Fall sports, extra staffing and an audit discussed by BOE

MILLBROOK — September has been a busy month for the Millbrook Board of Education, with the district’s four schools reopening, two regular BOE meetings and a series of work sessions to clarify issues and make the reopenings more understandable in the age of COVID-19.

The first meeting was on Tuesday, Sept. 8, with BOE President Perry Hartswick presiding. An approval and an amendment was made for an additional summer day of kindergarten screening.  

Also approved, vacations days for Assistant School Superintendents Caroline Hernandez-Pidala and Brian Fried.

It was announced that the Millbrook Central School District will be audited by the New York State Comptroller. This takes place about every five years, and this year, it’s Millbrook’s turn. It will mostly be done remotely, with just a few in-house visits. It is expected to take between two and six months.

Kirsten Calkins was appointed instructional technology specialist for a three-year probationary term, and as the instructional support services provider. A letter of resignation was accepted from William Yager for the purpose of retirement.

A discussion followed about this year’s sports programs. Al Hammell, athletic director, joined the board for the conversation. Families are wondering about the schools’ tracks and fields and why they are closed to residents. The school board explained it’s because they can’t be open unless there is someone there to monitor if people are social distancing, and it is not feasible to keep someone there at all times.

If the school adopts a hybrid learning model, transportation would be a problem, as would be keeping students from one session away from those in the second session. Fall sports would be given a time slot of March and April, while spring sports would be held in May and June. The first sport offered would most likely be basketball. The BOE also suggested that a survey be sent to students to see which sport(s) they are most interested in as Hammell pointed out that even pre-COVID-19 it was not possible to field all of the sports as enrollment is not substantial enough to field as many sports as the district would like to offer.

The principals from the four schools discussed the reopening, and most shared positive thoughts with concerns about only minor glitches taking place. The experience of distance learning this spring was helpful, they said, and many of the technology issues were addressed. 

Approval was given for the BOE to pay First Student Bus Service a percentage of the operating expenses for the home-to-school transportation contract for the 2020-21 school year.

The month’s second meeting was held on Thursday, Sept. 22. After the approval of minutes, the consent agenda and the preliminary items concluded, the first item on the agenda was the approval for private school transportation.

Next, approval was given for eight extra class appointments, and two co-curricula appointments. Financial reports and warrants were approved. Extra staffing was discussed, most of it due to COVID-19 needs, including extra cafeteria help, extra maintenance and more educational staffing. The board asked that the staff put together a spread sheet with staffing needs and costs to be presented for the its consideration.

Enrollment figures were given: Elm Drive Elementary, 173; Alden Place Elementary, 168; Millbrook Middle School, 212; and Millbrook High School, 296; for a total enrollment of 849. This does not include outside student placements.

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. on Zoom. Go to the district’s website, at www.millbrookcsd.org, for details.