New Candidate Applies For Beacon's BOE Member Seat, Stating "All lives matter, Black and white"

During the next Board of Education meeting following September’s meeting, where the Board was faced with confronting the process of creating a process to appoint 2 people to 2 vacated Board seats (see previous article, “What Shook The Room At Beacon’s BOE Meeting; 2 Open Seats But 1 Was Filled”), the Board heard from one new candidate, Joseph Puliafito. The candidate has been a resident of Beacon since the 1950s, owns 9 parcels in Beacon, and has teaching experience in educational technology and special education. A second candidate had applied in addition to Joseph, but withdrew before this meeting where the Board could interview candidates in a public format.

Of the 4 original candidates who applied previously, Jasmine Johnson was appointed to the Board, and John Galloway Jr. opted to have his application roll over for reconsideration to this second appointment process. Both Jasmine and John are Black. The other two candidates - Barb Fisher and Travis Fisher - a married couple who are white - withdrew their applications (read their letters of withdraw here) shortly after that meeting, both stating that the Board seemed to have a candidate who would fit the Board’s needs (this was prior to Joseph applying).

Interview With Candidate Joseph Puliafito

In their public interview with Joseph, where he stated that John Galloway Jr. “seems to be a great, nice guy” with a lot of people supporting him, Joseph asked the Board how they felt they were doing with their goals, stating: “It's a very trying time, in terms of economics and racial unrest. I do hope we see change as soon as possible and that everybody would be on the same page because all lives matter, Black and white.”

Joseph’s experience includes orphanages and public schools, stating: “I have a lot of experience since I was a teenager, in orphanages, for many different types of social problems in the family. I've worked since 1970 in colleges, with public school teachers in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. And I've seen the problems there. It's not easy as you said to solve problems. And it's slow in some cases.”

Joseph continued to express how he roots success in happiness and selflessness: “Everyone has to be on the same page, and not think about themselves, but each other. And their lives. And to make everybody else's life better. Economically, socially. People should be happy. People are not happy now. Everyone has to be served.”

When Board president Meredith Heuer asked if he had considered applying to the Board in the past, Joseph exclaimed: “I've always paid my taxes, and they have been exorbitant. I have 9 parcels in Beacon. I did want to see where the money was going. I started to think: ‘Well maybe I should be part of it.’"

Interview With Candidate John Galloway Jr.

With most of his appeals made during the first meeting on 9/14/2020, where John focused on his young age and current connection with youth in Beacon, which would help him be a bridge between the Board and the students, John focused this speaking opportunity on how his supporters were behaving. Most of the supporters calling in to the voice support for the meeting were adults who felt passionately about voicing their opinions about what was said at the prior meeting. Some of those vocal supporters stated professional experiences with Boards of Education in general, run a business, or run a local organization. A handful of vocal supporters were current students.

John addressed that by saying: “Thank you for the opportunity again for allowing my application to roll over. I want to make a point to everybody who is calling in and doing a lot of things on social media. I appreciate the support, it is really outstanding, it is really appreciated. But also to remember to do your best to respect the Board and respect the process of the Board. This is an appointment process, this isn't an election. Some stuff that's going on is a bit, I would say it's ...supportive but also unnecessary. It is an appointment process, we just have to stick to the process, and hopefully that will be the result. We just have to hope for the best. Just respect the Board if possible. Because it is still not getting anything done, raising what I would call havoc - coming at board members - and making daily posts about it. Just try your best to support me, and if you would like to call in, that's fine, but there is no need to come at the board. If you want me on it so bad, I would just think that counter-productive.”

The Board will finish their appointment process during their October 26, 2020 meeting. You can watch recorded Board of Education meetings here at YouTube. The Zoom link to the live meeting is usually posted at the District’s website.

"Meal Kits" To Come With Free Remote Meals For Beacon Kids - Kitchen Staples Included - Sign Up Required!

Remote Learning Life just got a little more enriched with the delivery of fresh food and Meal Kits to prepare it for kids and families who signed up for Beacon’s Free Remote Meals by Friday, October 9, 2020. Kits will include items such as a child-safe knife and cutting board, olive oil, a seasonal recipe and a recipe binder. This initiative has been made possible through local organizations in a collaborative project of the Beacon City School District, Common Ground Farm, Land to Learn, Fareground and Green Teen Beacon to ensure that all students have access to fresh food both in school and at home.

To get this Meal Kit, you need to have signed up by Friday, October 9, 2020, which you can do online here. If you have already signed up, you are good. You don’t need to sign up again for this special kit.

Says Erika Rincon, Beacon’s Farm to School Coordinator who works for Common Ground Farm about the program: “Each month, we will highlight our Vegetable of the Month by including the vegetable, a simple recipe, and fun facts! We will also supply families with video demonstrations and a link to participate in a recipe taste test after you have made the dish! In October, we will be featuring kale from Common Ground Farm!”

Kids are used to the Vegetable of the Month concept, as it was incorporated into the school menu, and at South Avenue and possibly other schools, playful and interactive charts were posted about it in the school cafeteria.

October 9th is also the deadline to sign up to have remote meals delivered to your home. Once you have signed up to receive a free breakfast/lunch meal, and you know that you will have trouble picking it up from one of the Beacon destinations, you are able to sign up for Delivery by school bus. Don’t be shy. Just sign up now for delivery so that they can organize (deadline October 9, 2020). Delivery begins on October 21, 2020.

If you are reading this after October 9, 2020, and have not yet signed up for Free Meals, you can do that at any time by clicking here.

Responses To The Night Of The 1st Appointment Of Jasmine Johnson To A Vacant BOE Seat

[Editor’s Note: The first article in this series is here, which covers the night of the Board of Education’s decision on 9/29/2020 to not appoint 2 of the 2 open seats that had been vacated. The Board voted to appoint 1 of the 2 seats that evening, and voted for Jasmine Johnson, and against John Galloway Jr. Read that article in full here. The second seat will have a new application period, while the same candidates can roll over their applications.]

After Jasmine Johnson was appointed to the Board of Education, there was a lot to follow up with, as this is the beginning of the chapter for the Board of Education. A Little Beacon Blog reached out to Jasmine for comment, and hasn’t heard back yet, but will amend this article when and if we do. Do listen to her speak to her passions here in her candidacy Q+A with the Board.

Reaction From Justice McCray of Beacon4Black Lives

Justice McCray was one of the first people to speak in support of nominating 2 people that night. In fact, he said he wanted 6 Black people at the table. For this article, Justice was asked:

ALBB: For an article announcing the appointment of Jasmine Johnson to the Board of Education, can you tell me your opinion? Also, did you say something about diversity groups, and training? Is there something to be said for working with a Black person, or person of Color, vs talking about that concept in a diversity training session?

Justice: “I know it was difficult to hear me via Zoom, but I questioned the Board's commitment to action over their commitment to committing to work on diversity. I pointed out that the inequities within our school system are a crisis, and if they can come up for solutions for the COVID crisis within 3 months, why aren't they putting the same level of attention and urgency toward the racial crisis within our schools.

“I'm glad the Board appointed Jasmine. I have a lot of hope in her potential. One thing that I noticed was that Antony Tseng said that they wanted to put someone in "with the Board's best interests." Perhaps I'm reading into semantics, but it definitely makes me question the reasons behind their vote. I recognize John questioned the Board and has come off as angry. I also wonder if Ali's outburst negatively influenced their vote. The Black community came out for John Galloway. He clearly was the community choice. I hope he runs again, but I look forward to the positive changes Jasmine will hopefully bring.”

Reaction from Ali T. Muhammad Of Next Step Hudson Valley

After reviewing the entire Board of Education meeting on minute-by-minute replay, we asked Ali the following question:

ALBB: Before you got up to speak before the appointment decision, and before they broke for Recess, the Board was talking a lot about “process.” This talk of “process” seemed to make the room and viewers nervous. People in Zoom were commenting that the community was there to ask the Board to vote for John and Jasmine. And then you got up to interject. When you were hearing the board talk about “process,” what about what they were saying compelled you to get up to interject?

Ali: I interjected because this talk about “process” felt like they were going to decide to appoint one person, instead of two (earlier in the night, they officially made James Case-Leal’s seat available to be filled) that they wanted to make, regardless of the testimony from the public, the emails, calls, and engagement from the BIPOC community. They have the authority to recreate the “process” that they decided to go with. They could have moved to waive the application process because there is a qualified and viable person of Color sitting in the auditorium (John Galloway Jr.), ready to serve his hometown. This would have been a much-needed break from the status quo, systematic racism (because these processes keep BIPOC people out of policy-making decisions), opportunity to say, not only do we hear you, we will act on what you are demanding.

“Last night I interjected because we’re not asking for permission or forgiveness. We’re taking up space and getting people of Color on boards that impact our daily lives. Jasmine Johnson was the first, and we’re excited for her! It would have been the right thing to start Jasmine and John together, two out of four candidates that applied for the voluntary positions in the first place. The five Board members that voted against John Galloway Jr. will vote against the people of Color last night. We will remember this and will continue to be the disturbance in their complacency. The five board members that voted against Beacon’s people of Color are complicit in the systematic racism many of us are actively fighting against.”

Reaction From Barb Fisher, Candidate For the Beacon Board Of Education

After Ali interjected, which prompted the Board president Meredith Heurer to call a Recess, Barb interjected by asking Ali how his statements were helping Jasmine. You can read her quotes in the previous article. Here is Barb’s question and response:

ALBB: We are writing an article on the BOE meeting where John Galloway was majority opposed and Jasmine Johnson was voted in. Were you sitting next to Jasmine Johnson that night? Were you in attendance as a candidate who was hoping to get nominated that night? Are you going to continue running for the second appointment? You mentioned you may withdraw to clear the path for Jasmine, who later got voted in. Had you been considering that before the vote? If so, did you have an opportunity to say that prior to the nomination process? Are you still of that mindset?

Barb: “I’m disappointed this seems to have become about John losing instead of Jasmine winning and also about a hollow congratulations to Beacon having its first woman majority board. (I think that’s true but I have not fact checked).

”I’m not at all disappointed that I wasn’t appointed. I applied because typically people don’t in these cases, and I wanted to make sure there was going to be quorum in case of COVID and a budget vote over the winter. I didn’t know when I completed my application that anyone else, other than Travis (Fisher, Barb’s husband), had applied. Didn’t think that was public?

”One thing that I did hear at that board meeting was that an additional applicant had inquired about applying the day after the process had closed. I’m proud of the Board for making the hard decision and standing by their appointment process. This will allow this other person to also apply for James’ seat if they still want to.

