A board member resigned. The board accepted the resignation of Jeffrey DeMatteis, effective October 7th. He was re-elected in May to a five-year term that would have run through June 30, 2031. No reason was given at the meeting. The board laid out four ways to fill the seat: appoint a member of the public, leave it empty until the May election, offer it to the candidate who finished next in May, or hold a special election. The district's attorneys said a special election could not be added to the December 8th ballot in time, so it would be a separate vote costing $17,000 to $20,000. Dr. Georgia Gonzalez explained the cost to be three poll workers at each of eight polling places at roughly $250 each, about $10,000 to rent voting machines, and printed ballots.

The board chose to ask the May runner-up first. Board member Rocky Capponi argued for a special election, saying a seat elected by the people should be filled by the people, and asked for the cost breakdown. Other members said they could not support spending $17,000 to $20,000 when other options exist, and pointed out that the candidate who finished fourth in May still had public support behind her. Several also said they did not want to leave the seat empty, since a six-member board can deadlock on a tie vote. One member noted that DeMatteis himself first joined the board by appointment before winning election. The board agreed to ask the May runner-up, Felicia James-Williams, and if she declines, to invite letters of interest from the public. Whoever is appointed would serve until the May 2027 election. In that election, the top vote-getter would serve the remaining four years of DeMatteis's term.

Parent coalition members asked the board to investigate a board member. Several members of the Rome Parent Unity Coalition, the group that brought harassment concerns to the board in August, spoke about posts a board member made on social media before the coalition's October 9th meeting. They said the posts encouraged people to show up at that meeting, and that some parents stayed home with their children because they feared a confrontation. Speakers said the posts and comments on them brought up the race of children, including describing children as "mixed," even though race had nothing to do with the meeting. They also described earlier posts and a private message in which, they said, the board member criticized the board and the superintendent. One speaker read a complaint asking the board to preserve the records, confirm who wrote the posts, interview witnesses, and apply its ethics, nondiscrimination and governance policies. The board's rules for public comment do not allow speakers to name individuals, and speakers were stopped when they began to. Under those rules, the board did not respond. We have not seen the posts the speakers described and have not been able to verify their accounts.

The board member, Rocky Capponi, gave Rome Right Now permission to share his name and official statement as provided to the Rome Daily Sentinel. Capponi said, "I evaluate policies, decisions and results, and I believe every person deserves dignity, fairness and respect regardless of race, sexual orientation, national origin or any other personal characteristic." He continued, "my focus is on whether the decisions made by our district are serving our students and our community. This will be my only public statement addressing that accusation."

https://www.romesentinel.com/news/rome-school-board-rocky-capponi-racism-allegations-complaint/article_7938da3c-639a-49ae-951d-eb5cd57c2607.html

The same coalition credited the board for its August response. One coalition member who spoke in August thanked the board for sending a detailed written response and plan of action 11 days after that meeting, and said that in a lifetime in Rome she had never seen a board do that. Ruby Rivera, founder of the Ember and Phoenix Project, which works with the coalition, led the room in a short exercise on shared identity and urged board members to disagree without hostility.

A longtime critic said the district has a trust problem. Dennis Perfetti said a heated exchange at a recent board meeting, in which he said someone was told to "sit down and shut up," has spread across social media, and that the right response was a public apology. He told the board the district struggles to pass budgets because it lacks public trust. He suggested putting the building project to voters in separate combinations, with Staley alone, Staley with the stadium, and all three together. We could not find the exchange he described in the record of the October 5th meeting. Another parent described his daughter's treatment at RFA, said he would file a formal report if the matter was not resolved, and said the new water bottle rule is hard on students with medical conditions.

The business office gave a new breakdown of how the December vote would be paid for. Recapping the October 14th information session, Dr. Gonzalez said Proposition 1, about $23 million, would be covered by about $19 million from FEMA, about $1.6 million in insurance money from Staley, and about $1.8 million from the capital reserve voters approved in May 2025. She said another $2.2 million from debt service resources would help cover costs while the district waits for FEMA to reimburse it. For Proposition 2, the stadium, she said the roughly $7.9 million would come from about $4.4 million in the capital reserve and about $3.5 million from building aid. The bond resolution the board adopted October 5th authorizes the district to borrow up to $3,522,755 for the stadium. At the August 3rd workshop, the district's consultants said the stadium work would not receive state building aid, and the cost summaries prepared for the board in August assumed no aid. Dr. Gonzalez did not explain the difference at this meeting. She repeated that the FEMA money must be spent by October 2029, and said the two questions were kept separate so voters can decide whether to spend reserve money on the stadium.

