Keith Morey of Ancram spoke emotionally to the Pine Plains Central School District Board of Education at its meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 18, pleading for help before a tragedy occurs.
“The reason I’m here is that people are not stopping for the school bus,” he said during public comment. “I don’t want my kids hurt — and it ain’t just our kids.”
Morey said that drivers frequently speed past stopped school buses where his grandchildren get picked up on Poole Hill Road near Pats Road. According to Morey, motorists routinely use the stretch as a shortcut from Ancram to Pine Plains.
“The no-passing signs are there, the double yellow lines are there, and the speed limit is 35 miles per hour,” he said, “But people go 135.”
Having already contacted the New York State Police, Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and Ancram Town Board without results, Morey turned to the school board. Choking up, the 70-year-old grandfather said, “One woman just waved as she drove by. I still have two more grandchildren coming up. Something’s got to get done.”
Superintendent Brian Timm explained that jurisdiction is the primary obstacle to solving the bus safety issue on Poole Hill Road. “Any time an infraction like that occurs in Dutchess County, the video goes to the sheriff’s department and a ticket is issued,” he said. “The problem is when the infraction occurs outside of Dutchess County, nothing can happen because they don’t have jurisdiction to issue the ticket.”
The Pine Plains school district participates in the School Bus Safety Awareness Campaign, the automated camera system that relies on county law enforcement. All but two of the county’s 13 school districts utilize the program’s stop-arm cameras to automatically send violation videos to the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office. Only the Wappingers and Arlington central school districts have opted out.
However, because Columbia County lacks a similar program, drivers passing buses in Ancram can escape automated ticketing. Only 12 of New York’s 62 counties sponsor a bus safety campaign, including Ulster, Westchester, and Dutchess.
To address the issue, Timm will consult with superintendents in the neighboring Columbia County school districts of Taconic Hills and Germantown, and board member Jim Griffin will alert state and county legislators. “This is not a Pine Plains problem,” Timm said. “It’s a state and national problem that needs to be addressed.”
Special Education Challenges and Strategies
Earlier in the meeting, the board turned its attention to a presentation by Janine Babcock, Director of Pupil Personnel Services — the department that provides eligible students with special education services.
“My vision is for students to feel included with their needs met,” she said. “A great advantage to being a small district is that we know our learners individually.”
Babcock noted that a fading stigma around special education has prompted more families to ask for support, and has helped to expand the identification of eligible students. She added that educators are facing greater challenges, including higher rates of autism, and more children with language limitations and a lack of social skills.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law that ensures children with disabilities get a free and proper public education. The state’s Education Department guides school districts on how to run these support programs.
“The amount and depth of regulations we are required to follow are staggering,” Babcock said.
New York has new metrics to measure how districts meet IDEA standards, and includes indicators such as parental involvement, timely evaluations, and state assessments. “This was our second year,” she said. “We received 100% for compliance, 50% for performance,” noting that the state tests targeting fourth and eighth grade English language arts and math benchmarks, along with graduation and dropout rates, lowered the score.
“We had eight or nine kids that took the test, only one tested proficient.” Babcock said. She hopes the new Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts curriculum, an evidence-based elementary reading program, will help raise state testing scores.
According to Babcock, 11 students graduated in June, five of whom completed a Career and Technical Education program at Dutchess BOCES. “Our students with disabilities are graduating: it may not look that way by state reporting metrics,” she said, noting that they don’t always take traditional routes to graduation. Babcock added that some students finish at summer’s end, or obtain a GED.
She said that her students’ academic success is best measured by whether they attained their Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals in reading, writing, emotional, motor, and social skills, rather than by state testing. “Many achievements aren’t academic,” Babcock said. “If you’ve been to any of our Unified Basketball games” — partnering students with special needs with general education students — ”you’ve seen true success.”
More than 20 students are now interested in participating in Unified PE where students will learn bocce ball. “We’re building awareness and empathy,” she said.
Babcock explained the process involved in determining whether a child qualifies for special education services. “An evaluation of the student is conducted by our staff and outside providers when needed, which includes IQ testing, a social history, and medical records,” she said. “Preschool evaluations are done by the county.”
The district is mandated to design and implement an IEP for eligible students. This written, legally binding plan outlines the specific special education programs and academic accommodations the child needs to succeed. The plan must be reviewed annually, and the student reassessed every three years. If students’ needs can’t be met by the school or by Dutchess County BOCES, they are sent out of the district for services at no cost to the family.
Some children require extended-year services. Summer school must be offered for various issues, such as severe multiple disabilities and the risk of academic regression. State requirements mandate 2.5 hours of daily instruction over 30 days, plus transport. This year, the program was limited to 12 special education students.
Babcock said that the total number of classified students in grades K-2 has grown steadily from 20 children in 2021 to 27 in the coming academic year, “But we have only a limited number of providers,” she said. “We need more programs and support to meet those demands,” adding that if the district can’t provide the needed services, it must pay for them.
Babcock emphasized that her department works hard to stay fiscally responsible. “It’s cheaper to keep students in the district, but we would need more programs and more appropriately certified staff,” she said. “The cost of salaries and contracted services must be weighed against the cost of tuition and out of district transportation. The most important goal is to meet student needs.”
To combat a growing shortage of services and become more competitive with neighboring counties, Dutchess County legislators increased preschool special education salaries on Aug. 10. The rate for a 30-minute session has risen from $60 to $80.
Capital Improvements on Schedule and PILOT Approved
In other business, Timm reported that capital improvements are on or ahead of schedule. The asbestos abatement and floor tile replacement on all three floors at Seymour Smith Intermediate Learning Center are done, and teachers have moved into the classrooms. Repairs to the Stissing Mountain High School elevator will start this week, while the school roof is one week away from completion. Additionally, lines on the newly paved track and tennis courts will be painted this week, and the lighting for the field and scoreboard will also be installed this week.
“There’s a football game on Thursday, Sept. 10,” Timm said. “Fingers crossed, I think it’ll be a home game.”
After some discussion, the school board approved the Hudson Company’s request for a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement. Hudson Company, which specializes in wood flooring, is moving its operations to Pine Plains at the intersection of Routes 82 and 83.
“We started talking about this PILOT back in the fall of 2025,” Timm said. “This is a unique one that involves the IDA, along with the town and the school district.” (The Dutchess County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) is a public-benefit corporation created by state law to promote economic development and job creation in the county.)
PILOTs can help convince businesses to build locally, and ease the school tax burden by expanding the local tax base.
Board member Fred “Chip” Couse noted that the property is currently assessed at $700,000. “The company will pay tax at that assessment for the first few years,” Couse said. “As the project develops and the property is improved, we’ll gradually get more over the 15-year life of the PILOT.”
Couse said IDA has built in protective covenants: For example, if Hudson Company changes hands, the PILOT becomes null and void. The agreement also includes strict local hiring requirements.
“Hudson could bring in families,” he said, “and more children for our school district.”
The next school board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Sept. 2 at the high school library. It will open with a public hearing on the Building Utilization Advisory Committee’s educational impact statement.