“I remember a few years back when a Board member was voted out, followed by a resignation in an attempt to reappoint the person who was voted out. There was outrage then for no process. Why the outrage now? Also, I’m definitely not in favor of starting a precedent of appointing replacements in resignation letters, regardless of good intentions.

”Maybe I’m naive, but everything I’ve read about overcoming inherent biases involves very strict rubrics in decision making processes. There are PhD’s all over that suggest nothing else works. Given the nefarious history of the school board, I think this particular appointment process can be a beneficial rubric moving forward for our school board, it can help ensure that this push for diversity isn’t a fad.”

Additional Response From Barb Fisher Regarding Her Continued Candidacy

On the Saturday after the Board appointment meeting, Barb submitted her letter of withdraw, which she shared with ALBB. It reads:

Dear Meredith, and the Board,

Thank you for considering my application for the vacant position on the school board. It is my opinion that the board chose the best candidate for the position.

With regards to the new vacancy, I believe there are other people who are well qualified and willing to serve. So, I respectfully request that my application be removed from consideration.

I hope the Board continues to focus on diversity and a safe learning environment for Beacon’s kids.

Sincerely,
Barbara Fisher

Response From Travis Fisher, Former Candidate For The Beacon Board Of Education, Regarding His Continued Candidacy

Travis Fisher attended the meeting via Zoom, but was impaired from speaking because his microphone was bad. Here is Travis’ question. He responded by emailing over his letter of withdraw, which has been published below:

ALBB: For an article at A Little Beacon Blog, we tried hearing you on your microphone but could not. Can you tell us the nature of what you we’re trying to say? Are you going to continue to run for the other opening?

Travis: “Below is the email I sent to the Board of Education.”

Meredith, Board Members:

I want to congratulate you on the selection of Jasmine Johnson. I think you made a good choice and she will do a good job on the board.

In applying for the board vacancy, my primary concern was that you would have good candidates to fill the spot. Barb and I had talked and we wanted to make sure you had a choice of candidates with different strengths. I strongly considered pulling my name out after the meeting where candidates interviewed, as it was clear at that point that you did have other good candidates. The comment that I was trying to make at the Board meeting was to encourage you to make a selection that would help increase the diversity of the Board.

In regards to the second opening, the situation is not much changed. It seems clear you will have at least one energetic candidate who brings diversity and much-needed community connections. If I would stay in the running it would be mostly to make sure again you have a choice of candidates with different strengths. But at this point I think it is clear that the strengths I offer are not what the Board most needs in the current moment. Therefore I wish to withdraw from consideration for the second board opening.

Best regards,
--Travis Fisher

Responses From The Board Members Who Voted To Oppose John Galloway Jr.

In researching for this article, people who don’t follow the BOE closely or at all asked me why John Galloway Jr. was not voted in. They asked the question simply because they kept hearing his name so often. Because of his founding of the organization, The Label Foundation, John is in even more places in the community. Because of his young age, younger people know of him, so he is a friend for many.

But when people don’t get jobs, or when people get demoted from jobs, like the instance in Beacon’s Highway Department when Reuben Simmons was demoted legally within a process, people assume there is a justified reason, and they want to know why. So when I was asked this question by community members not involved in following the BOE, I emailed over to the Board members who stated “Opposed” as their vote, to ask why they voted that way.

Only 2 of the 5 Board members responded to my question, Kristan Flynn and Elissa Betterbid.

ALBB: A Little Beacon Blog is writing about the BOE meeting and first appointee vote that happened on Tuesday. For the article, can you tell me why you voted to oppose John Galloway Jr.?

Elissa: “Given that we had four candidates wouldn't it be more accurate, appropriate, and responsible to ask why I voted for Jasmine Johnson? I voted to oppose three candidates, not just John Galloway.”

There were 2 roll calls for votes. Elissa voted once in each nomination for John and Jasmine.

Kristan’s response to my question of why she voted to Oppose John Galloway Jr. included 9 paragraphs. The question was pretty simple, and was not answered. Instead, Kristan dedicated her answer to expressing her disappointment that people come out and pay attention to votes for Board members, and not about other everyday BOE issues and accomplishments, like if the Audit Committee is meeting monthly or yearly (it switched to monthly, which she is quite excited about).

The closest her answer came to answering the question was this: “Just because many people who were interested in this one appointment know what is going on, I can promise you there are many that do not.  In order to provide the same level of confidence in each appointment, which is an inferior process to an election -- and will always come with the appearance of bias since it is 8 people rather than the whole community, there needs to be a common understanding and guidelines we follow to move forward in a way that is intentional  and feels fair. Frankly, we try to recruit candidates and there has not been much interest.  If an appointment offers a different access point and reduces barriers to participation for communities that have felt they are outside the system then I think it can be a good thing.”

After the publishing of this article, Meredith did respond to this specific questions by saying: “When you say that I did not respond for comment, could you mention that I did respond to the 9 other emails you sent me on the subject?”

Meredith was initially very responsive to questions on how the process works.

Based on a Comment from someone named Caroline below, Kristan’s response is published in full below.

Meredith’s Response To What She Meant By Her Welcoming Statement

Meredith’s first spoken comment of welcome to Jasmine generated immediate unease with some people in the audience that evening. Here is the question posed to Meredith, and her response:

ALBB: What did you mean when you said “Be careful what you wish for” after the vote? Was that directed to Jasmine?

Meredith: “My comment to Jasmine was just meant to mean, from one human to another, this will be hard. I really, really look forward to working with Jasmine. My communication with her so far has been great. I think she is up for the work ahead and I am incredibly appreciative of that.”

Future Coverage Of The Board Of Education At ALBB

Local reporting takes a lot of time, and has become even more valued during the pandemic and racial revolution. Here at A Little Beacon Blog, we can barely get articles out about how Beacon achieved opening Hybrid (optional 2 days in school, 3 days at home Remote Learning), and we are huge supporters of it and amazed at the teachers and staff who are pulling this off. Not to mention the high childcare costs associated with this model, and the higher costs if the model goes to 100% remote (which is understandable if it does…we’re in a pandemic here).

But the BOE has a responsibility also of putting out information. They do not have A Little Beacon Blog on any press release list, and from what we can tell, does not send out any press releases, despite having 2 journalists on the Board. Is this an effort to keep people in the dark so that they can do their work more easily? Probably not. People are busy, and even the City of Beacon barely sends out any press releases, but has been doing better this year. Dutchess County has been sending an abundance of press releases, actually, upping their game during COVID and the racial revolution.

So yes, it would be great if reporters and the public showed up for regular meetings. When lots of people turn out for a public meeting for something, the elected or appointed people sitting at the table usually applaud the public for coming, and then throw a zinger about now coming out for other important issues. Touché. Point taken.

Right now, this reporter is showing up to the City Council Meetings on Monday Nights. Jeff Simms at the Highlands Current is on staff (aka gets paid to show up…woohoo!!) to the BOE and City meetings. The amount of information in Jeff’s brain is incredible!

So instead of a zinger, guilt-dart game, providing information is most helpful. As is answering questions!

Those who state something during a public meeting and think that having it live in a video on a YouTube or Vimeo server somewhere is enough insurance for doing their part to get the word out should really take classes over at our sister company, Tin Shingle, which teaches how to really get the word out, instead of sitting back, waiting for the magic to happen.

Kristan Flynn’s Full Response to: “Why did you oppose John Galloway Jr.?”

Based on a person named Caroline who commented below, here is Kristan’s full response to a single question. Normally, reporters would not have the space to print this entire response. Kristan knows this, being a professional in the communications industry. However, she elected to respond in 9 paragraphs. Here they are in full, since this is a digital space. Keep in mind, this blog platform of Squarespace actually does cut us off from writing too much.

Hi Katie --

I am not sure what the ground rules are around this because we typically work through the board president for communications.

I think the parliamentary procedure puts a frame on this as being against one candidate, because you have to say "in favor" or "opposed".  Which is unfortunate, because it then seems like you are against that person.  I like John and have spoken to him a few times.  In those conversations he was exactly what is being said about him in the letters of support and public statements for this candidacy.  

We were faced with now two open seats, but we were in the middle of the process for appointing a seat that had been vacated in July.  When we are taking action we need to give notice to the public so they can be aware and respond.  We had posted the opening for 1 seat, we received applications and those who applied after the deadline were not included, which was one person.  We then began working toward filling that seat.  

Just because one person decided what should happen and made it public, doesn't mean it happens that way.  The board functions on consensus.  We can only do business when we open a public meeting.  So this past Tuesday was the first time we had even discussed the recent vacancy together.   All of these other actions and the public discussion had taken place in between meetings.  Maybe it had been decided on Facebook, but we had not had the opportunity to get in the room together (for the first time since March) to have that discussion until then.  

One thing we had decided a while back, when Dr. Landahl had arrived,  was to give space for reflection in between talking about something and voting on it.  So when he brings something important to us, he will often do so at least a month before we have to vote on it.  This was informed by having decisions whether they were legal, personnel or policy decisions thrown at us shortly before we were expected to vote.  It never feels good and often you just feel like you are reacting.  

Just because many people who were interested in this one appointment know what is going on, I can promise you there are many that do not.  In order to provide the same level of confidence in each appointment, which is an inferior  process to an election -- and will always come with the appearance of bias since it is 8 people rather than the whole community, there needs to be a common understanding and guidelines we follow to move forward in a way that is intentional  and feels fair.  Frankly, we try to recruit candidates and there has not been much interest.  If an appointment offers a different access point and reduces barriers to participation for communities that have felt they are outside the system then I think it can be a good thing.

I voted for Jasmine for the seat vacated in July for several reasons. Her application essay provided insight as to the work she wanted to focus on, which was related to the work of the Wellness Committee and childhood obesity.  I had been on that committee for two years, when we wrote the policy to reflect the goals the Obama administration had set in terms of healthy lunches and food options.  Since then those guidelines have been lifted and there is no mandate to continue that work. We are very fortunate to have Karen Pagano running our food services as she makes this a priority regardless and has truly been heroic during this challenging time by working to keep our most vulnerable students fed.  The work of that committee is so important if she could bring a  new perspective  to the table to reach parts of the community that have not been represented it would be a great service.   

Jasmine is also employed at a local Montessori school as a teacher's aide.  When we talk about diversifying our faculty, which has been a goal we are working towards, this misses another part of the picture, all of the other people who work in the schools and adjacent positions.  It made me wonder if she had ever thought about doing that job in the BCSD?  And if not, then why?  Rather than just focusing about the 10 or so faculty openings that need to be filled each year, why not widen the lens?  We can be thinking more broadly to understand how to reach potential candidates from our community as a whole.  This could be another important step towards making the buildings more reflective of the community.

