The Southold High School Class of 2014. (Credit: Katharine Schroeder)
Southold Junior-Senior High School held its 108th Commencement ceremony at the school auditorium Saturday afternoon.
More than $866,000 worth of scholarships and awards were presented to students. According to High School principal William Galati, 43 of the 79 graduating students received an award.
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• Marisa Fedele of New Suffolk and Kyle Simcik of East Marion have been named to the spring dean’s list at The College of Saint Rose in Albany.
• Niki Benedetto, Mattituck High School Class of 2010, has graduated magna cum laude from the Antoinette Westphal School of Media Arts and Design at Drexel University in Philadelphia, earning a bachelor’s degree in graphic design with minors in art history and fine arts.
• New Suffolk residents Katherine Gehring, a psychology major, and Victoria Gehring, a sport and exercise science major, have been named to the spring dean’s list at DeSales University in Center Valley, Pa.
• Charles Sanders of Greenport has been promoted to the rank of captain in the New York Army National Guard. Capt. Sanders serves with the Operations Company, 42nd Infantry Division.
• Jacob Boergesson of Southold has graduated from the Hartt School at the University of Hartford in Connecticut with a bachelor’s degree in music education. He was also named to the dean’s list for the spring semester.
• Four local students, all children of Patricia and Robert Mele of Mattituck, recently graduated with degrees from Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y. Daniel Mele majored in business administration; Erin Mele was a sociology major; Grace Mele studied biology in the school’s honors program; and Robert Mele, of East Setauket, majored in nursing.
• Dan Sawicki, son of Joan and Tom Sawicki of Laurel, has graduated cum laude from Rochester Institute of Technology’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering. He was also named to the spring dean’s list.
• Connor Davis, son of Tracy and Glenn Davis of Cutchogue, has been placed on the spring dean’s list at SUNY/Cortland, where he is majoring in physical education/health.
• Michael Lentini of Mattituck has been named to the spring dean’s list at Rochester Institute of Technology, where he is studying software engineering at the B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences.
• Local students Christopher Burger of Cutchogue, Laura Stakey of Laurel and Megan Radigan of Mattituck recently graduated from Fairfield (Conn.) University.
• Spring dean’s list honorees at SUNY/Oswego include Mattituck residents John Rauseo, a junior accounting major, and Erin Sayer, a senior majoring in broadcasting and mass communication.
(Credit: Katharine Schroeder photos)
Greenport High School held its 133rd commencement ceremony on Sunday afternoon where principal Len Skuggevik spoke of his experiences with the graduating class and students talked about their future plans.
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Our Lady of Mercy students talking with author Marissa Moss. (Credit: Courtesy)
Our Lady of Mercy Regional School students Skyped with author Marissa Moss from California on June 16 to learn about the writing profession.
Students in grades 1-4 joined Keri Ziemacki’s fifth-grade class to observe and participate as Ms. Moss mentored the group to write their own historical narratives based on a family member. Students asked Ms. Moss several questions, including: “What inspires you to write?” “What is it like getting a book published?” “Where do you write?” and “Do you have any writing tips for our class?”
Ms. Ziemacki said the Skype session gave students a unique opportunity to meet an author remotely.
“The students claimed that it was one of the best learning experiences they had in writer’s workshop this year,” she said.
The Oysterponds Elementary School District in Orient is launching a new program this summer.
The Summer Colonial Camp will offer several workshops, including: tin working, herbs/gardening, sheep shearing and needlepoint, as well as field trips to Sylvester Manor Farm on Shelter Island and the Hallockville Farm in Riverhead.
For more information, contact the school at 631-323-2410.
Fifth grader Lola Beyrodt of Baiting Hollow at the Mercy fashion camp show. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)
Proud to show off the unevenly cut clothes they made themselves, 12 girls buzzed past sewing machines and scattered pieces of brightly patterned fabrics, working to finish their projects before the big fashion show Thursday.
The girls, ages 8 to 13, were enrolled in Veronica Marrinan’s and Jessica Mermelstein’s four-day Fashion Design camp offered through Bishop McGann-Mercy High School’s Enrichment Academy program.
