Elementary reconfiguration talks continue, concerns remain

PINE PLAINS  — Public concern regarding the district’s plan to reconfigure the elementary schools (Cold Spring would house all students in kindergarten through grade two and Seymour Smith would take grades three to five) has quieted since significant public disapproval forced the Board of Education to delay reconfiguration plans until this year. But with reorganization meetings announced by the district, parents have been voicing the same concerns about such a big change to the district at recent a board meeting.

Nathaniel Hieter, a parent who contributed significantly during last year’s public hearings, spoke during the meeting’s opening public comments on Jan. 20.

While he thanked the board for the amount of detail that has  recently been provided (“This is the level of detail I’ve been looking for, for 13 months,†he said), Hieter said he remained “discouraged†by the lack of a stronger argument for the plan.

Bill Foley, who has a four-year-old son going in the kindergarten class next year, also attended the board meeting and voiced concern about the validity of the class-size argument. The school board has said that class sizes, on the average, would be more evenly distributed with the new reconfiguration. Foley, however, is also concerned with the possibility that his son, who lives in Pine Plains, could be on the bus for as long as an hour on his way to Cold Spring Elementary if reconfiguration plans are approved.

The board couldn’t comment on the details of his specific case, but said that answers regarding busing schedules would be available at the information meetings it has set up. In a general statement, Board of Education President Helene McQuade said that bus routes, on average, would be shorter under the reconfiguration plan than now.

The first two parent informational meetings for the district’s planned reconfiguration have already been held, but four remain, including one this morning:

Thursday, Jan. 28: 11 a.m. to noon, Cold Spring Library

Thursday, Feb. 4: 7 to 8 p.m., Seymour Smith Cafeteria

Friday, Feb. 5: 11 a.m. to noon, Seymour Smith Room 305

Wednesday, Feb. 10: 11 a.m. to noon, Cold Spring Library

Anyone planning to attend any of the sessions should contact Seymour Smith at 518-398-3000 or Cold Spring at 845-868-7451. More information about the reconfiguration plans have been posted on the district’s Web site, ppcsd.org.

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