Fortunately, we have another vacancy. While I hear the frustration directed at the process, we are talking about a much shorter timeline than the July appointment with applications already submitted rolling forward.  A consensus based body whose primary focus is oversight and governance is not nimble -- even if we want it to be -- and many of us on the board have wanted it to move quickly at different times.  It's just not designed that way.

What is disappointing about the focus on this particular issue is a piece of a whole, there were some equally important topics discussed on Monday.  They are not the kinds of things that people show up for -- but the fact that the audit committee will be meeting monthly instead of once a year is pretty significant -- because the more we can improve our financial systems the more resilient we will be and the more resources we can dedicate to educating children.  The superintendent's report about re-opening.  There are school districts that have sent notices to parents the day before school started that they didn't have enough bus drivers -- Beacon is able to use some of our buses for delivering food to families who are not able to get to the distribution.  I wish it attracted more attention but unfortunately there is no drama there -- just the work of creating strong community systems. 

Respectfully,

Kristan Flynn

---

Editorial Transparency Note: Barb Fisher is the owner of Barb’s Butchery, which has been an advertiser with A Little Beacon Blog in the past. The business is a website design client of our parent company, Katie James, Inc. This did not influence the reporting, or the how or why this article was produced.

What Shook The Room At Beacon's Board Of Education (BOE) Meeting: 2 Open Seats, But 1 Was Filled

Top screenshot taken from the 9/29/2020 Board meeting where the Board decided who they were going to appoint, and if they were going to appoint 1 or 2 candidates to fill 2 seats. Bottom screenshot taken from the 9/14/2020 Board of Education Meeting, where the 4 candidates were presenting themselves, what they stand for, and what they could bring to the Board. From left: Jasmine Johnson, John Galloway Jr., Barb Fisher, Travis Fisher.

[Editor’s Note: A companion piece to this article has been published here, that contains followups with Board members and some members of the audience. This article became so long, that it literally would not accept any more content. So, responses are posted in this companion article.]

Seats were filled socially distanced style in the auditorium of Beacon’s Pete and Toshi Seeger Theater at the Beacon High School. Prior to the pandemic, meetings were usually held in the lecture room of the Beacon High School. For the replacement of people who sit at the Board member table, however, people will come out. And come out they did on Tuesday, September 29, 2020, for a night of appointing 1 or 2 Board seats, after the first was vacated with a resignation on July 1, 2020, and a second resignation on September 22, 2020. People came out in person with masks on, and logged in from home via Zoom to bear witness and participate in how the vacated board seats would or would not get filled that night.

A large screen hung behind the board table, displaying names and faces of people on the Zoom call, as well as the chat column as people wrote in to comment or ask questions. The board members and audience attendees wore masks to stop the spread of COVID, but made it hard for anyone to hear each other. The Tech Department was on call, running up and down the isles to patch in the sound so that the people on Zoom could hear speakers at the Public Comment podium, as well as the individual microphones of the board members.

The Vacancies

The first vacancy that was created in July 2020 by the resignation of Michael Rutkoske attracted 4 candidates: John Galloway Jr., Jasmine Johnson, Barbara Fisher and Travis Fisher. John Galloway Jr. publicly announced his candidacy for the vacant seat a few days later in July at an open mic session at Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park after after a protest March down Main Street in the name of Black lives mattering more. John had attended and spoken at several Marches and open mic sessions, contributing pieces of his story of going through the Beacon school system. In his candidacy speech to the board, his main priority as a young adult with no children was to bridge the gap between the Board and the community, namely the Black community who feels not heard when they try to participate in school meetings. Jasmine is a mother who has a child in New Covenant School in Beacon, went through the Beacon school system, having experienced “nudging” from her teacher into a lower level math class that she did not recognize at the time, but made deep impact on her.

All of the candidates spoke before the Board and the public to announce their candidacies in early September, and were profiled in the Highlands Current in late September. You can listen to the speeches of all of the candidates here at YouTube.

About Those Who Resigned

Former Board member Michael Rutkoske is the husband of the attorney Melissa Rutkoske who filed a petition in January 2016, on behalf of “Concerned Parents Of Beacon City School District,” many of whom were or are affiliated with a group called Advocates For Beacon Schools (ABS) against former Superintendent Dr. Barbara Walkley and former Teacher Union President Kim Pila, where Melissa used personal email conversations allegedly acquired by Kim’s ex-husband (also a teacher in the district), which accused Barbara and Kim of having an affair and granting privileges to favorites.

The petition was later Dismissed in May 2018 by the New York State Education Department, but it contributed to a big shift in Beacon, in that Dr. Walkley resigned and involved parents were a part of a process to find current Superintendent Matthew Landahl.

Michael Rutkoske resigned in July 2020 citing work and other commitments, according to the Highlands Current.

James Case-Leal.
Photo Credit: Screenshot from 9/14/2020 Board of Education Meeting.

The second vacancy was created September 22, 2020, a week prior to this meeting, by James Case-Leal, who used his resignation letter to make a dedication to John Galloway Jr. and Jasmine Johnson as the people he hoped would fill his seat, in the name of getting Black voices, thought and experiences onto the Board. This dedication angered several board members including Meredith Heuer, who spoke about it during appointment process deliberations.

Every Board Member Mentioned The Need For Diversity

Every Board member mentioned the need for including more Black people from the community on the Board, and spoke of any training they had been doing. Kristan Flynn recalled the work done in her early years of being involved: “In the beginning, there were attempts to reach out to more diverse members of the community. We met with a pastor, and some parents. What I realized was effectively how boxed out the Community of Color had become. There was no reason they should trust anyone that looked like me. A lot of the work that I have done for several years has been dedicated to building up, along with all of these other people, so that it functions, so that when the time comes, when people want to come, that it will be there.”

Later in the evening, Kristan voted against appointing 2 people during that meeting (2 candidates were Black, and 2 were white, yet all Public Comments were in support of appointing the 2 Black candidates), opting instead to delay the process one month, for a new application process. Meanwhile, the 2 people of Color who had applied in advance were in attendance listening to her speech.

Kristan went on to lament the fact that not enough people had gotten involved at the Board level prior to this evening. She said: “To that point, I have run twice for that. With no opposition. Not because I am the most popular. No one has run against us. Some people say you guys get to do that. Or others don't know that this is something they can participate in. My fear is, looking at this audience tonight, is that I will do something to break your faith in that system. I don't want to do that. I am seeing an audience that represents this community and that is exciting. I believe that what has gotten us this far is following process. I hope that you stay till the end of the meeting. Trust is lost in buckets, and gained back in drops. My fear is that that bucket empties. I don't want it to. I don't want no one to run against in the future.”

Elissa Betterbid, now Vice President of the Board, had this to say: “I know that I'm not supposed to speak for the whole Board. But this board is committed to diversity and ....Faculty and Staff. I have a friend who is a Principal in Jersey City which is a large district of 39 schools, and how their district looks with representation is a problem there as well. People of color are underrepresented there also.”

Yvonne McNair - Mama McNair

Prior to these speeches by the Board members, members of the public were there to voice support for Jasmine and John. One community member, Eddie McNair, son of Yvonne McNair, spoke.

Before we get to Eddie’s quote, you’ll need to know a bit about Yvonne if you don’t already (many of you do). She a very well known pillar of the Beacon community, who is referred to as Mamma McNair, and according to Ali T. Muhammad (former Beacon City Council Member and candidate for the Board of Education in 2016 who lost), “Yvonne is the Shirley Chisholm for Beacon.” Shriley represented New York's 12th Congressional district for 7 terms from 1969 to 1983. In the 1972 United States presidential election, Shriley became the first African-American candidate for a major party's nomination for President of the United States, and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

When speaking to the Board, Yvonne’s son Eddie had this to say about his mother’s 2014 candidacy for Beacon’s Board of Education (she first ran and lost in the 1980s): “Some of you don’t know all of your community, and that’s not your fault. But think how much you could learn and benefit by hearing about issues you never even know existed.” The Highlands Current quoted that Eddie referred to “blackballing” that had been done to his mother, Yvonne, when she ran. The paper quotes him as saying: “I would hope that today, in the climate we’re in, that those thoughts have changed. Let’s not make that same mistake. When it happened in the past, I was young and didn’t understand the seriousness and severity of the position. As I’ve grown older, I can’t accept that anymore.”

Prior to Kristan’s seat on the Board, there had been attempts by Black people to get voted in. A Black board member who was a long time Board member, Kenya Gadsen, was in the audience for this meeting. “I was there with my husband to stay abreast of what is going on,” she confirmed to A Little Beacon Blog.

Kenya did not run for re-election because her child was a senior and her work-life balance shifted when her husband took a job that would keep him on the road, leaving her listening to the feeling to be at home more for their children while she maintained her full time job. Perhaps since Kristan’s time, Black people gave up. Until this round of vacancies during the Black Lives Matter movement.

This Board Room Has Shook Before: “Advocates For Beacon Schools” (ABS)

This was not the first time that people came out for a Board member replacement. The most recent instance was in 2016 during a turnover of Beacon’s BOE and then Superintendent Barbara Walkley by the same people sitting at the Board table this Tuesday evening in 2020. In 2016, the current Board (including the two Board members who just resigned) were shaking the room, passing around petitions, moving in their chairs, “swarming” to the front of the room “to get closer to the action,” as recalled by renowned and retired local journalist Craig Wolf, who also sits currently on the Board.

The Advocates were there in 2016 to disrupt the process of how Beacon’s Board of Education worked back then, including now Board President Meredith Heuer. During this 2020 meeting, she referenced a 2016 BOE meeting that shaped her thinking and approach to this evening’s decision on whether or not to appoint 2 board members at once. In 2016, there was a sudden resignation of a board member that happened that day, and was announced at the Board meeting that night. An attempted midnight appointment of a former board member (Tracey Antalek Everett) who had just lost her reelection was proposed by then President Bill Zopf followed, and was voted down. The main challenger of the hours-old appointment was Anthony White, a current Board member who voted against this year’s racially supportive BOE statement, and just stepped down from his position as President. The attempted midnight appointment in 2016 was not meant to be.

This evening in 2020, however, there wasn’t a fast-one. There was a clear resignation, with a handful of candidates, a lot of supporters, another resignation a week prior to the appointment meeting, that included a dedication in a resignation letter that brought ire to those seated at the Board table.

