The Pine Bush Central School District Board of Education met on January 28 and dealt with issues big and small, near and far.

Shauna Best raised concerns about phone use in schools, citing that Valley Central School District had success with a policy of taking phones away and providing other social gathering opportunities for students. Board President Gretchen Meier clarified that other efforts like the phone pouch systems used at other schools have proven ineffective, as students often find ways around them. If Pine Bush were to implement a new phone policy, she suggested waiting for guidance from the local government.

Federal Policies

Amy Brockner, Interim Superintendent of Schools, addressed protocols for handling situations in which ICE agents show up at schools, emphasizing that any warrants would be served to the district’s attorney. If the district attorney is unavailable, the documents would be forwarded for further action.

“If anyone shows up with a warrant, we will serve that to our district lawyer at the district office. If she is not there, it could come to me, and we're sending it to the attorneys. Whatever the attorneys tell us to do will be what happens should they show up at one of the schools,” said Brockner.

Brockner also discussed the federal funding freeze initiated by the new Trump administration. She received a memo that read:

“From the US Office of Management and Budget, which clarified today that the federal funding freeze will not impact critical programs such as Title One IDEA, Pell Grants or direct loans, which support high poverty schools, special education services and college financial aid, respectively. Additionally, we expect that adult education and vocational rehabilitation programs will remain unaffected, because our understanding that the funding pause outlined in the recent memo specifically applies to discretionary grants at the Department of Education. The U.S. Department of Education is also collaborating with the Office of Management and Budget to identify additional programs not covered by the memo.”

Brockner emphasized that this is going to continue to change and will give updates as she receives them.

Enrollment Predictions

Joseph Lenz, Assistant Superintendent for Business, presented a report on projected student enrollment trends. Over the past decade, enrollment has declined by 707 students (13.5%). However, the next 10 years are projected to show a more modest decrease of 136 students (3.0%). Lenz noted that while birth rates remain stable overall, there has been an increase in births within the village of Bloomingburg. Despite this, it is not expected to significantly affect kindergarten enrollment in the district.

Additionally, non-public school enrollment increased in the 2023-24 school year, with 919 students (16.8% of Pine Bush students) attending private schools, largely due to rising enrollment at Mosdos Satmar of Bloomingburg. Lenz emphasized that the district’s enrollment projections have been over 99% accurate in recent years.

Capital Improvement Plan and More

Lenz then moved on to the tax impacts of Proposition 1 and Proposition 2. These are the phases of the capital improvement plan up for a vote in March. Without a STAR tax exemption, the projected annual tax increase for 2027-2028 is capped at $133. With STAR, that could be $117. Community forums for these propositions will be held on Tuesday, February 4, at 7:30 p.m. at Pine Bush High School and Monday, February 24, at 7 p.m. at Circleville Middle School.

Terrilyn Cohn, Interim Assistant Superintendent for Instruction, provided an update on the Conscious Discipline forum, which involved four elementary school administrators.

“We generated a lot of ideas during the forum and had the opportunity to spend quality time together,” Cohn said. “We also had a working lunch with our account representative, where we discussed what’s working well for us. I plan to meet with all the elementary principals and assistant principals to share what we learned and start planning for the rest of this year and next.”

The board also approved Policy 8240 for Second Reading and Adoption. This policy covers instruction in certain subjects, including driver’s education, gifted and talented programs, physical education, sudden cardiac arrest training, and health and mental health education. For more information about this policy, visit: https://www.pinebushschools.org/board-of-education/board-of-education-policy-manual/section-8-instruction/8240-instruction-in-certain-subjects/

The board also approved the designation and disposition of surplus equipment. Two pianos at EJ Russell Elementary School were recommended for disposal by Robin Evans, Music Department Chairperson, as they were deemed “outdated and/or in poor condition beyond repair.” This decision was made in accordance with Policy 5250, which governs the sale and disposal of district property.

Additionally, the board approved a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Pine Bush Teachers Association (PBTA) regarding the Civic Readiness Coordinator positions for the 2024-2025 school year. Other approvals included a Side Letter of Agreement with the Pine Bush School Related Professionals Association, settling a grievance dated January 28, 2025, and an MOA with the Pine Bush Administrators Association regarding teaching in the extended day program for the 2024-2025 school year. The board also approved the Claims Auditor’s Reports, Property Tax Refunds/SCARS Decisions, and Authorization/Withdrawal from the Tax Certiorari Reserve Fund.

The board addressed several additional concerns. Erik Buckley expressed interest in making the district’s website more accessible and improving the visibility of school programs. Both Gretchen Meier and Brockner agreed that updates to the website should be prioritized in the near future.

The next school board meeting is on February 11 in the Circleville Middle School.