Katonah-Lewisboro school district seeks community members to join subcommittees

CROSS RIVER, N.Y. - As the Katonah-Lewisboro school board’s seven trustees were being appointed last month to six board subcommittees, community members were also being asked to serve on three of the panels.

A call went out for KLSD residents to work with board members on finance and sustainability, meeting once a month, and on the audit subcommittee, which convenes as needed. Meetings are held in the district’s Cross River offices.

Audit Committee members oversee KLSD’s money management, advising the board on external, internal and claims audits. Residents interested in serving should be trained as CPAs or their equivalent, grasp concerns raised by independent external auditors and the district’s internal and claims auditors and, ideally, have experience in school district finances.

The committee meets as needed throughout the school year, usually at 6 p.m. Trustees Jon Poffenberger, the chair, Arwen Thomas Belloni and Carolyn Snell are the panel’s board members.

Finance Committee members analyze district finances with an eye to providing educational excellence in a fiscally responsible way. It can be expected to take on such tasks as the ongoing review of KLSD’s overall business practices and financial planning and investing, periodic budget reviews and the budget process.

Committee members will be asked to commit to a two-year term of service and attend meetings held one Wednesday a month starting at 6 p.m. Bill Swertfager chairs the panel, serving with the school board’s president, Lorraine Gallagher, and vice president, Barbara Williams.

The Sustainability Committee promotes responsible management of district resources: energy, transportation, land use, water resources, waste reduction, recycling and green products. It looks to balance economic benefits and impacts with sound ecological principles. Committee members meet monthly on Friday mornings at 8:15 in the District Office. Williams, the school board vice president, chairs the committee, serving along with Snell and Swertfager.

Community members interested in participating in any of the committees must submit a letter of interest and resume by Aug. 19, to District Clerk Kimberly A. Monzon, kmonzon@klschools.org or by mail to District Clerk, Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District, 60 North Salem Road, Cross River, NY 10518.

School board members will fill positions on the other three subcommittees. They are Facilities, with Marjorie Schiff, the chair, Swertfager and Poffenberger; LES/Shady Lane, Gallagher, chair, Williams, Snell; and Policy, Schiff, chair, Gallagher, Williams.

In addition, Schiff was named the board’s liaison to both the Westchester-Putnam School Boards Association, where she is serving her second year as president, and the New York State School Boards Association. Belloni will serve as liaison to the Parent Council.