The fashion show was attended by the campers’ parents and siblings — as well as students who were at the Enrichment Academy’s tennis camp — and allowed the girls to show off what they created and marked the end of the camp.
“It’s so cute to watch them when their parents come and they’re showing them what they did,” said Ms. Marrinan, “They get so excited. It’s adorable.”
Nerves replaced excitement once the show started. One by one girls hurried to one side of the stage, then the next, and finally the center of the stage, posing at each spot before scurrying behind a curtain.
The seven week Enrichment Academy program, in its fourth year, also offers 16 other week-long camps with themes that include tennis, Zumba, aviation and cartooning, among others, as well as sports camps.
As for fashion camp, most of the campers — all girls — agreed that using a sewing machine was their favorite part.
Fifth grader Lola Beyrodt (left) and sixth grader Madison Santini, both of Baiting Hollow. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)
“My favorite thing that I learned was that it’s really fun to refill the bobbin because you smash your foot on the pedal and it goes really fast,” said 10-year-old Johanna Governali.
“I learned lots of different tricks for the sewing machine and how to make anything we want look nice,” said Elizabeth Holden, also 10.
“There is a lot more to it than just sewing,” Ms. Mermelstein said. “There are emotions that are put into everything.”
Both camp instructors have been designing clothes since they were young and attended high school programs at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Ms. Marrinan, 17, a 2014 McGann-Mercy graduate, will attend FIT in the fall and major in Fashion Design. Ms. Mermelstein, also 17, who will be a senior in the fall, hopes to attend FIT.
Using what they’ve learned so far in fashion, they wanted to teach the girls as much as possible over the four days.
“On the first day we had them make a small purse, because that’s a good starter. Then they picked their own projects,” Ms. Mermelstein said.
Elizabeth Holden, 10, at the Mercy camp. (Credit: barbaraellen Koch)
Greenport school boards member Heather Wolf, center, and Dan Creedon, left, are in disagreement over the scheduling of a June 25 special meeting. (Credit: Jennifer Gustavson, file)
Heather Wolf is apologizing for any misconceptions residents may have about the Greenport school board scheduling a 7:30 a.m. special meeting on June 25 to approve two employee contracts.
She’s also defending the decision to hold that meeting with short notice because she said both agreements — a contract to share a plant facilities manager with the Southold School District, and appointing a pre-K principal — were timely.
During the school board’s regular monthly meeting Monday night, Ms. Wolf said she wanted to “apologize for any sense of mystery” surrounding the special meeting after reading Greenport resident Greg Wallace’s opinion piece published in The Suffolk Times last Thursday that was critical of the scheduling.
Ms. Wolf, along with Tina Volinski and Lisa Murray, attended the June 25 special meeting and unanimously approved both contracts, which were the only items listed on the agenda. Dan Creedon and Babette Cornine were absent from the meeting.
The first item approved during the special meeting was to appoint Greenport’s current director of operations Marcus DaSilva to a new joint-position as Plant Facility Manager with Southold at a salary of $115,000, effective July 1. He will now be responsible for groundskeeping and building maintenance at both Southold and Greenport schools, since the Southold groundskeeper is retiring.
Ms. Wolf said the Southold school board and district administration had asked Greenport to approve the shared agreement before the contract was to go into effect. The Southold school board held its own regular meeting in the evening of June 25 — the same day as Greenport’s special meeting — and unanimously approved Mr. DaSilva’s shared contract.
“We did that more as a courtesy to Marcus himself and the Southold folks so they felt that all i’s were dotted and all t’s were crossed before they put him into this new and very exciting opportunity — an opportunity that’s a very nice cost savings to our district, as well as Southold,” she said. “He’s proved to be an absolutely marvelous director here and I’m sure he’ll do us extremely proud in Southold.”
As for appointing Greenport Elementary School principal Joseph Tsaveras to the newly created pre-K principal position during the special meeting, Ms. Wolf said the contract needed to be approved before the school board’s regular July meeting in order for the district to “apply for timely grant money.”
