Geneva May and the two returning board members, Julius Collins and Jody Little, received their oaths of office on Tuesday, by Marisol Hembdt, secretary for the superintendent’s office. Phil Mattracion was nominated and voted back to the presidency of the board, and Iris Friedman was confirmed again as vice president.

When the issue of appointing the official newspaper(s) for the district came up, John Burns, board member, made a strong appeal to remove the Shawangunk Journal. He said that the Journal had been critical and negative toward the school district and that the district should not advertise in the paper. The board members divided over this issue. Julius Collins disagreed with Burns. So did Iris Friedman. Jody Little said she disagreed as well, but thought that the administration should meet with representatives of the Journal to discuss certain issues. The board voted five to three to retain the Journal as an official newspaper of record. Iris Friedman and Phil Mattracion called for a meeting to be set up.

Senior Tax Exemption Raised

When the board reconvened for the regular meeting, it heard a petition on behalf of Marian McGill, a homeowner in the district concerning the senior homeowner tax exemption. This had been pegged to $25,000 in income, with a steep fall off over that level. After a brief public hearing, the board voted to raise the exemption level to $29,000. The exemption is administered through the town assessor’s office. Anyone seeking more information should contact the town assessor, Miranda Bernholz at town hall.

Junior Trip For 2021

Stephanie Baxter, an Ellenville teacher, appeared before the board to give a brief presentation on the junior class trip for 2021. The trip is planned to head off to Brownstone Exploration and Discovery Park. Much of the trip activities will be water related. The trip bus will leave Ellenville at 7:30 a.m., and arrive at Brownstone park— which lies near New Britain in Connecticut — at 10:30 a.m. The trip will continue there until 3 p.m. when the park closes. There will be a lunch provided as part of the trip expense, and there will be an evening meal after the trip party leaves the park. Shopping at an outlet mall is also on the agenda. The board approved the trip, though with caveats regarding liability and insurance concerns.