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Wallkill Valley Times , Wednesday , October 4 , 2017

PUBLIC AGENDA

WEDNESDAY , OCTOBER 4 Town of Crawford ZBA , 7 p . m . Town Hall , 121 Route 302 , Pine Bush .

THURSDAY , OCTOBER 5

Montgomery Town Board , 7 p . m . Town Government Center , 110 Bracken Road , Montgomery . Shawangunk Town Board , 7 p . m . Town Hall , 14 Central Ave ., Wallkill

TUESDAY , OCTOBER 10 Valley Central Board of Education 6:30 p . m . Administration building , 944 Route 17K , Montgomery . Town of Montgomery Planning Board , 7:30 p . m . Town Government Center , 110 Bracken Road , Montgomery .

WEDNESDAY , OCTOBER 11

Pine Bush Library Planning meeting . 6:30 p . m . Pine Bush Area Library , 223 Maple Ave ., Pine Bush .

HOW TO REACH US OFFICE : 300 Stony Brook Court Newburgh , NY 12550

PHONE : 845-561-0170 , FAX : 845-561-3967

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The Wallkill Valley Times , ( USPS 699-490 ) is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday at Newburgh , N . Y . 12550 , with offices at 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , NY . Single copy : $ 1 at newsstand . By mail in Orange , Ulster or Sullivan Counties : $ 40 annually , $ 44 out of county . Periodicals permit at Newburgh , N . Y . POSTMASTER : Send address changes to Wallkill Valley Times , 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , N . Y . 12550

By JASPREET GILL jgill @ tcnewspapers . com

At the Pine Bush Board of Education meeting last week , Tim Mains , Superintendent of Schools , reassured the public that although enrollment in Pine Bush High School is gradually declining , many new programs and clubs are being introduced to keep students engaged with the school .

Mains started the meeting by providing an in-depth 2017-2018 Opening School Year Report . Since 2015 , Pine Bush High School has seen a gradual decline in enrollment . In 2015 , 1,720 students were enrolled in the high school and in 2016 , 1,671 students were enrolled . This year , the number dropped to 1,650 students . For Pine Bush Elementary School , the enrollment numbers were also down to

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and the Albert Wisner Public Library . In 2016 , the Albert Wisner Public Library in Warwick was named “ the Best Small Town Library in America ” by Library Journal .

Tarolli hopes that Wednesday ’ s meeting with the public will result in the creation of a new 5-year plan for the library . She hopes that the community can provide feedback for what they ’ d like to see the library accomplish in the future .

“ We ’ ve already accomplished a tremendous amount , but we want to do more ,” says Tarolli . “ Libraries have become a very important component for a community . People come to the library for a variety of things , from educational pursuits to learning how to use computers to getting advice on how to access community resources .”

In the last 5 years , the library has built a community center , expanded their parking space to hold up to 25 visitors and has made access for disabled people easier with the addition of a wheelchair ramp . In 2005 , the library purchased the adjacent lot next to their property in order to have more space to hold programs for the community .

“ Even though we ’ ve done everything the community wanted us to do , the work is never really finished ,” says Tarolli . “ There ’ s always something to do and we want the community to tell us what needs to be done next .”

The Pine Bush Area Library meeting on October 11 at 6:30 p . m . is open to everyone in the community .

a staggering 637 students compared to 2015 ’ s 659 students and 2016 ’ s 651 students .

“ Within these numbers there has been a concern about what the overall class size is for Pine Bush ,” said Mains .

The class size policy for grades Kindergarten to 2nd grade is 24 students and for grades three to eight is 27 students . For Pine Bush High School , the class size policy is at least 20 students .

Twenty-two courses offered in the high school do not fall under the recommended class size of 20 students . Those courses include Excelsior education , which has six enrollments , law , which has 9 enrollments , engineering and medical classes .

“ I can ’ t , with a clear conscience , accept that we have Excelsior classes with an enrollment of six students ,” said Board of Education member Roseanne Sullivan .

“ I want to see the numbers increasing .”

Although Excelsior courses are beneficial to students it is hard to keep students enrolled , says Mains .

“ Excelsior courses are great but instructors aren ’ t paid well and it ’ s hard to get students out in the field for which classes they take ,” he says . “ The courses place a heavy emphasis on getting real world experience . With a large class size , it ’ s difficult to place students where they want to go . We can ’ t place 18 students in a doctor ’ s office at once .”

Mains introduced new clubs and after school activities for the 2017-2018 school year to increase student involvement , like two new Odyssey of the Mind teams for middle schoolers . Odyssey of the Mind is an international problem-solving

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The Pine Bush Public Library was incorporated on December 21 , 1899 and officially chartered on December 1 , 1904 .