School Budget Vote and Board Election - May 21

The East Greenbush CSD has proposed a school budget for 2024-25 that maintains all programs and services with a 0.55% tax levy increase, which is within the NYS Property Tax Cap. Residents will also vote on a $116 million capital project that would improve school facilities and grounds across the district with no impact to local taxpayers, the replacement of eight school buses, which if approved by voters, will be fully paid for by the Bus Purchase Reserve Fund, and elect three individuals to the Board of Education.

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Teachers and Staff Return for Superintendent’s Conference Days

Sep 5, 2023 | Bell Top, Columbia, District, Genet, Goff, Green Meadow, Pre-K, Red Mill, Sutherland

Superintendent Jeff Simons gives a welcome back address at Opening Day for faculty and staff.

Superintendent Jeff Simons gives a welcome back address at Opening Day for faculty and staff on August 31 in the Columbia High School auditorium.

All teachers and staff in the East Greenbush Central School District returned to school Thursday morning for the first of three days of meetings and professional development. Employees filled the Columbia High School auditorium where they were welcomed by Superintendent of Schools Jeff Simons.

Mr. Simons began his remarks by thanking staff from the maintenance, technology and human resources departments who have worked hard over the summer to prepare each of the schools for a new and promising school year.

He focused his welcome address on the Board of Education’s priorities as a way of engaging and building relationships with students and families. Those priorities include:

  • Future-Driven Education
  • Whole Learner Focus
  • Safe, Inclusive and Diverse Schools

“As we teach our content, serve the lunches, bus the kids safely to school, clean the buildings or answer the phone, we need to build strong bonds with our students and our families so that all students regardless of backgrounds see our schools as a tremendously stabilizing force in their lives,” said Mr. Simons.

President of the National Dropout Prevention Center and the Successful Practices Network Ray McNulty gives the keynote address at Opening Day.

President of the National Dropout Prevention Center and the Successful Practices Network Ray McNulty gives the keynote address at Opening Day.

The keynote speech was delivered by Ray McNulty, president of the National Dropout Prevention Center and the Successful Practices Network. Mr. McNulty is an education expert who has served as Dean for the School of Education at Southern New Hampshire University and Vermont’s education commissioner, following a career as a teacher and administrator.

Mr. McNulty discussed the changes in education and society and why a future focused education model is so important.

“There are people in this room who would love to start talking about the future of education, and what you would love to see happen. Mr. McNulty said. “That voice has to be a part of this school district’s continued success.”

“There are things that we do in literacy that are so critical and so important, they’ll be with us forever,” he continued. “So we need the past and we need the future. But we can’t make it a tug of war. It’s not the people that don’t want to change against the people who want to change. The work I do in districts is really to not do this. It’s to get a district to create a sense of caring for the present but enabling the future.”

Employees also participated in professional development sessions and attended faculty and department meetings.

The first day of school for PK-12 students is scheduled for Thursday, September 7.