At its January 28 meeting the Pine Bush school board again reviewed the capital projects that voters will consider on March 4.

Joseph Lenz, Assistant Superintendent for Business, went over what he discussed at the board’s January 14 meeting. Proposition #1 will cost $52 million and the district will pay for it with its capital reserve fund at no additional cost to taxpayers. The $27 million Proposition #2 will cost approximately $100 annually for owners of $500,000 homes.

The largest project in Proposition #1 will be a new athletic field complex at Circleville Middle School. Other projects include fire alarm and network upgrades, and roof restoration in all seven district schools. The proposition also includes improvements to the high school kitchen and cafeteria. Proposition #2 projects include air conditioning in all cafeterias and gyms, updated science and art classrooms, and renovation of the high school auditorium. Proposition #2 can only pass if voters approve Proposition #1.

The district will hold a community forum on the capital projects at 7 p.m. on February 24 at Circleville Middle School.

Lenz started the 2025-26 budgetary process with a brief demographic study. He reported that the district’s student population is showing signs of stabilizing over the next 10 years. He noted the correlation between student enrollment and staffing. He mentioned a significant increase in non-public school enrollment in the Mosdos Satmar of Bloomingburg.

The board thanked Marty McGill, who is retiring as Vice President with Allendale Machinery Systems, for his support of the Haas Innovation Center at Pine Bush High School since its inception.

Aaron Hopmayer, Pine Bush High School principal, reported on HUNCH - High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware. Pine Bush is one of four such programs in New York State, and the only high school – the other three are BOCES programs. HUNCH mentor, Flo Gold, visited the district February 5 to discuss future projects.

Amy Brockner reported on adding student representatives to the school board, which is required by July 1. The board agreed with her recommendations. High school students will elect a senior and a junior on the same day the public chooses regular board members; the junior will fill in for the senior and will serve as the representative as a senior. The student representative will be a non-voting member and not allowed to attend executive sessions.

Brockner outlined some of the criteria for student representatives, including good academic standing and demonstrated leadership in and/or outside of school.

At the end of the meeting, board member Shauna Best asked about cell phone usage in the school district. Brockner said she has been following what other districts are doing and is looking for further direction as to what a school district is allowed to do.

Brockner briefly touched on two other issues. She said that if someone from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency comes to a district facility with a warrant, the district will turn it over to the district’s attorneys.

Regarding the federal funding freeze, Brockner reported that the plan still is in a state of flux and that the district will report further when it stabilizes.

The next board meeting is February 11.