Idea worth considering

Sometimes someone gets an idea. A light bulb goes off. Oftentimes the idea needs time to mature, to grow, to sink in to another’s consciousness, if shared, and take root.Such was not the case at the Pine Plains Board of Education (BOE) meeting last week. As the meeting was coming to an end, school board member Todd Bowen made a very serious suggestion that practically stunned his colleagues into silence. What followed was a confused conversation that concluded with one school board member storming out. Bowen’s suggestion was for the district to cut either the middle school or high school principal’s position, along with that of the dean of students, from the budget it must adopt by April 19. (For more on this story, turn to Page A1.) Why an idea that has such large ramifications was given so little time to be considered and discussed is unknown. But such is life, and now the BOE must consider the suggestion quickly before adopting a budget to put before voters on May 17.In Pine Plains, there is one building that houses the Stissing Mountain Middle/High School. It is run by middle school Principal Robert Hess and high school Principal Tara Horst. Hess makes upward of $100,000, according to BOE President Bruce Kimball, while he said Horst makes less, as she joined the district more recently. Dean of Students Dennis Malloy makes a flat $30,000 a year and is not paid any benefits: retirement, insurance, nothing. The three administrators function separately and have independent roles at the schools. When the district hired Horst several years ago, the wisdom of having two building principals was weighed, with Horst’s hiring as the final outcome. Considering that more than 600 students attend the middle and high schools, the decision made sense. If not for two principals, the district would still likely need an assistant principal, so Bowen’s theory has some holes in it, as money for some sort of an administrative salary would need to be spent regardless. Additionally, both Horst and Hess (who has been at Stissing Mountain for many years, both as principal and before that as school psychologist) have been doing a good job. They continue to strengthen the district’s academic standing, to provide exemplary student opportunities like the Chinese exchange and FFA programs and to support a strong educational environment.As far as the dean of students, in previous years it seems that position has been covered by two part-time teachers, but according to Superintendent Linda Kaumeyer, the arrangement was not to the school board’s satisfaction. With current dean (and retired teacher) Dennis Malloy’s arrangement of a minimal salary and no benefits, keeping the dean’s position is a hard deal to beat.School board member John Shea stated at the Wednesday, April 6, meeting when Bowen introduced his idea, that he would prefer to lose the dean of students than cut student programs. That’s valid, and worth looking into, but the board must consider what Malloy offers in terms of building management and student discipline — because it likely won’t be able to replace his skills and experience at that cost going forward.The BOE decided it would hold a special meeting on Wednesday, April 13, to further discuss Bowen’s proposal, which although this paper disagrees with it, deserves debate.Bowen did no one any favors by waiting until the very last moment to introduce his idea. Instead, he struck his colleagues unaware with little consideration for all of the work they’ve done thus far on the budget, which if they decide to go forward with either part or all of his suggestion may have to be completely reworked. If he had spoken sooner the board, the administration, the staff and the public could have engaged in a more thoughtful conversation, which would have been to everyone’s benefit. The next time such inspiration strikes a board member let’s hope it’s followed through with more care, which could lead to more productive results — that would really constitute a bright idea.

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