The district will hold off on posting the information session video. Asked whether the October 14th session would be posted online for residents who missed it, the superintendent said the video will not be posted until after the second session on November 17th, which will be more of a presentation. The district is posting about the project every few days and is designing a postcard. Board members offered to distribute the district's FAQ and renderings around the community, including at Jervis Library. One board member called the project a "no-brainer," saying residents asked for Staley and the grandstand to come down and are getting it with no tax impact.

Budget season has started. Dr. Gonzalez said the finance committee will see three scenarios in November for next year's tax levy: a 0% increase, a 1% increase, and the maximum allowed under the state tax cap. Budget request forms go out to principals and directors in the coming weeks, a full draft is planned for February, and the board will see an overall spending plan in March. She is planning a public hearing 15 minutes before the May 10 board meeting and a budget vote on May 18, 2027. Instead of only district-wide forums, she and the superintendent are considering presentations at parent groups and faculty meetings. Board members urged residents to get involved early, noting that only seven people attended last year's budget forums and that by the May hearing it is too late to change the numbers. Board member Suzanne Carvelli reported that without a new contract with the Rome Teachers Association, the current one stays in effect, including the raises it already provides. The board accepted the 2027-28 budget timeline.

The audit is filed, and Staley is getting new security. Carvelli said last year's audit was filed with the state by its deadline, and the audit committee hopes to meet October 29th to review it with the outside auditors. Dr. Gonzalez said a corrective action plan is due to the state December 1st, and that her office is now fully staffed. At the finance committee's October 8th meeting, members discussed making Staley safer until it is torn down. New fencing is up, and the district plans to cover the windows with riveted metal sheets instead of plywood because they are harder to remove. The district is also looking at moving Staley's playground equipment, which was fairly new when the school closed in 2021, to another elementary school.

Bag scanners arrived, and students questioned the water bottle rule. Safety committee chair Kirstin Safin said bag scanners arrived at RFA and the screening line is now clear by 7:25 a.m., so students arriving after that are late for other reasons. She said the rule allowing only sealed water bottles is not new, that students may still bring extra clothes, and that she hopes to bring screening to Strough next year. The superintendent said open bottles can spill and break the scanners, and that the refill stations are filtered and tested. The two student board members said entry is much faster, hallways are quieter and classes have fewer distractions, but that most students follow the rules and feel penalized for a few who don't. The superintendent noted the cell phone restrictions come from state law, and that students caught three times with a hidden phone now need a parent to pick it up. A student board member proposed a principal's cabinet so students can raise concerns directly.

Other reports. Dr. Gonzalez said the state's deadline for districts to buy zero-emission buses has been pushed back five years, to 2031, with a 2039 deadline to have them registered. Board member Johnathan Roland said the regional school boards group's top state priorities are Foundation Aid, mental health staffing and school safety, and that it moved zero-emission buses lower on its list. He said the group will also press lawmakers on a Rockefeller study of which, he said, only three recommendations have been carried out and 18 have not. The board was recognized for School Board Recognition Week, and the superintendent thanked bus drivers and transportation staff during National School Bus Safety Week. An RFA field hockey player broke a 32-year-old school record for career shutouts. The Parent Partnership Council meets October 29 at 6 p.m. in the Strough library; parents can email District Clerk Sandra Russell for an invitation.

Routine business. The board granted tenure to Ajeta Hozanovic, a school social worker at Denti, effective November 7th, and accepted the retirement of Strough special education teacher Lisa Balog, effective February 25, 2027, after more than 28 years. It placed an SEIU employee in buildings and grounds on paid administrative leave effective October 7th; no reason was stated publicly. It retired five board policies that newer policies had already replaced and approved the first reading of five others, including an update to the board-size policy to reflect seven members instead of nine. It appointed Rocky Capponi and Suzanne Carvelli to the new Facilities Improvement Committee and approved a combined boys varsity wrestling team with Clinton, hosted in Rome, with Clinton's families or district covering the added costs. Upcoming: the state school boards convention October 22nd in Buffalo, a meet and greet with administrators October 28th at 5:30 p.m. at RFA, the next capital project information session November 17th at 6 p.m. in the RFA small auditorium, the policy committee November 18th at 4:45 p.m. at 266 W. Dominick St., and the district safety committee November 19th. The meeting ended in executive session on a personnel matter, and the board did not return.