This Time The Room Shook: The Black Community Came Out

This year, the room was filled with Beaconites from the Black and Brown community who showed up to support 2 candidates - John and Jasmine - who had applied to fill the first vacancy that happened in July. A very different scenario from the literal midnight appointment attempt. The Black community filled the room with hope and speeches prepared.

Meredith Heurer.
Photo Credit: Screenshot from 9/14/2020 Board of Education Meeting.

Meredith Heuer, the Board President, opened the discussion of what was going to happen that night with a statement: “I’ll just start by saying this sucks.” The Board had the opportunity to decide if they were going to appoint 1 or 2 board members that evening of the 4 who applied in advance. Or lengthen the process and open it to others.

Callers and physical attendees spoke during Public Comment in favor of John and Jasmine, including: Justice McCray and Ciarda Hall from Beacon4Black Lives, Reimagine Education, Sheila Webb-Halpern, Dennis S. Hallock Sr. (former Board member), Kara Dean Azale: Parent and Co-Founder of Fareground, Tiffany Mendoza (student of Beacon district), and others.

The Black community is taught by their mentors, including Martin Luther King, to recognize when a process isn’t working, and to pick the right time to ignore it. Martin Luther King explained such a time in his book Why We Can’t Wait, which chronicled the sit-in protests in Birmingham, AL that were part of fueling the Civil Rights Movement. When a court injunction was suddenly obtained to stop their protests, he said on page 76: “A second reason Bull Connor had held off at first was that he thought he had found another way out. This became evident on April 10, when the city government obtained a court injunction directing us to cease our activities until our right to demonstrate had been argued in court. The time had now come for us to counter their legal maneuver with a strategy of our own. Two days later, we did an audacious thing, something we had never done in any other crusade. We disobeyed a court order.”

“Good Trouble” vs “Process”

One question about revolutionary times is if you can identify a revolutionary moment when you see it. Or are you a resister? One might not know until later.

John Lewis encouraged folks to make “good trouble.” The phrase has become a movie and a meme. He said: “Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.” The trouble with good trouble is, one doesn’t always realize when they are living in it, until after it’s done, and one is reading about it in a different context years or decades later.

Setting The Tone: Muffled and Distanced

While the Tech Department was quick to solve sound problems, board members had trouble hearing each other in person, and the viewers at home missed some speeches and detail when the sound wasn’t looped in correctly (eventually got synced up).

Frequent statements about hearing and understanding spoken by different members of the Board were made, which was ironic, since the public made a point to ask the Board to listen to them in their Public Comment speeches, and felt not heard:
”I'm having trouble understanding what my fellow Board members are saying.”
”Did you put out a motion? I'm sorry, I can't hear.”
”My glasses are fogging.”
”His microphone is bad. He says he can proceed without speaking.”
”Can you restate it?”
”Are you ‘Opposed‘? You have to state it.”

The video of the entire meeting is here.

A former Board member, Dennis S. Hallock Sr., who is also the youngest person to be on the board when he ran while still in high school, called in from his current home of Delaware. The call was to voice support for John, who is also on the younger side and a recent graduate of Beacon. Dennis stated that he has been following the BOE’s movements over the years, and asked the Board to “listen to the community please.” Dennis stated that he was impressed with John’s founding of The Label Foundation, an organization that has been active this summer in the Black community creating opportunities for young Black people.

The “Process”

The night of the Tuesday board meeting, the board lingered for a long time on the “process” of appointing 1 or 2 board members that evening. They had the opportunity to appoint 2 board members (of the 4 candidates who were all in attendance), but were unsure about if that was the fair thing to. A lengthy debate among themselves ensued, which was broadened by a disruption from the audience.

The Black community has lived within different processes their whole life of being in the United States. Laws have been created around the Black community since the Constitution was written. Amendments have been made to let them in or box them out as needed. Like the 14th Amendment that further defined who could be a citizen, and who could vote - males who were born here except “Indians who are not taxed” - and of those males, those who did not rebel or have a crime attached to them (women’s right to vote came in the 19th Amendment).

While the Board spoke of needing more diversity during the entire evening, they also spoke a lot about the need for process, framework, and a fair way of doing things. They also made a point to mention that a new person was interested in applying after the second vacancy happened a week prior, and wanted to open the door for that person to apply.

Determining “The Process”

Tensions were mounting as the Board deliberated if they should vote for 1 or 2 board members that night. Meredith read the 4 choices the Board has when faced with a vacancy:

• Leave the seat open until the next election,

• Go through an appointment process to fill the seat,

• Hold a special election to fill the seat

• Ask the BOCES superintendent to appoint for Beacon in M.

Antony Tseng.
Photo Credit: Screenshot from 9/14/2020 Board of Education Meeting.

Antony Tseng explained his position: “My position on vacancies hasn't changed since the first vacancy. We should take this opportunity to appoint the Board member that is Black. My position still has not changed since then. Whatever process we follow to fill the second vacancy would be to the full. I think also the fact that there are so many people who want to be on the Board now is a stark difference since we didn't have enough people interested to run. Take it now while it's hot!”

Craig Wolf did not want to wait for an election in May 2021, and wanted to reopen for the 2nd appointment: “I'd be very nervous to leaving the decision to the next election since that is all the way up too May. That's way over half a year. We do have COVID. We have been lucky in Beacon to not have a lot of deaths, but we are not immune. But we have had sicknesses so bad that we can't...I'm amenable to a special election, now that we have 2 vacancies. It's a tough decision, of course, and the good news is, we had people step forward to serve.”

Kristan Flynn.
Photo Credit: Screenshot from 9/14/2020 Board of Education Meeting.

Kristan Flynn was in favor of appointing 1 that evening, and opening it up again: “I would support process to appoint someone to that seat, for sure. We have an opportunity. The one thing that I think that is about that tho, following that process...It's funny because I see a former board member (Kenya Gadsen) here who followed process and I learned a lot from, and sometimes from different angles. Following rules and process develops respect. The thing about having this new seat to appoint. We do need again to move the application forward of whoever applied to this last seat that we will talk about later. That we open it up and let people apply again. We had people who didn't apply on time. I would say that we should do a process to appoint that seat.”

Flora Stadler was in favor of appointing 1 that evening, and opening it up again: “When we did it, it was relatively quick. We hammered out what we wanted the application to say and look like . Going through that process again would be relatively quick and painless.”

Elissa Betterbid was in favor of appointing 1 that evening, and opening it up again: “I'm having trouble understanding what my fellow board members are saying. I'm in favor of restarting the process for the second seat…The problem the Board had at the that time was credibility. If we appoint someone from the first seat, that person should be part of the decision to appoint for the second seat.”

Anthony White.
Photo Credit: Screenshot from 9/14/2020 Board of Education Meeting.

Anthony White, who was a bulldog during the 2016 midnight appointment situation (read Craig’s detailed report for ABS’ website here), was in favor of waiting until the election. “My position hasn't changed since the last time. This is a unique situation, and this is a daunting task. Looking at financial hardships, I feel that how are we to set that person up for success. We leave it vacant until the election. I think it elected and not appointed. When you keep on appointing, there are biases that boards innately have. Wait for election and keep it vacant.”

Meredith stated that an appointment doesn’t feel as good to her, “not as democratic.”

Antony Tseng made a motion to re-open the appointment. Kristan Flynn seconded it. Meredith suggested that the applications (those who already applied) should roll over. Then the Board couldn’t hear itself, and seemed to get lost in the details of how the opening of the second appointment process would work. Craig, the retired journalist, asked for clarification on what specifically the motion was for. Meredith began attempting to restate it.

The Interruption

The Board of Education Meeting after Board President Meredith Heuer called a Recess, and Anthony White encouraged her to have Board members get up from the table.
Photo Credit: Board of Education

The people on the Zoom started typing in, asking if they could speak in a Public Comment. The people in physical attendance in the audience began shifting in their seats. Ali T. Muhammad shouted from the back of the room up to the Board members, asking them to listen to the community. They responded by telling him he was speaking out of turn.

Ali got up, approached the microphone, and began speaking. “Can you hear me now?” he asked, and then began imploring the Board to listen to the community, as Meredith, Craig, and Antony, told him he was talking out of turn.

It wasn’t until Anthony White told Ali to “please respect the Board,” that Ali raised his voice.

“Please respect us!” Ali yelled. Craig responded that yelling does not work.

“True,” Ali answered. “Yelling does not get us what we we want. And clearly, sitting there (motioning to the Black community on the left side of the room) and showing up doesn’t get us what we want either. You’re disrespecting every single person who showed up here.”

Meredith responded by threatening to call a Recess of the Board “if you can’t sit down.”

Ali responded: “Call the Recess.” Meredith responded: “Ok, I’m calling the Recess,” to which Ali followed up with: “Ok, thanks,” and returned to his seat with applause. Not before he reached his seat, however, candidate Barb Fisher spoke up for the first time of the evening to ask how this was helping her fellow candidate Jasmine, who Barb was sitting next to. “Excuse me, but how exactly does this include Jasmine in this conversation at all?” Barb went on to describe what the Board was doing, that they were waiting a month to the next appointment. Ali feared it was a year, and Barb corrected him to a month.

Ali questioned: “What do we need that one more month for?” to which Barb began to answer, but Ali cut her off each time. Barb stood up from her seat to match Ali’s height as he stood in the aisle, to begin telling him: “So that other members of the community…” but she was cut off again by Ali who retorted: “They had their chance. They could have ran.”

Then, Ali seemed to not know that Barb herself was a candidate, when he said: “If you’re paying attention, join in.” Craig Wolf spoke into the microphone about following the process, which fueled Ali. Barb quickly responded: “I did join in. I applied through this process along with Jasmine and John and my husband (Travis Fisher). And honestly, I’m happy to remove myself from this process,” as she gestured to Jasmine, implying she would remove herself to make room for Jasmine. Ali responded: “Then remove yourself! That would be the admirable decision.” To which Barb disagreed, and insisted on being removed as a point of “merit.”

The Board Leaves The Table

At this time, the Board was still sitting at the table. Until Anthony White suggested they walk away. Which they did, clutching their belongings and pacing behind their chairs, uncertain of what to do. The audience began asking the Board members when the next meeting was. Meredith returned to her microphone to reassure the public that the meeting was continuing, that they were just waiting to continue. The Board members began tossing their things back onto the table, and huffed into their seats.

While people in the audience were still talking among themselves, Meredith made a motion to resume the meeting, to which Flora seconded it. However, Antony Tseng suggested they wait a minute more, to which everyone agreed, except Anthony White, who addressed the people in the back take their conversation outside.

The Board voted to open the appointment up again for a 2nd application process for others to apply with a 6-1 vote, with Anthony White opposed. He wanted to wait until the election in May 2021.

