BOE closes year with new hires, updates and honors

PINE PLAINS — Ready to close out the 2021-22 school year, the Pine Plains Central School District (PPCSD) Board of Education (BOE) met on Wednesday, June 1, to appoint staff members for the 2022-23 school year, catch up on its capital improvement plan, honor retirees and award tenure. It did more of the same at its meeting on May 18.

Both meetings began at 7 p.m. at Stissing Mountain Junior/Senior High School.

June 15

On June 15, BOE President Anne Arent read aloud a resolution to approve Kristen Fischetti’s resignation as a teacher from Cold Spring Early Learning Center and to her appointment to a four-year probationary term as principal of Cold Spring.  The BOE passed the resolution with a unanimous vote and celebrated with Fischetti and her family during a five-minute recess. Fischetti’s resignation went into effect on Thursday, June 30; her appointment as principal began the following day, Friday, July 1.

Next, the BOE turned its attention to the annual retiree book dedication for its retiring employees.

Expressing its appreciation for their work and dedication, this year’s dedication list included “Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future” by Elizabeth Kolbert for Superintendent Martin Handler; “The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of Everything” by Michio Kaku for retiring secondary science teacher Andrew Brooks; “Little Yellow Bus” by Erin Guendelsberger for retiring bus driver Jo Anne Harrison; and “The Recipe-A-Day Kids Cookbook: 365 Fun, Easy Treats” by Food Network Magazine for retiring Cook Manager Audrey Kemp.

In his update on the capital improvement project, Director of Curriculum and Instruction Brian Timm said construction will take place at all three school buildings during the summer. Some work has already begun or will start in the near future.

Touching base on some things already in progress, Timm said construction has begun in the middle school gym and deconstruction of the boiler room has started at Seymour Smith Intermediate Learning Center. The district will be doing roof work at Seymour Smith and Cold Spring. There’s asbestos at both schools that must be removed. Timm emphasized none of the asbestos removal work will be done while students are present.

The BOE scheduled its annual reorganization meeting for Wednesday, July 6, at 7 p.m. in the Stissing Mountain library.