Valley Central Trustee Melvin Wesenberg stepped down from his role as Board of Education President during the council’s March 11 meeting, ceding the chair to new President Sarah Messing.

Wesenberg, who allegedly got into a confrontation with Trustee Sheila Schwartz following the board’s meeting Jan. 22 session, will retain his seat on the board, while Messing was promoted from her prior role as the board’s Vice President.

Wesenberg referred comment on the situation to the district’s administration, whom did not have further information about his decision.

Messing said she was informed shortly before the meeting about the switch. “Mel stepped down and as Vice President I assumed the duties,” she noted. “It was unexpected and it’s part of the duty of being Vice President.” Messing, who is up for re-election this spring, said she wasn’t sure at this point if she would want to continue on as the head of the board if she retains her seat in the May balloting.

The new board head said her top priority is to focus on the district’s 2019-2020 budget. “At this point we just want to keep working through the budget process,” she said. The six-person board is already down one member after the January resignation of former board member Joseph Byrne, though the council could be returned to full strength following the May 21 board election depending on how many candidates are on the ballot besides incumbents Messing and Trustee Brad Conklin.

Wesenberg, who has two more years remaining on his current board term, succeeded Schwartz last summer as Board President. Following the alleged incident with Schwartz, the administration launched an investigation into the confrontation. On March 5, Wesenberg and his wife Carolyn and daughters Sonia and Jada were all honored at the PTA Founder’s Night for their contributions to the school community over the past 15 years.

With budget season in full swing, the board heard a presentation during last Monday’s meeting from Valley Central’s K-12 Director of Curriculum Marianne Serratore about a host of instructional initiatives the district is working on. The wish list of programs was compiled after the district solicited input via Thoughtexchange surveys and at three Viking for Curriculum meetings, in conjunction with the district’s five-year plan.

Among the new student programs that could be a part of this year’s proposed budget include increased STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) offerings, social and emotional learning programs and enhanced summer learning opportunities. The district hopes to include some of the programs in the proposed budget if funds allow for it. “If we have some monies available for new initiatives and things, but to simplify it, first we have to pay our bills,” Valley Central Superintendent John Xanthis said. “Then once we pay our bills and see what kind of state aid we have, if there’s anything left over, then we’ll talk about how many of those initiatives, if any, we can put into this year’s budget. Hopefully there’ll be some.”

The administration plans to provide the board with preliminary budget numbers at the council’s next meeting on March 25. “We anticipate having numbers for the budget and we’ll see how many of those initiatives we can support,” Xanthis explained. “We want to give the community the opportunity to hear the information we’ve gathered so far. Also, I think it’s important because last year some people didn’t understand that these are things we’re coming up with ourselves, it’s top down. We certainly want to make the case in front of the community through meetings, Thoughtexchange and certainly through meetings with our teachers and administrators, that’s how we complied that list. That’s important to hear I think.”

A resolution could also be on the agenda for the March 25 meeting regarding proposed renovations to the High School-Middle School complex parking lot. The resolution would provide the CSArch architectural firm with permission to start laying the groundwork for a potential public referendum construction project.