The Nomination and Vote

The nomination and voting process went relatively quickly. The Board went over the process of how the election would work in 2021. There would be 4 open seats (2 resignation seats, and 2 current board member seats that would be up for reelection). Jeff Simms of the Highlands Current confirmed that the following Board members would be up for reelection: Flora Stadler and Elissa Betterbid.

Meredith gave each applicant the ability to speak one more time. Only Travis Fisher opted to speak from Zoom, but his microphone was bad and no one could understand him, so he gave up.

Meredith and Kristan continued the meeting by praising “process,” and the nominations began.

Antony Tseng nominated John Galloway Jr. Then Kristen Flynn nominated Jasmine Johnson. No other nominations were made. According to Meredith, of the candidates, a nomination must be made in order to vote on the person. Of that nomination, whoever is nominated first gets the first vote. Says Meredith to ALBB when asked how that process works: “John was the first to be nominated so his vote went first. Had his nomination passed, Jasmine could not have been nominated.” Essentially, Meredith confirmed, the order of nominations goes by whichever Board member is quickest to their buzzer.

Meredith proceeded to start the vote for John Galloway Jr.. Craig Wolf spoke up to voice his favor of John, but asked for clarification. Meredith needed to state the vote more clearly: “Are you in favor of the nomination of John Galloway?” Craig replied: “Yes.” The rest of the Board answered: “Opposed. Opposed. Opposed. Opposed.” Those in opposition would be Kristan, Flora, Elissa, Anthony and Meredith.

Meredith announced that the vote did not pass, 2-5. However, Anthony White pointed out that she herself did not say the word “Opposed,” to which she answered by stating into the microphone that she was Opposed.

Meredith opened the vote for Jasmine, to which everyone voted yes with an “Aye.” Meredith then announced the vote passed 7-0, and looked to Jasmine in the audience and said as a welcome: “Be careful what you wish for,” and went on to question when Jasmine would be sworn in.

Next Steps: John Galloway Continues, Travis Fisher Withdraws

ALBB reached out to the candidates to learn more about their intentions. Travis shared with us his letter of withdraw that he sent to the Board, stating: “It seems clear you will have at least one energetic candidate who brings diversity and much-needed community connections. If I would stay in the running it would be mostly to make sure again you have a choice of candidates with different strengths. But at this point I think it is clear that the strengths I offer are not what the Board most needs in the current moment.”

John Galloway Jr. intends to keep his application current for the next appointment in one month. If he is not selected, he intends to run in the next election. Barb Fisher intends to help Jasmine keep her appointed seat by helping Jasmin win the public election in May 2021.

A Little Beacon Blog reached out to Board members and some audience members for followup responses to the actions taken this evening. Read those responses in full here.

Style Note On Lighting

The lighting is very dark in these Board Of Education meetings, contributing to an ominous tone. Perhaps the lighting above the audience could also be turned on, which would create an immediate inclusive effect. The Board members themselves are barely lit, which is standard for how these meetings have gone have gone over the years. While these meetings are in a theater, the lighting does not have to be so dramatic.

In the Beacon City Council meetings, as well as Zoning and Planning, the lights are on in the entire room.

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Editorial Transparency Note: Barb Fisher is the owner of Barb’s Butchery, which has been an advertiser with A Little Beacon Blog in the past. The business is a website design client of our parent company, Katie James, Inc. This did not influence the reporting, or the how or why this article was produced.

Beacon City Schools Coordinate Bus Delivery For Free Lunch Meals For Remote Learners - Sign Up Required

When in a pandemic, and when the USDA is funding your local lunches and breakfasts for kids who need it, sometimes getting access to that food can be hard. The Beacon City School District has gone to great lengths to prepare food that can be warmed up at home for kids meals, in addition to produce and packaged snacks. While the meals area available in 5 different locations on a Wednesday between a certain daytime time slot, getting to that food can be difficult for parents and caregivers who are working or unavailable during that time window. Therefore, the district has organized a bus delivery system to bring the food to the people.

Piloted in the spring when this pandemic first started, the district has had some practice at this delivery method. When the federal government funded all meals to public school districts including Beacon, lots of kids are now eligible for the free food, which can include pizza slices, chicken nuggets, and even a cucumber/tomato/feta salad. Not to mention: Scooby Snacks.

Delivery begins October 21, 2020, but signup is required by October 9, 2020. Don’t delay, sign up now. It’s easy and involves a Google Form. Delivery is every Wednesday starting at 10am, and someone must be home to receive it.

Pickups for meals is also on Wednesday at different locations, like South Avenue or Rombout. The receiver simply needs to select which location they want to pickup. Or, if they are opting for delivery, the form that needs to be filled out will take them off the pickup list.

At this time, opting into getting a free meal is easy. One should not not do it because they are saving a place for someone else. There is plenty of food. If you are in need, or if your kids miss school pizza, opt-in.

Details on the free meals program for all kids through December 31, 2020 are here.

Second Beacon Board Of Education Member Resigns - James Case-Leal - Citing Desire For Persons Of Color To Fill The 2 Seats

On September 22, 2020, Beacon Board of Education Member James Case-Leal resigned from the Board of Education, stating that he wished to contribute his seat to give an opportunity to a person of color to fill it.

James was the most outspoken board member in favor of the Black Lives Matter movement, with his participation in the Marches that happened down Main Street over the summer, culminating in story-hour sessions in which many people participated. Read A Little Beacon Blog’s interview with him here after the Back the Beacon PD rally.

In his letter of resignation, which is republished in full below, James stated: “It is with great optimism that I am resigning my seat on the Beacon Board of Education in order to open an additional space for John Galloway Jr. and Jasmine Johnson, two well-qualified candidates of color, to both be appointed.” He went on to say: “In this moment we must strongly acknowledge that the voices missing in our leadership are voices from the communities most affected by these inequities.”

This makes 2 seats open on the Board of Education, who will decide how they want to proceed with filling the seats, said Board President, Meredith Heur. “Our board started the process for the appointment of one board member, so we will have to regroup and come to a consensus on how we want to move forward. Our choices for this remain the same:

• Leave the seat open until the next election,

• Go through an appointment process to fill the seat,

• Hold a special election to fill the seat

• Ask the BOCES superintendent to appoint for us.”

Meredith stated that the BOCES Superintendent option is almost never used but is by law an option, and that holding a special election does involve a cost. She also said that the board was not given advance notice of James’ resignation.

James Case-Leal’s Letter of Resignation

Dear Beacon City School District community stakeholders,

It is with great optimism that I am resigning my seat on the Beacon Board of Education in order to open an additional space for John Galloway Jr. and Jasmine Johnson, two well-qualified candidates of color, to both be appointed.

I make this decision with the best interests of Beacon schools at heart. I carry the hope that this will alleviate a difficult decision for the board and help our district heal from a history of lost trust in order to move forward with broader representation from the diverse communities within the City of Beacon.

It is a reality that the Covid19 crisis has exacerbated existing fissures of inequity, creating compound crises around racial justice, economic justice, and disability rights. I have deep admiration for our faculty on the front line as well as our administrators who I have witnessed laboring tirelessly to reinvent a new model of education.

During my time on the BoE, the Beacon School District has made bold steps to correct historical inequities that plague so many districts in our country. We spent countless hours modernizing our Code of Conduct, instituting restorative practices, and reviewing nearly every district policy through an equity framework. We have pioneered a robust program of equity training for our faculty. We are engaging in an overhaul of our curriculum and developing programs to elevate the cultural diversity in our student body. And we’ve maintained a culture of care, removing gender and racial bias from our dress code as well as strengthening the prohibition of hate speech and symbols of hate in our schools.

Though we celebrate these accomplishments, we recognize that there is still so much work to do, work that can not be completed without all communities owning seats at the table.

While we have made great progress in recent years, our most recently published assessment reveals that non- white students are five times as likely to be suspended, half as likely to be enrolled in honors or advanced courses, and 20% less likely to graduate compared to our students who identify as white. In this moment we must strongly acknowledge that the voices missing in our leadership are voices from the communities most affected by these inequities.

After meeting the candidates, it is obvious that we must take this opportunity to diversify the perspectives represented on the Board of Education. John and Jasmine are both excellent candidates, with roots in Beacon schools, and are deeply connected to different aspects of Beacon’s diverse community.

It has been an honor to serve our district to help support our educators provide the greatest possible education for all our students. I believe at this moment the best way to lead is to step aside.

I want thank our school community, PTOs, the voters who elected me, the members of the Board of Education who have taught me so much in our time together, and I want to thank the young local leaders who have shown us all how to live with faith and optimism that we can come together to create the world we want to see.

With love and optimism,

James Case-Leal

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Interview With James Case-Leal

James has been an organizer in Beacon for some time for various issues, including gun violence. He has worked closely with the most frequent organizers of the Marches, Beacon4Black Lives (B4BL), in various forms, including their Defund Campaign by providing research from ImagineSafety.com. James was the organizer of the sign making project called “100 Signs of Solidarity” that was highlighted in last B4BL rally on Labor Day at Memorial Park called 'Art in the Park'. Some of those signs have been placed throughout Beacon. He also worked closely with the group on the design of their new website.

ALBB: How did you feel about the Board of Education’s letter statement at the beginning of this racial revolution a few months ago?
I wrote it and personally believe every word of it.

ALBB: Have they done anything since issuing that letter? If so, what?
The schools have been consumed with the transition to hybrid and remote schooling due to the Covid19 crisis. The only progress in regards to equity during that period that I can recall is that the BoE banned the confederate flag.
[Editor’s Note: In an interview with A Little Beacon Blog, Beacon Superintendent Dr. Landahl identified moves the district had taken with regard to directives he issued. Read them here.]

ALBB: Were you asked directly to resign by any people outside of the BOE?
Not at all.

ALBB: Were you thinking of resigning prior to this?
The thought did cross my mind when I first realized there were two candidates who could diversify the board, but it was a decision that culminated after hearing many people in the community rally around wanting to diversify the board when talking to them in person (when installing signs), when we received numerous emails sent to the board (emails matter!), and most recently in heated social media discussions. I've heard some peole advocating for John, some for Jasmine, some for both. The members of the board have often talked about wanting more diverse input and recognizing the barriers to running and serving. Once I made the decision, it seemed like the obvious right choice.

ALBB: You have been very active with the racial revolution here in Beacon. Why do you think that the removal of your voice and vote at the table will keep the place of your views?
I'm trying to focus on the opportunity to bring new voices. Lots of people have great ideas! The advantage of having such a large 9 person board is that there is an abundance of expertise in various areas. I believe the experience of both John and Jasmine are the kinds of experience no one on the board currently has including myself.

