The Board of Education welcomed its newest member, Michael Beneventano, last week during a reorganization meeting at which trustees and officers took their oaths of office.
School district attorney Gary Steffanetta administered the oath of office to Beneventano, as well as to District Clerk John O’Brien and Superintendent Maureen Bright.
The Board of Education then held an election of the Board of Officers for the 2014-15 year. The oath of office was also administered to the President of the Board of Education Phil Heckler, Vice President Kevin Carroll, Secretary Brenda Judson, and Deputy District Treasurer James Mott.
Following the executive session, an action meeting open to the public took place. The Board of Education approved appointments for the 2014-15 school year, including Ellen Reilly as District Treasurer.
Since the completion of the 2013-14 school year, the Board of Education has already started planning for the new school year. The board has been taking care of the school’s needs that are to be completed before schools open in September, as well as taking care of the fiscal plans for the first day of school.
“At this time of year we are in the process of establishing goals and objectives for the schools,” said Bright. The Board of Education sent the schools a draft of proposals and objectives for the 2014-15 school year to have them ready for the opening of the schools.
During this time, several programs are also being held so that students will be ready for the opening of schools. Superintendent Bright gave a report for the district’s summer programs.
“We have a lot of activities going on in both the middle school and high school, and two other programs at Dutch Lane Elementary,” said Bright. “We are very pleased to be able to offer those programs for our students so that they can be actively engaged and we can continue to support instruction for the summer.”
Bright reported that four summer programs are actively underway, including programs for elementary, middle school, and high school students, and the popular Summer Recreation Program.
An update on the plans for a new turf baseball field was also discussed. Members of the board have begun meeting with the County to discuss the details of this opportunity.
The next steps to be taken for this project include outlining a scope of work, explained Bright. “The goal would be to hopefully have something that will be ready for the next baseball season,” she said.
But Bright noted that there were many variables involved in the process and that she was unsure whether the Board of Education’s goals for the new turf field would be able to be met.
The next Board of Education meeting will be on held on Wednesday, July 23 at 8:30 p.m.
