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Putnam Valley School District Acknowledges Contributions of Residents, Students and Board Members
District to receive $259,000 in taxes from State
by Margaret Sternberg
The November 15, 2007 meeting of the Putnam Valley Board of Education represented a night of diversity, in that reports were made, a Pride in Putnam Valley award given, resolutions passed and presentations done.
Among them was the presentation made by several members of the Girls' Soccer Teams and advisor Gerry Cohen to the Dustin Strumke Memorial Scholarship Fund. Strumke, who died in 2002, was being pulled by an ATV while he was in an inflatable tube. The tube struck a tree, and he died days later from head injuries sustained in the accident.
The scholarships, given each year to one male and one female student athlete who have overcome either academic or physical challenges, had been $500. This year the scholarship was raised to $750, according to Cohen, because of the donations and entry fees from the tournament. Kat Patti, one of the team captains from the girls' soccer teams, presented a $3,656 check to the fund, from which the scholarships are awarded.
The Fund also received a check for $550 from the Class of 2007. The class advisors, Larry Kunze and Laura Hirsch, made the presentation, noting that it was the desire of the class to have the monies that remained in their account donated to the Fund.
In another presentation that evening, Mary Ann Montano, an IBM employee, was given a Pride in Putnam Valley Award. The award was given in recognition of her efforts that lead to students from Putnam Valley attending IBM's E.X.I.T.E. Camp (Exploring Interests in Technology and Engineering) during the summer. Students are expected to attend the camp next summer as well. The proclamation noted that attendance at the camp had made a "significant impact" on the lives of the attendees, something the attendees themselves had attested to at the prior Board of Education meeting.
Trustees Marie Zarcone and Frank Reale were also acknowledged with a Developmental Achievement Citation from the NYS School Boards Association recognizing them for completing 40-credit hours of various school board training programs aimed at improving governance skills.
Outside of the numerous awards ceremonies, Coordinator of Athletics Brian Hogaboom presented the Student Athlete and Parent Handbook for discussion and, eventually, adoption by the Board. Approved in the main, the Board also requested four changes. The handbook covers athletic team philosophies, expectations of conduct, district policies regarding transportation, how teams are selected, equipment and supplies, and athletic procedures currently in place in the department.
Hogaboom also said that the department is working with students, coaches, teachers and parents on how to enhance and strengthen the academic eligibility policy in order to "put some accountability back on our student athletes." He expects to have at least three recommendations on how to do so by April.
Elementary School Principal Jamie Edelman reported that the Winter Concert will probably take place in January, allowing the newly-hired music teacher time to become acclimated. Principal Edelman said that report cards will be sent out November 30.
Edelman also discussed how the upcoming construction is expected to affect the Elementary School. The two classrooms in the pre-fab building are expected to come in to the main building, resolving a safety issue. She said that uses for the smaller rooms will be brought before the Building Steering Committee, but certain programs that are now taking place in closets, she suggested, might be brought into those rooms. Edelman said another alternative for the smaller rooms might be as reading and math labs.
In a footnote to the meeting, it was announced that the district would start receiving tax money from the State for land that was previously in the Payment In Lieu of Taxes program. Trustee Marie Zarcone said the district will receive $259,000, the second highest amount in the state after the Haldane School District.
The next meeting of the Putnam Valley Board of Education will be Thursday, December 6, at 7pm.
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