North Syracuse Board Adds 27 Teaching Assistant Posts, Cuts 12, and Casts Its Only Split Vote on a Data-Privacy Deal
The North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education approved resolutions creating 27 teaching assistant positions and abolishing 12, plus a separate resolution eliminating an associate principal post, at its June 22 meeting. Nearly every action that night carried by seven yes votes, except a regional data-privacy agreement that passed six to one, with one board member abstaining -- the meeting's lone non-unanimous vote.
●Created 27.0 FTE Teaching Assistant positions (2.0 at ARE, 6.0 at CE, 5.0 at LRE, 1.0 at GRMS, 13.0 at RRMS) and abolished 12.0 FTE Teaching Assistant positions (1.0 at RRE, 6.0 at SRE, 5.0 at NSJH), all effective July 1, 2026, per a resolution citing enrollment data, staffing and student needs and stating it is necessary "for instructional reasons."
●Abolished a separate 1.0 FTE Associate Principal position at SRE, effective July 1, 2026, also "for instructional reasons."
●Created a new co-curricular position, NorthStar Network Broadcasting Coach, effective July 1, 2026.
●Approved contracts with Toth's Sports for a CNS gymnasium sound system ($31,843.00), Gillette Road scoreboards ($189,535.00), and a Lakeshore Road message display ($103,395.00), after review by King & King Architects and Watchdog Building Partners.
●Authorized use of Data Privacy Agreements negotiated by the OCM BOCES RIC ONE Risk Operations Center for 2026-2027; this motion carried with six yes votes, one board member abstaining -- the only vote of the meeting not recorded as unanimous. A related "Initial AS-7" resolution on the same Risk Operations Center carried unanimously, seven yes votes.
●Approved 2026-2027 Universal Pre-Kindergarten contracts with Head Start (PEACE, Inc.), Bright Path, Northminster Early Childhood Center, and YMCA of Central New York (North Area YMCA).
●Readopted Policy 3410, renamed from the Code of Conduct Policy to the District Standards of Conduct and Care, following Policy Committee review on June 9.
●Accepted a $500 stipend gift to Roxboro Road Middle School, awarded after the school was randomly selected for the New York State Department of Health's Youth Tobacco Survey.
●Approved a memorandum of agreement between the district and the North Syracuse Education Association dated June 10, 2026.
●Superintendent Dr. Terry Ward thanked Assembly member Pam Hunter for securing $200,000 and Assembly member Al Stirpe for securing $520,000 in state budget funding for the district.
The North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education used its June 22 regular meeting to reshape teaching-assistant staffing across several buildings, eliminate an elementary associate principal position, and award athletic-facility contracts -- almost all of it by unanimous, seven-yes-vote margins. The one exception came on a regional data-privacy resolution, which passed six to one, with one board member abstaining, the only vote of the night that was not unanimous, according to the meeting minutes.
The board approved a resolution creating 27.0 FTE Teaching Assistant positions, broken down as 2.0 at ARE, 6.0 at CE, 5.0 at LRE, 1.0 at GRMS and 13.0 at RRMS, all effective July 1, 2026. The same resolution abolished 12.0 FTE Teaching Assistant positions -- 1.0 at RRE, 6.0 at SRE and 5.0 at NSJH -- also effective July 1. The minutes do not spell out these school-code abbreviations in the resolution text. The board's stated rationale was that the district, "in reviewing the most recent enrollment data, staffing, and student needs, has determined, for instructional reasons, it is necessary to create and abolish certain positions." Mr. Ludden made the motion and Mr. Thorne seconded it; it carried with seven yes votes.
A separate resolution abolished a 1.0 FTE Associate Principal position at SRE, effective July 1, 2026, citing the same enrollment-driven, instructional-reasons rationale. Mr. Farfaglia made the motion, Ms. Sugrue seconded, and it carried with seven yes votes. In a third staffing resolution, the board created a co-curricular position, NorthStar Network Broadcasting Coach, effective July 1, 2026, to address what the resolution called amended co-curricular activities and opportunities for students; Mr. Ludden made the motion, Ms. McDonald seconded, and it carried with seven yes votes.
On facilities spending, the board approved contracts with Toth's Sports covering a CNS gymnasium sound system for $31,843.00, quoted June 3, 2026; Gillette Road scoreboards for $189,535.00, quoted May 29, 2026; and a Lakeshore Road message display for $103,395.00, quoted June 3, 2026. The proposals were reviewed by King & King Architects and Watchdog Building Partners before the board's approval, which carried with seven yes votes.
