The public seating in the Newburgh Free Library auditorium was nearly full when the meeting started at 7:30pm. The meeting begain with acknowledgements of teacher Arthur Plichta who achieved National Board Certification, and of the Newburgh Free Academy boys basketball team, which won the division AA New York State championship.

The Board offereed "Heritage at Stewart Family Advocates" the stage. A dozen students greeted the Board with handshakes and educationalal materials. There were some technical difficulties with the media equipment so their presentation happened later in the meeting.

The Board voted on several items--there were no comments, discussion, or no votes.

Two students, part of the "Heritage at Stewart Family Advocates" gave a presentation, offering an alternative to closing Heritage at Stewart next year. The students spoke very well and argued with some creativity that it would be possible to keep Heritage at Stewart open and operating efficiently. Two parents spoke as well; their strongest point was that the District had actively recruited parents and students to enroll at Stewart and the District should follow through on its commitments.

The Superintendent told the group that the presentation was enjoyable, "we know that you care; and we care too", and their points would be taken into consideration.

On a separate topic, a teacher at the Washington Street Pre-K program spoke eloquently to the Board about the importance of Teaching Assistants and Teacher Aides. She emphasized that Assistants and Aides engage in instructional activities which directly assist students. She asked that any stimulus money be directed toward reducing staff cuts.

Toward the end of the meeting there was some back and forth between the Heritage advocates and the Board. A Heritage representative asked when there would be a public vote on the issue of Stewart at Heritage. The Board President replied that there would be a vote and it would be advertised. This is very confusing--there will be a public vote on the entire school district budget, and that vote will be advertised. There was a "saying of yes, no, or bubble" at the February 19, 2009 Special Meeting of the Board at which all Board members said "yes" to closing Stewart. Until the Board approves the budget of course, it is possible for budget related decisions to be changed. So far, the only major issue from the February 19 meeting that seems to have changed from being decided to being undecided is what happens with the Extended School Year program next year.

One of the five Assistant Superintendents clarified that Heritage at Stewart had been a topic at an earlier budget planning meeting and the consensus had been to eliminate it. A Heritage advocate expressed some disatisfaction at the Board's decision making process.

Corrections to these notes are welcome via email at newburghedinfo@gmail.com, or post a comment.

On the Newburgh School District's website you can read this letter:

Dear Parents,

Unfortunately the extraordinary economic times that we live in require us to make decisions which we might otherwise not be required to do. I am sure by now that some or perhaps most of you have heard that there is a possibility that the Heritage Junior High School Campus at Stewart may be discontinued for the 2009 - 2010 school year. I would like to inform you of what is fact at this particular time.

* The school district is facing some very substantial losses in aid.
* The Board of Education has agreed in concept that it may be necessary to discontinue the program at Stewart due to economic reasons only.
* There has not yet been a final decision by the Board of Education to discontinue the program. That decision may or may not be reached in the coming weeks or months ahead.
* Should there be a decision to discontinue the program at the Stewart Campus all students presently at that campus will begin grade 8 at the Union Avenue Campus. Stewart students are part of the Heritage Junior High School family and will join their school mates here on Union Avenue. Requests by parents to attend South Junior High will also be honored. (The Superintendent responded to a question regarding this at the most recent Board of Education meeting held Tuesday night.)

If you have any questions or concerns at this time please feel free to contact me, I am always most accessible to you and will provide you with answers to your questions as I know them to be at the time we speak. Unfortunately the severity of the times requires us to make decisions which may be unpopular to some but favorable to others. This certainly is at the top of our list; however, I feel you should know what we know in a timely way so that you can have confidence in what we have to tell you.

Sincerely,
Joseph W. Raiti
Principal

Principal Raiti has inadvertently written a very interesting sentence.

Unfortunately the extraordinary economic times that we live in require us to make decisions which we might otherwise not be required to do.

That is a sentence with some truth in it. Ordinarily, we might not be required to make decisions at all.

On to the rest... The Board has "agreed in concept" to closing Heritage at Stewart. Have they made a "final decision"? No. Will they make a final decision in the coming weeks or months? Maybe, maybe not.

Perhaps decision making is not yet required.

At the regular Board of Education meeting on February 24, 2009 several parents spoke passionately in favor of keeping the Heritage at Stewart program open next year. Two common threads in the public comments were that parents and students had actively been recruited for the program, and that students currently in seventh grade at Heritage at Stewart could be shuffled between as many as four school building in four years (elementary, Heritage at Stewart, Heritage, wherever ninth grade is going to be in two years). There was also an excellent suggestion, that the Board or District Administrators communicate about this change in some way to the public.

This follow-up letter appeared in the February 27, 2009 issue of The Sentinel:

To the Editor:
The following letter was written to the Newburgh Enlarged City School District Board of Education.

Dear Newburgh Board of Education:

I would like to thank all of you for listening to the outpouring of support to keep Heritage Stewart open. As many parents stated we were surprised to hear about a possible closing of the school. I can not express to you the negative efect loosing this unique rogram would have on our children.

Heritage Stewart was created for children by you. The program concentrates on educating our children in smaller classes, promoting parent and teacher interaction in a school district that has ben plagued by negative publicity. As the school board you marketed this program as the ideal learning environment and in a short period of time everything we as parents were promised have come true. As parents we took a chance in a new program, in the school and in the district. How could we sit by and allow a successful program to be eliminated without questioning the moral hazard of the school district and board.

Is it not the district, school board and staff here to serve our children? As a board member you are the voice of our children, as parents we look at you as the guardian of their education. Our children look at all of us as the protectors, so why are we letting them down now when finally the program you have created has proven to be successful.

As a parent of a child in the school, I appreciate the resources and support my child is given. This environment has provided my son with the opportunity to learn and encourages him to think outside the box. He is more confident now than I have ever seen him. The bonds he has developed with his classmates and teachers are unvelievable. My faith in the Newburgh School District has been untarnished with this unique program that is being offered. I only hope that your actions will not change my faith.

If the district is going to considering eliminating any program, why go after the successful one. This program should be promoted throughout the county and state. The Newburgh School District has finally achieved a positive learning environment and their students are reaping the benefits. I am asking the board to please consider other alternative measures before destroying a program that has yet to come to its fruition. Please consider the many other alternative ideas that were presented during the board meeting.

I would be willing to sit down with anyone of you and go over the alternative ideas that were discussed and possible new ones. Our children were given an opportunity to succeed because the school board believed in them now show them that this has not changed in dark times.

Sincerely,
Lillian Antonelli, MS, CTR