A sign of misinformation

    WEBUTUCK — “Rhumersâ€� of the Webutuck Central School District closing are unfounded, BOE President Dale Culver said last week, regarding the handmade pasteboard sign posted at a local supermarket. The sign, complete with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, was debunked by Culver.

    â€œIt is absolutely baseless,â€� he said. “It amazes me sometimes how few hobbies some people have.â€�

    The sign claimed the move had been confirmed by a member of the Pine Plains Central School’s District Board of Education; it stated Pine Plains will absorb Webutuck’s student population.

    â€œThere is no merit to the flyer,â€� said Pine Plains BOE Vice President Brian Croghan, who said that as long as he has been on the board there has never been any discussion regarding his district taking on Webutuck students.

    When asked whether the board had discussed the idea of consolidation with neighboring school districts as part of long-term planning, Culver said the board is certainly interested in sharing services and equipment with nearby school districts as a way to cut costs, “but I haven’t thought, nor have I heard any discussion about Webutuck being merged or changed in that way. We’ve worked very hard to put this district in as good a financial situation as possible for the future. For anybody who has enough free time to be placing signs around town, we have an educational summit coming up and I’d encourage them to attend and participate in something useful.â€�

    That community meeting will be held Thursday, December 9 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Anyone interested in attending can contact the district’s clerk at 845-373-4104.

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