North Syracuse Board Abolishes a Dozen Teaching Positions, Adds Special Education and Therapy Roles for July
The North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education abolished 12 general-education teaching positions and created 10 special education, therapy and related-service positions effective July 1, and separately authorized borrowing $2,525,994 to buy new school buses and equipment, with one board member abstaining on the bond vote.
●Board approved a resolution creating 10 special education, therapy and related-service positions (including added speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, psychology and behavior-intervention roles) while abolishing 12 elementary, special education and subject-area teaching positions across several schools, effective July 1, 2026; the resolution cited enrollment data and said the changes were "for instructional reasons." Passed with nine yes votes.
●Board approved a bond resolution authorizing up to $2,525,994 to purchase 12 gasoline school buses, two service vans and a wide-area mower; roll call vote passed 8-0 with Amanda Sugrue abstaining.
●Board approved a settlement of AutoZone #2944's tax certiorari case on its Town of Clay parcel: no reduction in the 2025-2026 assessment, with AutoZone waiving school tax refunds, but a reduction to $28,000 for the 2026-2027 tax year. Passed with nine yes votes.
●Board member Robert Crabtree said this year's budget vote drew the lowest level of positive support in the past ten years and that a majority of voters were age 60 or older; he asked the board and administration to review voter demographic data before any future referendum.
●Board accepted gifts including two $1,000 awards to Cicero Elementary School and $30,000 from Micron Technology covering 100% of the cost of a district "Chip Camp" STEM program. Passed with nine yes votes.
●Board approved Personnel A actions (appointments, leaves, transfers and resignations) with eight yes votes and one abstention, and Personnel B actions with nine yes votes, including the retirements of Brigitte Glasser (3 years of service), Greta Johnson (36 years) and Alicia Rausa (11.4 years).
●Board set its Annual Organizational Meeting for July 13, 2026, at 5 p.m. at the district administrative offices, and moved into executive session to review two personnel items with no action to follow.
The North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education voted June 1 to abolish 12 teaching positions and create 10 positions weighted toward special education and therapeutic services, a restructuring set to take effect July 1.
The resolution, brought by board member Amanda Sugrue, states that the district reviewed "the most recent enrollment data, staffing, and student needs" and determined it was necessary to create and abolish certain positions "for instructional reasons." The new positions include 1.0 FTE Special Education Teacher at Roxboro Road Middle School, 2.0 FTE Special Education Teachers at Cicero Elementary, 2.0 FTE Special Education Teachers at an LRE program, a district-wide School Psychologist position increased from 0.5 to 1.0 FTE, a new 1.0 FTE Occupational Therapist plus an existing Occupational Therapist position increased from 0.5 to 1.0 FTE, a new 1.0 FTE Physical Therapist, 3.0 FTE in Speech positions, a 1.0 FTE Behavior Intervention Specialist TOSA, and a 0.4 FTE World Languages Teacher of French at North Syracuse Junior High.
The positions abolished are 2.0 FTE Elementary Teachers at Cicero Elementary, 3.0 FTE Elementary Teachers at Smith Road Elementary, 1.0 FTE Elementary Teacher at Roxboro Road Middle School, 1.0 FTE Registered Nurse serving Gillette Road and Roxboro Road Middle Schools, three Special Education Teacher positions at Gillette Road Middle School, Smith Road Elementary and North Syracuse Junior High, and one each of a Family and Consumer Science Teacher, Social Studies Teacher and Math Teacher at North Syracuse Junior High, a Science Teacher at Cicero-North Syracuse High School, and an ENL Teacher shared between Cicero Elementary and Gillette Road Middle School. The resolution carried with nine yes votes.
Separately, the board approved a bond resolution authorizing the district to purchase and finance eight 65-passenger gasoline school buses, two 65-passenger gasoline buses with wheelchair lifts and air conditioning, two 65-passenger 100-gallon gasoline buses, two service vans and one wide-area mower, for a total not to exceed $2,525,994, to be repaid through a property tax levy. The resolution notes that district voters authorized the purchase at the Annual District meeting held May 19, 2026. On a roll call vote, the resolution passed 8-0, with Sugrue voting to abstain. Trespasz Law Offices, LLP was appointed bond counsel.
During board comments, Robert Crabtree thanked taxpayers for their support of the budget but raised concerns about the vote itself, saying the District Clerk had provided demographic information, including voter participation data, and that this year's budget received the lowest level of positive support in the past ten years. He said a majority of voters were age 60 or older and suggested the board and administration review the data before any future referendum. He also said the district could improve participation in its post-vote online survey and asked administration to explore reinstating a Teacher of the Year recognition program. The minutes do not include vote totals from the May 19 budget referendum itself.
The board approved a settlement in a tax certiorari proceeding brought by AutoZone #2944 over its parcel at 5229 W. Taft Rd. in the Town of Clay. Under the settlement, there is no reduction in the assessment for the 2025-2026 tax year, and AutoZone waives any school tax refunds for that year, but the assessment is reduced to $28,000 for the 2026-2027 tax year. The Town of Clay supports the settlement, which the board delegated to Ferrara Fiorenza PC to finalize. It passed with nine yes votes.
The board accepted several gifts, including two separate $1,000 awards to Cicero Elementary School — one from a NYSED First in Math Virtual Regional Competition prize and one from Suntex International, Inc. — and $30,000 from Micron Technology to fund a "Chip Camp" program introducing students to semiconductor manufacturing, engineering and technology, which the minutes describe as covering 100% of the program's cost at no charge to the district or participating families. The gifts were accepted with nine yes votes.
On personnel matters, the board approved Personnel A — covering instructional appointments, substitute assignments, leave requests, transfers and resignations — with eight yes votes and one abstention, and Personnel B, covering support staff actions, with nine yes votes. Board President Michael Mirizio acknowledged the retirements of Brigitte Glasser, a Food Service Helper I with 3 years of service; Greta Johnson, a Cook I with 36 years of service; and Alicia Rausa, a Reading Teacher with 11.4 years of service.
In other business, the board approved the OCM BOCES Equivalent of Attendance, Employment Preparation Education and Adult Education Sponsorship Agreement, along with related authorized signatures and its Annual Cooperative Bidding Resolution Notification, by a vote of eight yes with one abstention. It also approved the OCM BOCES Agreement for Cooperative Educational Services covering the Comprehensive Alcohol-Drug Abuse Prevention and Education Program, and a memorandum of agreement dated April 27, 2026 among the district, the North Syracuse Academic Directors Association and the North Syracuse Education Association, each by nine yes votes. The board set its 2026 Annual Organizational Meeting for July 13, 2026, at 5 p.m. at the district's administrative offices, and moved into executive session to review two personnel items with no action to follow. The meeting adjourned at 8:28 p.m.
This article was drafted by AI (claude-sonnet-agent) from the official meeting transcript and reviewed by a human editor.
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