ALBB: Can you tell us more about Jasmine Johnson? We are familiar with John Galloway Jr. when he spoke at two open mic events after Marches (to be published on A Little Beacon Blog). Who is Jasmine, and why do you feel she is a fit?
I encourage you to watch the last board meeting where John and Jasmine both spoke about their candidacy. I haven’t had the chance to speak to Jasmine outside of that meeting, but I have spoken to people who know her who I respect who have relayed that she is intelligent, thoughtful, and very invested in making our schools better for all of our children. I believe her experiences in our schools will be a valuable resource.

Her child attends a predominantly Black learning community called New Covenant School. I am always interested in having a better understanding why parents choose local private schools. In her case, I heard her speak about having negative experiences in our schools. I want to be careful about making assumptions, but when I connect the stories of discrimination that I have heard from many of our students of color, I could understand why a parent would choose a school that feels safer.

ALBB: Why do you feel John Galloway Jr. is a fit?
I only met John recently, but have been very impressed with his passion, clarity of vision, and commitment to serving in his community. He brings an experience that does not exist on the board, he has spent time attending Beacon Schools, and he has deep roots in communities unrepresented on the BoE. He has a drive that I admire. I think he would a valuable contribution to the discussions happening in our schools.

About The Other Candidates For The Board Of Education

Two other candidates were being considered for one seat before James resigned: Barbara Fisher and Travis Fisher, who are married. School board beat reporter Jeff Simms reported on the candidates for the Highlands Current, and you should read his write-up here for more details on all candidates.

Barbara Fisher: Barb is the owner of Barb’s Butchery in Beacon, and a former math teacher. “I’ve watched this community pull together since March in ways that I would bet people wouldn’t have considered possible,” Barb told the Highlands Current. After she spent years building a solid staff for her butchery, she said: ”I found myself drawn to the school board as a way to interject myself.”

With a solid staff of employees at the butchery, Fischer said, “I actually have time to sit back and ask myself, ‘What else can I participate in?’ and this got me excited.”

Travis Fisher: Travis builds mathematical models for Barclays Bank and has been following the BOE since 2015. He told the Highlands Current that he thinks that the district has improved, but “there’s still some things flashing a bit of a warning sign, particularly that Black students are not getting the same level of progress as white students. I worry that there is something the district should still be doing to improve that.”

John Galloway Jr.: John is a 2015 Beacon High School graduate, and founder of the Label Foundation, a youth development nonprofit. He told the Highlands Current that he would “bring community involvement…You have to connect with the community. You have to connect with parents. You can’t go making decisions for the entire district without consulting the community,” he said. “I see myself being that bridge.” John feels that students need to see more of themselves on the board: “There’s people like me who want to get involved but they don’t have the confidence, because they think you guys do not care.”

Jasmine Johnson: Jasmine graduated from Beacon High School in 2006 and worked last year as a teacher’s assistant at Hudson Hills Academy, a private Montessori school located in Beacon. Connecting private schools and public schools to work togeter and be less isolated from each other is one of her main goals. Additionally, she is committed to “fighting cyberbullying and promoting health and wellness, as well as trying to better connect the private and public schools in the city, ‘so they all can know each other and operate on the same level,’” as reported by the Highlands Current. Jasmine was impacted by a personal experience in school, where she said she was “‘nudged’ by a teacher from Advanced Placement into a lower level math course while at Beacon High School, which has led her to seek ‘compassion-led teaching’ for her daughter,” the Highlands Current reported.

Beacon Board Of Education + Superintendent Landahl Issued Letter In Support Of Black Lives In June With A Lone Vote Against It - Action Taken Since Then

During the beginning of the nation-wide and local protests in Beacon and the Hudson Valley of Black, white and people of color Marching for Black lives to matter, the Beacon Board of Education (BOE) voted on and issued a statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement at a June 17, 2020 meeting.

Of the 9 Board members, one person voted against it: then Board President Anthony White, as first reported by Jeff Simms at the Highlands Current. At that meeting, Anthony stated: “that while he recognizes the district has work to do, he felt ‘the statement does not acknowledge the work that the district has already engaged in to address inequities,’” according to the article.

At the BOE’s July 1st re-organizational meeting, Anthony stepped aside as the President, a position he won re-election for a month prior. Former Vice President Meredith Heur was elected President, and Elissa Betterbid, a board member since 2018, was elected to succeed Meredith. Also at that meeting, Board member Michael Rutkoske resigned.

The Board Of Education’s Letter In Support Of Black Lives

The letter has been republished in full here for easy reading. Also find it here for original link. Signed by an 8-1 majority vote, the letter was authored by Board member James Case-Leal, who resigned this week “in order to open an additional space for John Galloway Jr. and Jasmine Johnson, two well-qualified candidates of color, to both be appointed,” according to his resignation letter.

June 17, 2020

Dear Beacon City School District Community:

The BCSD Board of Education adopted this statement at this evening's meeting.

We the Board of Education for the Beacon City School District are deeply moved by the protests and major shifts in the national conversation around race and racism in our public institutions in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and all other victims of institutional violence and discrimination.

We want to take this moment to reiterate our collective commitment to equity in our schools while also recognizing that we still have much to learn and change in order to fully address racism in our own institutions. We recognize that our schools have not always succeeded at this and apologize to those we have failed to serve.

We thank the many members of our community for their work helping to push this to the forefront of our attention. It is an emergency that we plan to address with the utmost urgency

We are scheduling a workshop on June 22 to discuss these issues and develop strategies in the near and long term to ensure that our schools live up to the promise of providing an exemplary education to ALL students. We welcome any input from our communities about how we can best accomplish this goal.

We stand in solidarity. Black Lives Matter.

Beacon’s Superintendent Matthew Landahl’s Response

After the meeting, Beacon’s Superintendent Matthew Landahl issued a statement to the Beacon community via his blog. This email was issued during the summer graduation of Beacon’s 2020 senrior class, and early days of how the district would reopen (has since reopened, and is one of the only districts to attempt the Hybrid in-person learning model).

The full letter from Dr. Landahl is below:

Dear Beacon City School District Community:

I wanted to take a moment to share a summary of my comments at the Board of Education meeting last night.

We Americans have all been witness again to the horror of racism in this country and its deadly impact on Black Americans. As the Superintendent of the Beacon City School District, I will work to put every ounce of my leadership efforts to fulfill the Board of Education’s goal to eliminate race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, and disability as a predictor of student success and to create a stronger Culture of Care for all of our students.

This is hard, tough work and actions are more important than words. There is much work to be done in our community, our country, and our school district to achieve these goals. I especially have much work to do as a leader.

Yesterday morning, I stood on the BHS athletic field and watched and clapped for many of our seniors as they walked across the stage. It was a profound moment because it was amazing to see their families celebrate their achievement but it also brought home to me once again how much we miss being with all of our students, especially now during such a challenging time in our country.

Our first action is to work to reopen our schools when it can be done in a safe and healthy manner. The reopening work needs to focus on the health of our students and staff but also needs to focus on establishing an even stronger Culture of Care for our students and community, so we can all feel welcomed, included, empowered, and engaged. I look forward to future conversations and actions and to work with the community on making us all stronger.

Matt Landahl

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When the Board of Education’s letter was adopted, Dr. Landahl issued a list of “restorative practices” that the district could do, according to reporting by Jeff Simms of the Highlands Current.

• Working with the Mediation Center of Dutchess County to create either socially distanced or virtual “talking circles” for students and possibly parents to discuss race and other issues.

• Adding students to the Equity Leadership Teams at district schools.

• Issuing an equity report card by July 31 with statistics on the demographics of students, administration and staff.

• Adjusting curriculum to make it “more affirming” and “more reflective of diversity” and social-justice issues.

This week, A Little Beacon Blog reached out to Dr. Landahl for comment about what has been done since declaring those directives, as well as to curriculum with Thanksgiving approaching. His full response is below:

“We worked with Dutchess Mediation, teachers, administrators, and groups of students from BHS and Rombout in a talking circle format this summer. They developed a plan to continue talking circle format this school year with more students and staff to discuss COVID-19, racial injustice, and finding more ways to be heard and involved in school. This work will be ongoing and continue throughout the school year. Dutchess Mediation also provides us with support and training in implementing restorative practices in our secondary schools as well and that will continue this year as well. In addition to this, we had an additional group of 25 elementary teachers from Beacon get trained in the Responsive Classroom model this year which helps teachers develop strategies on community and relationship building in the classroom.

”Working with Dutchess BOCES, we are working with Dr. Jevon Hunter from SUNY Buffalo to focus on curriculum development. He will work with ELA and social studies teachers at Rombout and Beacon High School to create a more diverse curriculum and to create projects that focus on social justice issues. He will also work with teachers to audit the overall curriculum later in the school year.

”We hit a technical snag with our equity report card this summer and we hope to have it up on the website very soon in the next week or two.

”Our school equity leadership teams will be incorporating some student representatives as they begin their work this year.”

Beacon Board Of Education Member, Michael Rutkoske, Resigned In July 2020

On May 21, 2019, one of Beacon’s newest Board of Education members, Michael Rutkoske, ran unopposed for a second term, along with Meredith Heuer and Antony Tseng, who were also elected for the first time when Michael was. On July 1, 2020, Michael Rutkoske announced he would resign during a Board of Education meeting, citing work and other commitments, as first reported by Jeff Simms of the Highlands Current. By this time, the racial revolution started nation-wide, and was active in Beacon, with many young people, including recent Beacon alums, speaking out at open mic sessions after protest Marches in Beacon.

Michael Rutkoske was part of a new wave of Board of Education members for the Beacon City School District in 2016, which was a tumultuous year for the Beacon City School District (BCSD). During a decade where the turnover rate of Beacon’s Superintendent was almost yearly, at one point paying $398,000 to buy out contracts of Superintendents who did not stay in the position longer than one year (Poughkeepsie Journal, via FOIA request) parents in Beacon’s school district formed a strong push to remove the then Superintendent, Barbera Walkley, from her position. A petition (read in full here) was filed to New York State Education Department by attorney Melissa Rutkoske, wife of Michael, asking for Barbara’s removal, and the removal of the district’s attorney, Michael Lambert.

After dramatic Board of Education meetings and the submission and scrutiny of personal emails between Barbara Walkley and then Teacher Union President Kim Pilla (formerly married name Atwell), Barbara Walkley did resign, and later with Kim filed a defamation lawsuit against Kim’s ex-husband and teacher Robert Atwell, who allegedly supplied personal emails which were used by Michael’s wife Melissa in the filing of the petition.

