Pine Plains BOE appraises projects

PINE PLAINES — In what turned out to be a straightforward meeting, the Pine Plains Board of Education took the time to review the progress being made on current projects and programs in the Pine Plains school district at its meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 18.

Under the agenda’s public comment section, the BOE listened to a community member’s concerns about the new legislation New York State enacted to remove the religious exemption for public school immunization requirements. As the board discussed the legislation at its previous meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 4, its members didn’t engage in any further discussion at the recent meeting, said board member Anne Arent on a later date.

Included in his report, Pine Plains Superintendent of Schools Martin Handler talked about how well the district’s free universal breakfast program has been doing over the last few weeks. He also reported that the district’s energy performance project is wrapping up and the renovation of the Stissing Mountain Junior/Senior High School auditorium is coming along. In fact, Handler mentioned that photos of the auditorium’s renovation can be viewed on the Pine Plains Central School District website at www.ppcsd.org, by clicking first on Resources tab and then on the Community tab.

The board also praised the success of the two-hour workshop class organized between the Stissing Mountain jazz students and world-renowned jazz musician Wynton Marsalis earlier this month.

In contemplating potential reconstruction work at Seymour Smith Intermediate Learning Center, the board passed a negative State Environmental Quality Review Act declaration for the future project. Such reconstruction work would include paving the walkway and relocating the school fence for the walkway work; replacing the gymnasium bleachers; replacing the intercom head end controls in the main operating panel; and installing a new wireless clock system and its related equipment.