cut.
Worse, we just had an election which put some fresh faces on the Board, and yet the new contract was rushed through before the new members were entitled to vote. What were the motives of the Board and its outgoing members?
d
“The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it.” - John Galt
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Dr. Velma Whiteside has been appointed to the position of Principal of Albert Leonard Middle School effective as of July 1, 2011. Dr. Whiteside has served Albert Leonard for the past 13 years as Assistant Principal. Previously, Dr. Whiteside was Assistant Principal and Dean at Mount Vernon High School from 1996-1998. Dr. Whiteside succeeds William Evans, who is retiring from the Principal position he has held at Albert Leonard Middle School since 1996.
Leann Bruno, formerly a Reading teacher and Literacy Specialist in the New Rochelle District, was appointed to become the Assistant Principal at Jefferson Elementary School, replacing interim Assistant Principal Joe Jordano.
Kimberly Peluso, who has been Administrative Assistant at Trinity Elementary School for the past two years, will be appointed to fill the post of Assistant Principal at Ward Elementary School, stepping into the position vacated by John Fogliano, who is retiring after serving as Assistant Principal for 25 years. Before coming to New Rochelle, Ms. Peluso was an Assistant Principal with the New York City Board of Education.
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