At the same Board of Education meeting where Michael announced his resignation, the Board needed to elect a new president - Meredith Hauer - who formerly served as the Vice President. The Board’s former long-time president, Anthony White, had stepped aside a month after winning re-election. Anthony had been the only board member to vote against adopting a statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, written on June 17, 2020 and sent to district families. The board voted 8-1 in favor of the letter, which was written by Board member James Case-Leal, who has this week submitted his notice of resignation “in order to open an additional space for John Galloway Jr. and Jasmine Johnson, two well-qualified candidates of color, to both be appointed,” according to his resignation letter submitted September 22, 2020.

Michael Rutkoske is the Senior Manager Capital Asset Program and Project Controls at Entergy Services Inc. for a fleet of 8 nuclear generating stations. According to his LinkedIn page, he is responsible for the development and implementation of the fleet capital portfolio utilizing a risk informed project prioritization methodology including development of strategies to address emergent and shifting project priorities.

To apply for a vacant seat on the Board of Education, download an applications from the District Office and on the district website. Forward applications to the Board of Education by email to bcsdboe@beaconk12.org or by paper application to Kelly Pologe, District Clerk, at 10 Education Drive. Click here for more information.

We Made It! Retail Therapy Guide - 9/18/2020

We did it! Beacon made it through the first week of school, being one of the few districts who is trying the Hybrid system of 2 days at school in person, and 2 days at home. Free meals for all children are prepared and provided by the district Food Services team (funded by the USDA through Dec. 31, 2020), and teachers are creating their own systems of working with their kids. Technological glitches happen, will always happen, and organizational systems will be reworked once they leave paper and are in practice. Some families who opted for Hybrid changed their minds for health or logistic reasons to be 100% Home, and some families put children into different schools entirely. As a community, and in the name of public school for all, we are figuring it out. So here is an all-caps HIGH-FIVE to those of you who are knee-deep in it. You deserve extra Retail Therapy this weekend! THE RETAIL THERAPY GUIDE Edited and Written By: Marilyn Perez and Katie Hellmuth Martin Restock The Tiny Food Pantries Day: Any day Time: Open Hours of Library (or any time for the outside boxes at the Beacon Rec Center, or Binnacle Books) Locations:  Library, Beacon Rec Center, Binnacle Books The Tiny Food Pantries are in Beacon, and they are a grab-in-go style. No approval. No wait time. Two of them are outside, so are 24/7. But they are limited by who in the community stocks them. This one is in the Howland Public Library, and is bare! If you have un-opened snacks like Girl Scout Cookies, simply drop them off here. Also toiletries like tampons and pads. Story Screen Drive-In presents "Jaws" and "Jurassic Park" Day: Friday-Sunday, September 18-20, 2020 Time: 7:15pm (Jaws), 10:15pm (Jurassic Park) Location: The Park at USC, 724 Wolcott Ave, Beacon, NY Parking will be on a first come first serve basis. You can arrive up to 15 minutes before your screening's scheduled start time to be assigned a space. Please be aware that you must arrive no later than 15 minutes after your screening's scheduled start time to attend the movie.  All admissions sales must be completed in advance by reservation on this site. Tickets sales end one hour before the start of the screening. There will be no tickets available at the Drive-In box office. Information > Check our Calendar and Events Guide regularly for upcoming events throughout the week! Made by Hand Pop-Up Store Days: Now through September 27, 2020 Time: 11am-7pm Location: 508 Main Street, Beacon, NY Near BAU, Vegetalien, near the mountain The Made by Hand Pop-Up Store aims to support and showcase local, independent artists whose businesses were adversely affected by Covid-19 by offering them a temporary storefront, observing safe social-distancing protocols, where buyers can discover their work within a thoughtfully curated collection that promotes aesthetic values rooted in social justice, repurposing of materials, and handmade processes. Information >   EAT CHURCH 511 Fishkill Avenue, Beacon, NY Pop-Up Alert!!  NOODLES! Come get your slurp on with Eat Church this Friday and Saturday in their special Noodle Nice-Up Revue (we already ordered ours!). Menu items include:  Fat Guy - Phat Thai Wok (pork belly, shrimp, or veggie, rice noodle) More Fun - Ga Bun Salad (double fried chicken or mushroom, rice vermicelli) Big Joy - Khao Soi Soup (chicken coconut curry, wheat noodle) Location: Marbled Meat Shop: 3091 Route 9, Cold Spring, NY Date/Time: Friday & Saturday September 18-19, 2020 - 4:00-8:00 PM. Information > Eat Church is an ALBB Sponsor! BAJA 328 328 Main Street, Beacon, NY Don't let the cooler weather stop you from enjoying a tasty and savory Mexican Gazpacho. Their food tastes so fresh! Some of Baja 328's recent specials also include Crispy California Roll Tacos, Pan Seared Salmon w/ Garlic Chipotle Pea Puree, and Sweet and Sour Chicken Wrap.  Tuesday - Thursday: 4-9pm Friday - Saturday: 12pm-10pm Sunday: 12pm-8pm Follow on Instagram > Baja 328 is an ALBB Sponsor! MEYERS OLD DUTCH 184 Main Street, Beacon, NY At Meyers Old Dutch it's more than just mouth watering burgers. They got something for your sweet tooth too! Straight out of the oven, take your pick! They're open until 9pm. Did you hear that, Late Night Eaters? 9pm. You can also order online for take out or delivery via Toast.  PS: If you order a salad for lunch, you can finish it with a cookie. More > Meyers Old Dutch is an ALBB Sponsor! HOMESPUN 232 Main Street, Beacon, NY Homespun is quickly becoming your destination for very special beer and wine. Once famous for their soups, you can also count on them for new craft beer discoveries. ‘Watermelon Glow Up’ is a Berliner Weisse style, a low alcohol wheat beer style that was very popular in Berlin during the 19th Century. Cloudy, sour, buzzy, happy. Try it, and let us know what you think! Also dine in Homespun's adorable parklet out front, or their garden in the back. More > Homespun is an ALBB Sponsor!   HUDSON VALLEY FOOD HALL 288 Main Street, Beacon, NY Keep it spicy at Momo Valley inside the Hudson Valley Food Hall.  Handcrafted Spicy Grass-fed Beef MoMo available for online or pickup orders. Special for serious spicy food enthusiasts. Thoughtfully sourced locally @marbledmeatshop We love collaborations! PS: Do pick up a mango lassi to-go while you're there. Hudson Valley Food Hall is an ALBB Sponsor!   LUXE OPTIQUE 181-183 Main Street, Beacon How about an accessory for your accessory? Like this eye-catching glasses chain by @emmanuellekhanh. Designing iconic eyewear since 1969, handcrafted in France & Japan. The precious mesh of the Creole chain combined with sunglasses with straight lines for an oversized look.  Go Shopping > Luxe Optique is a Sponsor, thank you!   BINNACLE BOOKS 321 Main Street, Beacon There is a continuous stream of new books being added to Binnacle Books.  One visit isn't enough! Binnacle Books shares "We're grateful for our shop, and for you all, and for the staunch and persistent nature of reality which, despite fear and demagoguery, stands strong and belongs entirely to itself, bolstered by good will in wild dreams and cold, hard facts alike." Information > Binnacle Books is a ALBB Sponsor, thank you! LA MÉRE CLOTHING AND GOODS 436 Main Street, Beacon Who else is loving this Fummer weather? Don't know what this is? That perfect time between Summer and Fall. 🏻 You can shop online at https://lamereclothingandgoods.com/ 24/7.  Wednesday- Saturday: 11am-6pm Sunday: 12pm-5pm PS: You'll find a Shopping Bar in the store, in case you needed a quick sip of wine while you shop. Information> La Mere is a ALBB Sponsor, thank you! LEWIS & PINE 133 Main Street, Beacon Stunning. Right? These little beauties are gravel post earrings, which are cast from real granite, preserving every detail and giving them a beautifully textured surface- A little fancy & a little badass. Available in Sterling Silver and 18K Gold Vermeil. Solid 14K yellow or rose gold are also available by request! Go into the store - only open on the weekend! Now is your time. Or shop online. Shop  > Lewis & Pine is a ALBB Sponsor, thank you! COMPASS ARTS  395 Main St., Beacon, NY Elements At Home Dates: September 21 to December 18 (no curriculum the week of 11/23) For your home schooling needs. A self directed curriculum with guidance from the Compass Arts team. Information > View more upcoming classes for in the Adult Classes Guide and Kids Classes Guide. ANTALEK & MOORE INSURANCE AGENCY 340 Main Street, Beacon Antalek & Moore's office is open for regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM for those who wish to make insurance payments. Continue to practice social distancing and masks are required for customers and staff. They continue to offer appointments with their staff by phone or Zoom video conferencing. If you wish to speak to your insurance representative in person, please contact their offices in advance so they can prepare any paperwork that may be needed as well as ensuring the conference room is available to make certain we can practice social distancing. Thank you for your cooperation and "we are grateful we are able to continue to provide the customer service you have come to expect while we all work through this together."  Information > Antalek & Moore is a Sponsor, thank you! TIN SHINGLE Tin Shingle has launched a new initiative:  "Leave A Review Tuesday" Tin Shingle is ALBB's sister company, and teaches businesses how to get the word out. As we hear from our small business friends of all sizes, we hear how damaging - or heartbreaking - a scathing online review can be. It cuts to the heart. So every Tuesday, Tin Shingle encourages its newsletter subscribers and social media followers to pick 1 business and leave a good review for them. It's easy to rant and rave. It's hard to remember to speak with positive thoughts. PS: This Tuesday, if you have kids, email anyone in your district to say "Thank You. You're doing a great job. I know you are trying your best." Learn More > KATIE JAMES, INC. Designing a website is exciting and involves new possibilities. It can also be overwhelming to conceptualize. Katie James, Inc. wants to be on that journey with you, and wants to put together the puzzle that is your business or venture, so that people can experience it for a strong impression of your brand. Learn More > CASTING CALL: Paid Gig: Documentary For Being Over 50 + Turning Your Dream Career Into A Reality A documentary is looking for people aged 50+ who are pursuing their dreams for a year long documentary. The pay is SAG Union scale, and starts at $2670 for participation, and compensation is available for people who join your story. The casting agency NINA DAY is taking submissions now, and would love to hear from you. PRO TIP: Record your submission on your phone as a video. NINA DAY needs your answers to a few questions. Because this is a casting call, they need to see and feel your energy! Say where you live; who you live with; what your dreams are; what your job is if you have one; or what early retirement has been like. Paint the picture! Job Details >

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All Beacon City School Students Eligible For Free Breakfast and Lunch Through December 31, 2020

As families prepare for the first day of school on Monday, a new development was emailed to parents and caregivers from Karen Pagano, the Director of Food and Nutrition for Beacon City School District.

