• Candace Gomez, Partner, Bond, Schoeneck & King
• Melissa Knapp, Partner, Thomas, Drohan, Waxman, Petigrow & Mayle
• Emily Lucas, Partner, Ingerman Smith
• Stephanie Roebuck, Partner, Keane & Beane
• David Shaw, Partner, Shaw, Perelson, May & Lambert

• Budget communications must be presented in a factual form to educate and inform the community. Any use of district resources to promote a partisan position (e.g., Vote Yes!) is not permitted.
• Targeting specific groups of individuals (e.g., parents of school-age children) with information about the budget vote or allowing school property or resources to advocate for the budget is not allowed.
• Challenges concerning improper advocacy are made to the Commissioner of Education and must demonstrate that the irregularities were pervasive and affected the outcome of the election.
• Board members may comment on the budget/election in their individual capacities but must clearly distinguish personal views from those of the Board... e.g., prefacing comments with “Speaking as a community member and not as a member of the board, my view is....”
• School district events on the day of the election are not improper if all members of the community are invited to attend.

• The mechanics of FOIL are clearly covered in the presentation slides available at the end of this email.
• Note that Board members’ personal emails and text messages on their personal devices are discoverable under FOIL.

• In the Supreme Court decision, the question was if the school district’s suspension of a student from the cheerleading team due to profane Snapchat posts (after she did not make the varsity team) was legitimate.
• The Court stated that the school can regulate some off-campus speech, but a substantial disruption to the educational process was not demonstrated, and off-campus speech will normally be left to parents, not the school district, to monitor and intervene.
• Off campus conduct might still be regulated for incidents of significant bullying or harassment, threats against teachers/students or school-related cheating or hacking.
• The NYS Dignity for All Students Act (DASA), including Cyberbullying provisions in Ed Law, may be impacted by the Mahanoy decision.

• Look to board employment related policies to ensure that a superintendent hiring process conforms to the equal opportunity and nondiscrimination policies, plus any additional recruiting/hiring policies or provisions in collective bargaining provisions.
• A Request for Proposal (RFP) process should be followed in hiring a search firm or BOCES to assist with the process. An “open” or “closed” process is one key decision that the Board must make (i.e., if the community will learn the names of all candidates, or only the final candidate).
• The search team may be interviewed in executive session prior to engagement, and a contract should specify a timetable, deliverables and payment schedule.
• Process considerations include the need for permission from the candidate if a formal background check is to be undertaken, and NYS law specifies that prior compensation history cannot be requested or searched.
• Superintendent contract provisions that should be considered include duration, extension or “evergreen” clauses, renewal and termination clauses, salary and financial benefits, leave provisions, health insurance, residency requirements and moving expenses, NYSED requirements, medical examinations, indemnification, equipment and transportation benefits.
• Board members should recognize that annual Superintendent evaluations are required.

• Livestreaming and hybrid instruction were key points of contention – especially in the 2020-21 school year. Ongoing issues include the availability of hybrid instruction.
• “Reasonable” employee accommodations for COVID-19 require a dialogue with the employee, but also should not result in “undue hardship” for the school district, including fundamentally changing the job requirements of the employee.
• Some key cost factors to consider in contract negotiations are provided, as are supplementary charts with the current provisions for salaries and insurance as negotiated in regional collective bargaining agreements.