WESTFIELD — Westfield school board member Tom Tarpley presented a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul, which he drafted on behalf of the board during a meeting last month. The letter, which requests that the state delay the mandate for schools to transition to electric buses, while critical safety issues are addressed, was discussed and agreed upon at the last board meeting.

The letter states that WACS and NYSERDA hired Wendel to conduct a study of electric buses. The study concluded that “additional fire protection requirements for the use of these powerful batteries are still very much undefined.”

Wendel also noted that “currently there is no clear code, standard or path as to how to protect an electric bus from a battery fire.” Furthermore, “a battery fire could take up to 3,000 gallons of water and 24 hours to fully extinguish.”

The letter, which was approved by the board, states that the first priority is keeping students and district employees safe, and that proper firefighting resources need to be in place before bus fleets are converted.

“There are thousands of school districts in the state that are in rural areas,” Tarpley said. “At the present time, we do not have the ability to rescue a child.”

In his report to the board, Superintendent Mike Cipolla spoke briefly about regionalization, which, he noted, is an ongoing topic. He told the board that the NYSED website has a good summary and a section of Frequently Asked Questions. “As this topic continues to evolve, I think we have to talk about it and stay ahead of it,” he said. “Chautauqua County has done significant work with regionalization for a number of years.”

Cipolla also updated board members on the district’s strategic planning. He said the first steering committee meeting was held the day before and there was excellent input from stakeholders.

Cipolla went on to say that the committee put together three “buckets”: 1. Skills and Course Development, 2. Student and Community Experience (includes facilities), and 3. Teaching, Classes & Learning. “These are three categories or themes identified in our process to garner feedback from multiple stakeholder groups,” he said.

Cipolla told board members that the district has received outstanding feedback from stakeholders. “The feedback we’ve received so far has been nothing short of invaluable.The diverse perspectives and ideas shared by our stakeholders have reinforced just how committed our community is to supporting our school,” he said. “This is more than just planning; it’s about jointly building our future to best meet the needs of our students and school community.”

In her report to the board, Elementary Principal Molly Anderson said students are receiving monthly visits from Sundance Kids Farms and Mr. Morton, which enables them to experience a petting zoo each month. “You put kids and animals together and magical things happen,” she said.

An area of concern, Anderson said is chronic absenteeism, and good attendance continues to be a priority in the elementary school. She said that 26% of the students are at risk for chronic absenteeism and this is being addressed with phone calls and home visits.

During the period of board commentary, several members spoke about the student’s presentation of “A Christmas Carol” on Nov. 15 and 16. “I attended the musical and they did such a fantastic job – it was just amazing!,” said Phyllis Hagen. “It’s been done many times, but this presentation was truly amazing!”