Big School Meal announcement! All Beacon City School Students will be eligible for Free Breakfast and Lunch meals for all school days through December 31, 2020. This can be very exciting for kids, as they see their old meals from school, like School Pizza and School Chicken Nuggets, which seem to have special properties that cannot be duplicated in store-bought meals. In addition to School Scooby Snacks, and other items that show up in the prepared meals, like fresh broccoli. The financial assistance this gives to parents and caregivers is a given.

Kids In Hybrid Schedule

Students in Hybrid schedule will have Breakfast and Lunch meals available in their School buildings on the days they are attending classes. To help with social distancing, kids will be eating meals in their classrooms.

Kids In Remote Learning Schedule
(And On Home Days If On Hybrid Schedule)

Meals for kids during Remote Learning Days will be available for pick up at select schools by reservation only.
A google form for Remote learning days meals will sent in a separate email.

Click here to fill out the Google Form to schedule meal-pickups.

The form needs to be completed by September 14th at 10am to be guaranteed meal availability on September 16th. Meal orders placed after September 14th will be processed for distribution the following week. Meals will continue to be prepared for you each week until the receiver cancels. There is a No-Milk option, if one wants to opt to not be given the cartons of milk. The milk is usually 1%, and if a family doesn’t drink that version (we drink Whole, for instance), a lot of milk goes down the drain.

How Is This Possible?

The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) extended the Free Meals Program, as they did at the end of the school year, and for the summer meals program. A Little Beacon Blog wrote about how to apply for the Free Meals Program if a person was still unemployed and in financial hardship.

Those who had applied for the program did receive a random financial gift on their P-EBT card. While this current extension of the Free Meals Program requires no application, people may still want to apply for the Free Meals Program for 2021, and just in case New York State deposits another $420 of grocery money onto the P-EBT card.

Beacon City School District Superintendent (Grandfather To His Kids), Dr. Matt Landahl's Father Passes

On September 1, 2020, in between sending out correspondence to the Beacon school community about how the Beacon City School District will be opening an unprecedented hybrid learning program during the time of the pandemic, Beacon City School District Superintendent Matt Landahl shared via his Twitter that his father passed away.

Dr. Landahl, who prefers to be called Matt, has young children in the Beacon City School District, and is wearing both hats as a father and an educator. He stated in his message: “Rest in Power Paul Landahl. What an amazing dad, grandpa, and man! I feel so blessed to call him dad and can't believe he is gone. Our last conversation was about how he was so good at striking the balance between family and work. What a lovely man!”

Free Lunch Program Continues - New Signups For Those Unemployed Encouraged Now

When the announcement of the free $420 food credit to be used at stores was announced by Governor Cuomo, ALBB blogged about it, and then reached out to Beacon City School’s Director of Food and Nutrition, Karen Pagano, to ask how this works with the school’s Free Lunch Program, which she was encouraging people to sign up for back in the spring of the pandemic. People did, who were unexpectedly unemployed due to the pandemic. As of today, 650 people are enrolled in the Free Lunch Program.

As the ReOpening has been happening, some people have returned to work, but not everyone. Can people still apply for the 2020/2021 Free Lunch Program? “Yes,” says Karen. Because government services can be a little complicated, we are going to let Karen explain how it works in her words:

Each District submitted to SNAP or NYS a list of Students enrolled as of March 15, 2020, that qualified for free meals in our district either with:

• Income application

• Homeless status

• Directly certified through SNAP or Financial need based Medicaid.

We submitted this file back in May or June 2020. This was the list used for eligibility for the P-EBT funding you wrote about here.

We do not get notified if families have received the P-EBT cards, so if a family has questions about the card, they need to follow up with the numbers listed in your other article: NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance at 1-833-452-0096 or by email at otda.sm.eisp.PEBT@otda.ny.gov

Meal eligibility for Income applicants from the previous 2019-2020 School year will continue until a new application is submitted, or until mid October 2020 with no new application submitted.

Meal applications for the 2020-2021 School year are available on our District website for parents to download and print a copy - fill out manually and send back to the Food Service Office either electronically or in hard copy. We will also be sending copies home with students on the first day of school if they are attending building classes. We are looking to do a mass mailing for those that are not attending in school classes to get the applications out.

We are in the works for setting up online applications through a program called myschoolapps (students and parents use this now to fill breakfast/lunch money on for their kids to use at school - it’s the digital form of “lunch money”) but we will not be able to have this up and running until likely the first week of September as the company supporting this function is at the moment overwhelmed.

Families should still apply for free meals even if they are not attending in-building classes as we will be preparing grab and go meals with distribution for those enrolled families through a drive-by-pick-up on Wednesdays at BHS and RMS starting on September 16th. Parents will need to sign up for this service through a new addition to MySchoolBucks platform and that sign up should be available by the end of August.

We will be preparing these grab and go complete Nutritious Breakfasts and Lunches for the 3-day Remote Learning coverage as well as 5-day for all remote learning eligible students all with Wednesday distribution, times TBD.

We have certified about 650 students for Free meals who qualify for SNAP for the 2020-2021 year and have sent emails or if no email is on file, hard copy notification to those families about their continuation of free meals in the School year.

We will continue to update this download from NYS SNAP recipients on a monthly basis to capture newly added students receiving SNAP and therefore automatically eligible for free meals.

How Will The Non-Free, Paying School Lunch Program Work?

Currently, the Beacon City School District uses MySchoolBucks.com to handle money on kid’s meal cards. Parents log in and make deposits onto the cards whenever they want to. But how will this work on the Hybrid or All Remote Learning plan for parents who do not qualify for the Free Lunch Program? Karen answers:

“You would pre-order each week - all or nothing. You get 3 or 5 breakfast and 3 or 5 lunches (this will depend on if your child is in school 2 days a week or all remote). If your child is in school 2 days a week, they can also get breakfast as a grab-and-go bring into classroom, and lunch which will be pre-ordered in the morning with choices for meals that will be delivered into the classrooms. Both are optional - both are free for free qualifying students and payment necessary again on account with www.myschoolbucks.com for paying students who do not qualify for the Free Lunch Program. No money at school please.”

Zoom Presentation Call For Beacon City School's Evolving Reopening Plan Status Monday, 7pm

Beacon City School Superintendent Matthew Landahl is hosting another presentation of the district’s reopening plan via Zoom on Monday night at 7pm. Details for the call is below. “This will be the same or a similar presentation as last week's presentations,” Dr. Landahl said in an email to parents.

Last Thursday, he delivered another similar presentation, which he says will be posted on the website soon. “We are also looking at doing a final zoom call later this week to update everyone on the state of the reopening plan.”

If you are also attending the regular Monday night City Council Meeting tonight, you could ask your child to Zoom in and report on what they learn, or have the school meeting zooming on your laptop, and the City Council meeting streaming in your earbuds from your phone (via YouTube).

Here is the zoom info for tonight:

Join Zoom Meeting https://E2CCB-GST.zoom.us/j/99041971623

Meeting ID: 990 4197 1623

One tap mobile +16468769923,,99041971623# US (New York)

+16465189805,,99041971623# US (New York)

Dial by your location +1 646 876 9923 US (New York)

+1 646 518 9805 US (New York)

Meeting ID: 990 4197 1623

Find your local number: https://E2CCB-GST.zoom.us/u/ac1v6jG6a6

Join by SIP 99041971623@zoomcrc.com

School Budget And Library Vote Extended 6/16 - But Aquiring A Ballot Is Not - Last Day Tuesday 6/9 - Beacon Experienced Ballot Production Delay

According to Beacon’s Superintendent Matthew Landauhl, Governor Cuomo issued a press release on June 7th, saying he was extending the school budget vote until Tuesday, June 16 at 5pm, which means ballots by mail will be accepted until June 16. Ballot drop boxes are still allowed until Tuesday, June 9 at 5pm.

There was a vendor-based delay in Beacon, where the company that provides the ballots experienced a shortage in supplies. Many Beaconites got their ballots on Friday in the mail, but several did not.

The person to contact about a missing ballot is the board clerk Kelly Pologe at pologe.k@beaconk12.org. Tuesday June 9th is the last day to get a ballot.

Beacon's School and Library Absentee Ballots Arrive Friday - Ballot Collection Box Locations - Tuesday Deadline

The Vote By Mail initiative for Beacon’s 2020-2021 School Budget has arrived today in the mail. Beacon’s Superintendent, Dr. Matthew Landahl emailed district parents and posted to the district website that ballots should be arriving in the mail this (Friday) afternoon. Details about a delay the district was experiencing in getting the ballots out to the public is described below the schedule published here.

Read the Beacon City School District’s Budget Presentation here. Quick Links to the budget are on the district’s website.

You are encouraged to drop your ballot off in a Ballot Drop Box. The schedule is below.

All ballots must be received by mail or dropbox by 5:00pm Tuesday, June 9th.

Ballot Drop Box Locations and Hours

Friday, June 5
Beacon High School 11-5
Glenham Elementary 11-5
District Administration Building 11-5

Saturday, June 6
District Administration Building 12-4

Sunday, June 7
District Administration Building 12-4

Monday, June 8
Beacon High School 8-5
Glenham Elementary 8-5
District Administration Building 8-5

Tuesday, June 9
Beacon High School 6am-5
Glenham Elementary 6am-5
District Administration Building 6am-5

Ballots are due Tuesday, June 9 by 5:00pm.

The Delay In Absentee Ballots

On May 31, 2020, Dr. Landahl emailed the district about an expected delay in the ballots. The Howland Public Library also emailed their subscribe list with the news. Dr. Landahl explained:

“We contracted with a company named NTS Data to print and mail our absentee ballots to all of our registered voters. NTS Data is a company we have worked with on our elections for several years and many districts in New York State and the area have as well.

”On Friday, May 29, 2020, NTS Data informed us that they were having trouble with our ballot mailing due to an envelope shortage and supply chain issue. This is an issue that about 50 districts in New York are also having with NTS Data.”

This (Friday) morning, Dr. Landahl emailed again to let the public know that we should be receiving a ballot by this afternoon. For this writer, the ballots came. For some of our readers, they are reporting that they have not received it yet, but did receive the promotional postcard about voting. Keep looking in your junk mail. And cross your fingers.