Ms. Wolf said the school board could have held off on Mr. Tsaversas’s appointment — which includes an $8,000 stipend to over the see the district’s new pre-K program — and had Superintendent Michael Comanda sign the grant applications instead. It decided not to since Mr. Comanda is retiring and wouldn’t be able to see the application process to fruition, she said.
“We didn’t want to put [Mr. Comanda’s] name on it and then have him disappear,” Ms. Wolf said. “[Mr. Tsaversas has] worked so hard on this for the better part of the year without a cent of extra compensation, so now at least he has the role formally and the extra compensation.”
“[The appointment] could have waited until today,” she added. “The thing we were concerned about not letting slip is the opportunity for quite a generous grant to help us pay for our staff for the preschool.”
Ms. Wolf also said the board has held 7:30 a.m. special meetings a dozen times over the last five years because it has been a convenient time to hold interim board meetings when timely or urgent matters need to be addressed.
“There’s been a lot of precedent for that, but I’m sorry that it appeared to be a surprise to some in the community,” she said.
Mr. Creedon — who replaced Ms. Wolf as board president after the board unanimously approved his uncontested appointment during the annual reorganizational portion of Monday night’s meeting — said he opposed the special meeting for personal reasons since he couldn’t attend due to his work schedule and didn’t receive copies of the contracts to review prior to the meeting.
“It was within the law, but [the law] does suggest that special meetings should not be used for the regular business of the board,” he said. “It sounded to me like it was within the letter of the law, but not the spirit.”
After learning that a teacher who’s been on special assignment elsewhere for 10 years has decided to return to the district, the New Suffolk school board notified community members of a “significant” and unanticipated deficit in its 2014-15 school budget.
During Tuesday night’s board meeting, Superintendent Michael Comanda announced that an instructor who has been director at the Mid East Suffolk Teacher Center in Ridge since 2004 now wants to resume her position at New Suffolk Elementary School.
Though school officials wouldn’t mention the teacher’s name, it’s clear from previous Suffolk Times articles that the employee is Martha Kennelly.
The center provides professional development, technology training and resources to Suffolk County educators.
Teachers on special assignment at the center remain contracted faculty members in their home districts, enabling them to return to their previous jobs if wanted — or if the center program encounters budget cuts, New Suffolk school board president Tony Dill explained.
For the past 10 years, he said, New Suffolk has paid Ms. Kennelly’s salary and benefits and been reimbursed by the county.
“Technically, she never left,” he said. He added that she also accrued tenure time while working at Mid East, making her the longest-tenured of the three contracted teachers at New Suffolk Elementary School.
Mr. Dill said Ms. Kennelly notified him in writing in May that she was interested in returning to the school — just one day after the 2014-15 school year budget passed in a public vote.
The problem now is that the board did not budget enough to cover Ms. Kennelly’s salary. Instead, it budgeted only enough for a first-year teacher to replace Holly Plymale, the former head teacher who recently resigned for health reasons.
Because Ms. Kennelly is a 20-year tenured instructor her return will cost the district $146,000 in salary and benefits, about $70,000 more than what was budgeted Ms. Plymale’s replacement.
In May, New Suffolk voters approved a spending plan of $1.2 million, up $13,000 from the year prior, according to prior news coverage.
“Had we known this in time, we could have adjusted the budget,” Mr. Dill said, adding that he isn’t sure why Ms. Kennelly wants to return to the district.
In an interview Wednesday morning, Ms. Kennelly said she wrote to the board in May after learning from a Suffolk Times article that Holly Plymale had resigned.
“Although I’ve had wonderful successes as a teacher center director, I have never had an experience that compared to my teaching at New Suffolk,” she said. “I have always missed the children. This past year, I’ve been working with some extraordinary teachers in elementary settings and it really drove home how much I miss the interaction with the students and community.”
Mr. Dill said that he and Mr. Comanda will conduct a review of school programs and staff and look for areas where cuts can be made to fill the budget hole.
“Certainly we are not hiring another teacher,” Mr. Dill said. “We have three tenured teaching positions and we have three tenured teachers on staff.”
Mr. Comanda said the district has the option of applying for a tax anticipatory note — in essence, a loan from the state — to fund the gap, though it would need to be paid back in full plus interest.
