Southern Ulster Times Apr. 27 2016

TIMES SOUTHERN ULSTER Vol. 13, No 17 3 APRIL 27 - MAY 3, 2016 Recital Page 25 3 ONE DOLLAR No hitter Page 48 SERVING HIGHLAND, MARLBOROUGH AND PLATTEKILL Marlboro school board approves $54 million budget By MARK REYNOLDS [email protected] After months developing a budget, the Marlboro School board approved a $54,445,926 budget for the 201617 school year at last week’s board meeting. This amount Marlborough honors retired Fire Chief includes expenses of $20,000 for Adult Education and $750,000 for technology infrastructure upgrades and for purchases of mobile devices as part of $1.07 million allocation the district is receiving through the Smart Schools Bond Act. The district will later recoup these expenses. The tax levy stands at $34,225,463 and represents a -.11% decrease, or $37,506, from last year. Patrick Witherow, Director of Business and Finance, pointed out that this is the second consecutive year the levy was reduced. The previous budget had dropped by -.94% or Continued on page 4 Highland’s Top Students Marlboro approves four tenure positions By MARK REYNOLDS [email protected] This year the Marlborough Fire Department paid tribute to retired Chief Robert “Bobby” Troncillito at their annual inspection dinner at the Poughkeepsie Grand. The evening was a mix of tears and laughter as colleagues, family and friends acknowledged Troncillito’s 36 consecutive years at the helm, stepping down in 2015, and overall 52 years as a member in the fire service. The torch has now been passed to Andy Polizzi who took over the position this year. Polizzi reflected on their long journey as colleagues and as friends, watching “children growing up, birthday parties, grandchildren being born, funerals when you need someone to lean on and take control in your most devastating time and moving many times.” Polizzi laughed, recalling a time the two went to pick up a pool in Long Continued on page 2 By MARK REYNOLDS [email protected] Photo provided Highland High School Salutatorian Michelle Pirrone and Valedictorian Alfred Worrad hold up their plaques, which they received in honor of their academic success. Story on page 24. WWW.SOUTHERNULSTERTIMES.COM Last week the Marlboro school board approved four tenure positions upon the recommendation of Superintendent Michael Brooks. Two positions were Administrative – Robin Hecht as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction and Patrick Witherow as the Director of Business and Finance. Scott Hisel was awarded tenure as a High School Science teacher and Michelle Tyson as a Guidance Counselor. Brooks told the public that achieving tenure is not a simple process. “It is a very thorough and thoughtful process, full of evaluations and full of review. This Board of Education heavily scrutinizes the process of tenure so this is Continued on page 5