White Plains CitizeNetReporter - Lasselle Announces Resignation; PR Evaluation Inked; Emergency Phones. 5 Run.

WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. April 10, 2003: The Board of Education accepted Assistant Superintendent for Business Richard Lasselle’s retirement, effective August 1 of this year.

The Board also voted to appoint Cathy Callagari Public Relations, Inc., to evaluate and recommend City School District image and communications procedures, and also announced the district would be experimenting with an internet-based calling out system known as PACE to notify parents district wide within 15 minutes of emergency situations.

Michelle Schoenfeld, Clerk to the Board, announced five city residents had taken out packets to run for the four School Board seats up for election May 20.

LASSELLE MAKES IT OFFICIAL: The Assistant Superintendent for Business for the City School District for the last eight years, read his letter announcing his retirement Tuesday evening.
Photo by WPCNR News

During his tour of duty with White Plains, Mr. Lasselle worked jointly with the City of White Plains to wire the city schools with fiber optic technology, ushering the city schools into the internet age. He engineered the $8.5 Million financial model for funding a long term District Technology Upgrade bringing computers to all of the schools classrooms with state-of-the art Dell PC’s which continues to upgrade itself to this day and into the future.

Lasselle overhauled the City School District Food Service program to become self-sustaining, and turns a slight profit. He oversaw the $28 million, Wicks Law-plagued, 3-year renovation of the White Plains High School that is now complete. Timothy Connors, Superintendent of Schools announced that an Open House would be held at the high school on May 17, to show off the finished complex to the city.

Mr. Lasselle is perhaps best known for his work with the Annual Budget Committee. His clear, step-by-step construction of proposed school budgets is done in an open, step-by-step procedure in front of the community, in which the district identifies budget cuts and savings made and their ramifications in public so everyone buys in. Over the last eight years Lasselle, working for former Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Saul Yanofsky and now Timothy Connors, has never produced a double-digit budget or school tax increase, and has resulted in his proposed budgets being approved by the voters by margins as high as 4 to 1.

In his remarks, Lasselle closed by saying his work was made possible by working with so many of the fine administrators of the district and a collaboration with the citizens of White Plains, who made decisions with the best interests of the children always in mind. He expressed hope that his work had built “a foundation for the future.”

Board Members Praise the Man with the Numbers.

Board of Education member, William Pollak said Lasselle was “a pleasure to work with, incredibly professional every step of the way, and you seem to have all the answers.” Pollack said that there never was a question that Richard Lasselle could not answer. From a reporter's perspective, Mr. Pollak is absolutely correct. Mr. Lasselle never equivocated or hid information when I asked him a question. He would tell me honestly what he could and took time to explain financial issues.

Dorothy Schere, President of the Board of Education, said “It’s hard to know what was the (his) most difficult task,” and singled out Lasselle’s creation of the self-supporting school lunch program was to her, one of his most surprising accomplishments.

Donna McLaughlin, a member of the Board of Education for six years, said, “You’ve done a number of complicated jobs and done them very well. You never seem to tire out, and I’m really going to miss you.”

BOE Member Susan Kirkpatrick noted that Mr. Lasselle, “represented us very well in the community at large and in Albany.” Lasselle told WPCNR he would be retiring to live at his family home in Saratoga Springs, and continuing to consult with various educational boards he serves on in New York State.

Budget Report Card and Last Year’s Test Results Are In.

Timothy Connors, Superintendent of Schools, in approving the School District Budget Report Card, noted that in the last eight years White Plains had not had to endure the double digit increases in spending and school taxes now being faced by many surrounding districts. The report card showing this year’s tax increase would be mailed to residents next month.

Richard Lasselle reported that tax certioris had to date cost the school district $612,000, about $400,000 less than was budgeted for district givebacks to successful tax payer challenges.

The new $134.6 Million proposed School Budget will be voted on May 20.

Connors also remarked that Larry Killian, the district testing coordinator would be addressing the Board of Education at the district’s next meeting on the results of last year’s assessment tests which are now in.

P.R. Firm Inked.

Connors announced that Cathy Callegari PR, Incorporated, of Scarsdale, had been contracted to conduct an evaluation of district public relations procedures and to work with school officials, secretaries in matters of how to deal with the public. The Callegari firm will be paid $10,000 for this study.

Connors said she would be presenting the scope of her study to the Board of Education at the next BOE meeting on April 22. He said she would be looking at the “branding” of communications materials distributed to the public, video production, and training in how to speak to the public.

Connors said Callegari would be conducting the study this spring and reporting back by June, so changes in the school’s public relations program could be implemented by the fall.

PACE system to be Tried.

The Superintendent reported the district is going to experiment with a web-based parent notification system, called PACE, which he said, when implemented would notify by telephone all parents within 15 minutes across the district of school procedure changes in emergencies or otherwise. He did not say when this would be in place.

Five Prepare Run for Board of Education

Michelle Schoenfeld, Clerk to the Board, told WPNCR that present Board of Education Members Donna McLaughlin, Peter Bassano, and Michelle Tratoros had taken packets to prepare to run for reelection to the Board at Elections in May. Two other residents, Nancy Barry, 2nd Vice President of the Post Road School PTA, and Terence McGuire, a member of the Annual Budget Committee had also taken out packets to place themselves on the May 20 ballot. Citizens must acquire 100 signatures on nominating petitions to be placed on the May 20 Ballot. The petitions are due back to Ms. Schoenfeld April 30.


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