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Forestville welcomes back international travelers, receives ‘clean’ external audit

OBSERVER Photo by Mary Heyl Spanish teacher Laurie Becker and her students shared a presentation of the school’s recent trip to Costa Rica and Nicaragua with members of the Forestville Board of Education.

FORESTVILLE — The October meeting of the Forestville Board of Education began with a celebration of students’ travels abroad with the school Spanish trip to two Central American counties. Shortly after Board President Carol Woodward called the meeting to order, Spanish teacher Laurie Becker and seniors Rachael Goodrich, Rene Leone and Rhianna Nasal shared their recent trip to Costa Rica and Nicaragua with board members.

The presentation, which included a photo presentation and Spanish music playing in the background, highlighted various parts of the trip including a boat tour, school visit, white water rafting and exploration of a volcano park. “Look at the fun they’re having!” Becker said as she shared photos with the board.

“This is why I go back. Listening to them speak Spanish and barter was just awesome — seeing them interact with the locals like that was an amazing experience.” Becker concluded the presentation by thanking the board for supporting the trip, which is Becker’s fifth trip with her students over the past 10 years.

Following Becker’s presentation, Denise Veloski, CPA from Johnson Mackowiak & Associates, shared the results of the 2017-2018 external audit report. She reported no overall findings and congratulated the board on a clean audit. In particular, Veloski highlighted the district’s 3.92 percent restricted fund balance, which falls under the state’s 4 percent limit, as well as the significant improvements shown in the cafeteria’s budget. Veloski, who has been working with the district since 2005, said Forestville is one of her favorite districts to work with. Superintendent Renee Garrett thanked Veloski: “We really enjoy the longevity that we have had with you and your firm.”

During the Supervisory Reports portion of the meeting, both elementary and middle/high school principals Lindsay Marcinelli and Daniel Grande, respectively, discussed fire drills and go-home early drills that were successfully executed. Grande commented on the “Hang Up and Drive” presentation sponsored by District Attorney Patrick Swanson for all junior and senior students in Chautauqua County. “It was a moving presentation,” Grande said of the September event held in Jamestown’s Reg Lenna Center for the Arts. “Our hope is that if students have bad habits with regards to being distracted behind the wheel, they’ll change them.” He pointed to a statistic shared at the presentation that was of particular concern: Distracted driving is the number one cause of death for 18 to 25-year-olds.

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