The board also entered into 2026-2027 Universal Pre-Kindergarten contracts with four providers: Head Start (PEACE, Inc.), Bright Path, Northminster Early Childhood Center, and YMCA of Central New York (North Area YMCA). That motion, too, carried with seven yes votes.
The night's one break from unanimity came on a resolution authorizing the district to use Data Privacy Agreements negotiated by the OCM BOCES RIC ONE Risk Operations Center, a data-security and vendor-management arrangement among four BOCES entities, for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. The resolution states the agreements do not require spending beyond what is already budgeted and that the district reserves the right to consult its own legal counsel before executing any individual agreement. Mr. Ludden made the motion, Ms. Sugrue seconded it, and it carried with six yes votes, one board member abstaining. A second, closely related resolution labeled "Initial AS-7," covering the same Risk Operations Center arrangement, was moved by Mr. Shusda, seconded by Mr. Ludden, and carried unanimously with seven yes votes. The minutes do not explain the distinction between the two resolutions.
In other business, the board readopted Policy 3410, renamed from the Code of Conduct Policy to the District Standards of Conduct and Care, following the Policy Committee's June 9 review, on a motion by Mr. Thorne. It accepted, with gratitude, a $500 stipend for Roxboro Road Middle School after the school was randomly selected to participate in the state Department of Health's Youth Tobacco Survey, with the funds designated for student and community engagement initiatives. The board approved a memorandum of agreement between the district and the North Syracuse Education Association dated June 10, 2026, though the minutes do not detail its terms. It also approved an unpaid Human Resources internship for Alexandria Docteur for June and July 2026.
Superintendent Dr. Terry Ward thanked the board for its advocacy during the state budget process, crediting Assembly member Pam Hunter with securing $200,000 for the district and Assembly member Al Stirpe with securing $520,000. The board recognized outgoing board member Michael Shusda and outgoing Ex-Officio Student Board Member Brigid Gill with plaques of appreciation, and Vice President Paul Farfaglia received a plaque from the New York State School Boards Association for a Lifetime Achievement Award. Gill, attending her final meeting in the role, introduced Mia Lieu as the incoming Ex-Officio Student Board Member for the 2026-2027 school year, with a term beginning July 1, 2026. The board also acknowledged the retirements of Sharon Houghtalen, Cook Manager, with 27 years of service; Nicholas Marra, School Bus Driver, with 4 years of service; and Peter Depalmo, School Bus Driver, with 27.8 years of service.
The board also approved routine personnel actions covering dozens of appointments, transfers, leaves and resignations across instructional, support-staff and administrative categories, all carried with seven yes votes. Following an executive session covering two personnel matters, one legal matter, and a parental appeal, the board reconvened into open session and voted, seven to zero, on a motion concerning a parental appeal of the Superintendent's decision; the minutes do not specify the substance of the board's action on the appeal.
This article was drafted by AI (claude-sonnet-agent) from the official meeting transcript and reviewed by a human editor.
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Related Board of Education (NSCSD) Meetings
North Syracuse Board Abolishes a Dozen Teaching Positions, Adds Special Education and Therapy Roles for July
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North Syracuse School Board Reorganizes, Cuts Tax Assessments for AutoZone and Target Stores
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●Superintendent Dr. Terry Ward said the district's anticipated Capital Project vote is tentatively set for Thursday, December 17.
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This district publishes meeting agendas but no minutes on BoardDocs; this record is built from the published agenda. Agenda items are proposals until an official record of the votes exists.
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●Board abolished the 1.0 FTE Systems Administrator position in the Technology Department effective September 1, 2026, and created a 1.0 FTE Help Desk Supervisor position effective July 6, 2026; carried with nine yes votes.
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●Superintendent Dr. Terry Ward announced the district's Special Olympics event was rescheduled to the rain date of May 28, and that a regional discussion on PILOTs, requested by OCSIA Chairwoman Nicole Watts, is set for Wednesday, May 27 at 4:30 p.m. in the junior high library.
●The board moved into executive session to review one personnel item, with no action to follow, before adjourning at 6:54 p.m.
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●Board members reported the state budget remains unadopted, with the district's own budget vote scheduled for May 19 and the next meeting -- on a Tuesday -- to include the required budget hearing
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●The board moved into executive session to review one personnel matter with no action to follow, and separately acknowledged the retirement of Elementary Teacher Kimberly Kennedy after 31.3 years of service.
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