From what Mr. Dill can recall, the district has not ever had to apply for such a loan in the past, though Mr. Comanda said neighboring districts have been known to go that route during budget pinches.
Mr. Dill said district officials will be weighing any and all options they can think of.
“We will come up with a solution by August,” Mr. Dill said. “We have to.”
In other district news, Mr. Dill announced the board has parted ways with Babette Cornine, who was recently appointed to fill the district’s newly created business manager position in January.
Calling the split “mutual,” district officials have since appointed Angela Kohl to the position, taking on the responsibilities of the district treasurer, and them some.
Ms. Kohl, who is a principal accountant at the Suffolk County Executive’s office started her part-time position with the district July 1 at a salary of $15,000, Mr. Dill said, adding that she is also a New Suffolk school alumna.
She has served the county as an accountant in different capacities over 11 years, she said following Tuesday’s meeting.
“She was certainly a good get for the district,” Mr. Dill said.
Changes to the school’s treasurer position were needed following a state comptroller’s audit that found issues in the handling of finances within the district’s budget preparation, sending the district searching for a candidate with a “significant amount of experience in accounting,” Mr. Dill had said following the release of the audit report.
Anne Smith is the new superintendent for the Mattituck-Cutchogue School District. (Credit: Jennifer Gustavson, file)
The Mattituck school board approved a contract to hire Anne Smith as the district’s first female superintendent during a special meeting last month, The Suffolk Times has learned.
The seven-member board held the meeting June 26 and unanimously approved a three-year agreement with Ms. Smith at a starting salary of $190,000, school board officials said Wednesday. That’s about $1,000 less than current Superintendent James McKenna was paid for this school year.
Ms. Smith has served the district for 17 years and currently serves as both assistant superintendent and elementary school principal. She has lived in Mattituck since 1985 and all three of her children have attended district schools.
The new contract takes effect Aug. 1. Mr. McKenna will retire at the end of July after serving the district for nearly 25 years.
“We’re just thrilled that Anne accepted the position and that she’ll remain with the district,” said school board president Jerry Diffley. “She’ll continue the great leadership we had with Jim and will add her own touch to things for years to come.”
Mr. McKenna had previously told The Suffolk Times that no action would be taken at the June 26 special meeting. Neither he nor Ms. Smith responded to requests for comment on this story.
In January, the board approved a resolution by a split vote to enter into contract negotiations with Ms. Smith for the post. The board is expected to accept her resignation as principal at its reorganizational meeting Thursday. (Scroll down to view the complete agenda).
The board will also retroactively approve an assistant superintendent contract for Ms. Smith for the previous school year, during which she worked without a contract, according to a meeting agenda.
Ms. Smith, business manger Michael Engelhardt, district clerk Catherine Gilliard and school security guard Gary Spath are not members of the district’s administrators union because they hold central office positions. All have been without a contract since July 1, 2013. Ms. Smith was paid about $158,000 in 2013-14, according to Newsday.
Also on Thursday’s meeting agenda is a contract for Kathleen Devine, who is not currently affiliated with the district, to replace Ms. Smith as principal at Cutchogue East Elementary School.
Additional details about Ms. Devine were not immediately available.
When asked why the district hadn’t announced the hiring of the new superintendent, Mr. Diffley said it is putting together a press release that would also include details about Ms. Devine.
“We were going to appoint Anne at the reorg meeting, but we thought it would be better to do it before so she could resign as principal, because we were interviewing principal candidates,” he said. “It was kind of a cascade effect.”
Mattituck BOE Reorg & Regular Meeting Agendas July 10 2014
The Mattituck school board failed to elect a president at Thursday’s reorganizational meeting. (Credit: Jennifer Gustavson)
After a heated argument between board members over accusations of breaking the state’s open meetings law, the Mattituck Board of Education failed to elect a president at its annual reorganizational meeting Thursday night.
School board member Laura Jens-Smith objected to fellow board member Sarah Hassildine participating from Rochester via Skype, because the public notice for the meeting failed to include Ms. Hassildine’s location. Ms. Smith said she believes a district must notify the public 72 hours in advance if a member is going to participate from another location.
