Near stall at start of town's after-school dance program

The town’s free after-school dance program started last Monday at Webutuck Elementary School (WES).

Seventy-eight boys and girls have registered for classes. Any first- through fifth-graders in the Webutuck school district area, including children from private schools and home schools, are eligible for enrollment. The classes are working toward a final recital, to be held sometime in December.

Classes range from ballroom to jazz to hip hop and are held for first and second graders at the Amenia Elementary School (AES). There will be a third- through fifth-graders dance at the Webutuck Elementary School.

Everything is taught by June Kaufmann, who is running the program for the third year. Previously she had taught in Dover for more than 20 years, where she had her own school. Currently she teaches a similar program in the Wappingers Falls school district and at St. Josephs in Millbrook. She also runs an adult class at the Millbrook Training Center.

“My goal is to get the whole of Dutchess County dancing before I die,� she laughed. “What’s my favorite part of doing the program? The thrill you get seeing a little boy, dressed to the nines, go up to a little girl, also dressed to the nines, and he asks her to dance and they stand in the middle of the room and do a waltz for everyone.�

The program is sponsored by the town of Amenia and fully funded through grants from Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation’s Northeast Dutchess Fund, the New York State Office of Children & Family Services, the Dutchess County Youth Bureau and the Community Foundation of Dutchess County.

First-graders dance on Fridays at AES from 3 to 4:15 p.m. The second grade classes are also at AES, on Mondays from 3 to 4:15 p.m. The third, fourth and fifth grades all dance together at WES on Tuesdays from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m.

More information can be obtained through June Kaufmann at 845-635-5299 or Councilwoman Vicki Doyle at 845-373-9550.

The dance program was a point of contention at the Amenia Town Board meeting on Sept. 18.

Councilwoman Doyle commented that Kaufmann was under-compensated last year for her services, and this year she was taking on extra classes. She suggested raising her pay from $4,000 to $4,950.

The budget estimates for the program came in at $6,600 and were approved by the board. The grant money that was available as of the meeting was $6,200 and Doyle had budgeted the entire project at $6,159. The proposed $950 pay increase for Kaufmann would mean that her three assistants would have to be paid less.

“The dance instructor is responsible for all publicity material,� Doyle argued. “She puts together the choreography, she creates lesson plans and is responsible for TV, radio and newspaper advertisements. I felt she was underpaid last year and I think we need to compensate her more aptly this time around.�

Town Supervisor Wayne Euvrard was skeptical.

“Don’t get me wrong. I think June’s great and I certainly don’t want to take anything away from the kids, but a $1,000 raise is an exorbitant amount,� he said.

He also mentioned that this was trying to get passed through the board a day before the program actually started.

“There’s a very short time period to find out the statistics on class size and sections,� Doyle said. “We issue flyers during the first week of September when kids get back to school and we have to figure out the whole registration process by the middle of September.�

Tom Werner, chairman of the town’s Recreation Commission, voiced his disapproval of the way the project had been presented.

“Nothing has been submitted to the department,� Werner said. “These jobs [Kaufmann’s as well as the assistants’] should have been posted and there should have been an interview process. June Kaufmann does not have a lifetime job with the town and this is not proper procedure.�

“June was hired in the past, with an interview, and she is comfortable with her assistants,� Doyle replied. “I’m not sure why you weren’t informed of this project but I assure you I followed all the correct steps.�

“It’s important to make sure that the kids have a quality program, and I’m not about to get in the way of that,� Euvrard said. “It’s unfortunate that classes start tomorrow so we can’t go about this the right way, but I agree with Tom that in the future there should be an interview process.�

In the end, it was agreed that Kaufmann would be paid $4,450 and her three assistants would share the additional $500. The overall budget for the project did not change.