The Board of Education shuffled some administrators into new positions at its July 23 meeting, while the search for a new superintendent continues.

Amy Brockner, sworn in as interim superintendent earlier this month, will be placed on an unpaid leave of absence from her job as assistant superintendent of instruction until June 30, 2025. The date is subject to change.

Terrilyn Cohn becomes interim assistant superintendent of instruction until June 30, 2025. She will be paid at an annual rate of $191,000. Cohn will placed on an unpaid leave of absence from her job as director of special programs.

Filling in for Cohn on an interim basis is Erica Walentin, now the assistant director of special programs. Walentin, too, takes an unpaid leave of absence from her position of assistant director. Walentin’s salary is set at $155,000 annually.

Last month, the board reached an agreement to accept the resignation of former superintendent Brian Dunn as of June 30, the last day of the 2023-34 school year. Dunn had been superintendent since 2022.

Brockner announced that the district has filled 38 of the Pine Bush Teachers Association vacancies for the new school year. Six vacancies remain, four of which have been tentatively filled. Those positions will be on the board’s agenda in August, she said. Two openings remain, one for a Spanish teacher and another for a teacher of English as a new language.

Brockner said she was happy to announce that the district has received several applications for the Spanish teacher opening. If none of those work out, the district does have a backup plan, Brockner said.

Some of the new hires were at Tuesday afternoon’s board meeting; trustees welcomed them to Pine Bush and shook their hands.

Big Changes

During the public comment period, Pat Ogden of Pine Bush addressed two substantial changes coming to all New York school districts. One is the decision to make Regents exams optional, giving students multiple pathways to achieve a high school diploma. Ogden wanted to know what standards would be applied to ensure the goal of turning out students who “fit in as global citizens.”

“What is a good global citizen?” Ogden wanted to know. And would students who failed “to regurgitate” what they were taught – especially if it conflicted with what they were taught at home – be denied a diploma? Brockner reassured Ogden that standards would still apply in classrooms where Regents no longer applied.

Ogden was also troubled by a proposed state directive to allow boys to play on girls’ teams. “Need I point out the differences between boys and girls?” she asked the board. Girls can get hurt playing with and against sex-assigned-at-birth boys, she said. She also wondered if standards would slip if less-talented boys played instead of more talented girls. She wanted to know if she could still comment on the changes.

Brockner told Ogden that she believed the comment period regarding sports rules closed July 22. But Brockner said she and the board had sent letters to the chancellor of the Board of Regents and the commissioner of the State Education Department listing “our serious concerns” regarding so-called “mixed competition” and the removal of the district’s ability to determine whether allowing boys to play would have a “significant adverse effect” on the ability of girls to compete. The letters also contended that the new proposal could interfere with protecting fair competition and opportunities for female student athletes.

The state is expected to make a decision in time for the fall sports season.

Bus Contract Extended

Joseph Lenz, the assistant superintendent for business, said the district had extended its contract with the First Student bus company to transport kids for four more years. The original contract was for one year. The state allows deals for up to a total of five years, Lenz said. The same financials will apply, with exceptions for changes in the Consumer Price Index, he said.