“So if they wish to attend where she is they can,” Ms. Jens-Smith said.
School board member Jeff Smith talking with Sarah Hassildine via Skype. (Credit: Jennifer Gustavson)
Board member Jerry Diffley, who has been serving as president of the board, said he doubted anyone from the district was in Rochester to join Ms. Hassildine, and he suggested Ms. Jens-Smith file a complaint with the state.
Ms. Hassildine said she wouldn’t vote on agenda items if the board didn’t feel comfortable allowing her to do so via Skype.
The board then voted on a walk-on resolution to allow her to participate, but it failed 2-4 with only Mr. Diffley and fellow board member Doug Cooper voting in favor.
“I think you’re making a mountain out of an ant hill,” Mr. Cooper said before casting his vote. “I think it’s going by the spirit of the law.”
Board member Jeff Smith disagreed.
“You can’t go by the spirit of the law,” he said. “The law states it specifically and that’s what you have to follow.”
The board also disagreed on who should be its new president Thursday night. Mr. Cooper nominated to re-elect Mr. Diffley, and Ms. Jens-Smith nominated Mr. Smith. Board member Bill Gatz nominated Charles Anderson, who has been serving as vice president, but Mr. Anderson declined the nomination.
Mr. Diffley and Mr. Smith each received three yes votes after the two swing votes split, with Mr. Anderson supporting Mr. Diffley and Mr. Gatz voting for Mr. Smith. Mr. Gatz had previously voted along with Ms. Jens-Smith and Mr. Smith against a resolution Jan. 16 to enter into contract negotiations with new superintendent Ann Smith, who was eventually hired unanimously during a special meeting last month.
Mr. Diffley suggested during Thursday’s meeting that Ms. Jens-Smith intentionally blocked Ms. Hassildine from voting in an attempt to prevent him from being re-elected president over Mr. Smith.
“Now I see the motivation,” he said.
She responded, “Yes, we do see the motivation.”
Ms. Jens-Smith said after the meeting that she believes it’s “time for a change.”
“I think Jeff Smith can bring a different perspective to the board,” she said.
When questioned by a reporter during the meeting, Ms. Hassildine declined to immediately say who she would have supported if allowed to cast a vote.
HIGH HONOR ROLL
Grade 12: Pamela Batist, Laurel Bertolas, Christine Bieber, Shailla Candelario, Helen Chen, Autumn Harris, Taylor Hart, Melissa Hickox, Desirae Hubbard, Jaclyn Imbriano, Molly Kowalski, Robert Krudop, Nicole L’Hommedieu, Joseph Macaluso, Kyra Martin, Douglas Massey, Nina Nickerson, Jennifer Pautke, Mirsa Perez, Tyler Rochon, Nicole Scartozzi, Lauren Waters, Rachel Winkler, Qiong You.
Grade 11: Lisa Angell, Courtney Benediktsson, Harrison Forte, William Gildersleeve, Benjamin Hinsch, Kevin Hudson, Jake Jacob, Madison Kent, Constantina Leodis, Christopher Mauceri, Gregg Messinger, Courtney Murphy, James Nish, Ian Nish, Michael O’Rourke, Oliver Orr, Daniel Parks, Pulith Peiris, Marcos Perivolaris, Sarah Pfennig, Colby Prokop, Heidy Quizhpi, Leah Santacroce, Alyssa Scartozzi, Christopher Sledjeski, Jamie Stonemetz, Haley Unger.
Grade 10: John Batuello, Thomas Behr, Hayley Berry, Julie Dickerson, Carly Doorhy, Jack Dufton, Emma Fasolino, Erin Feeney, Liam Finnegan, Hannah Fitzgerald, Gwyneth Foley, Yianni Giannaris, Jacquelin Gonzalez, Skyler Grathwohl, Audrey Hoeg, Katherine Hoeg, Chloe Janis, Caroline Keil, Anna Kowalski, Julie Krudop, Antonina Lentini, Dylan Marlborough, Meghan McKillop, Lika Osepashvili, Meghan Pawlik, Courtney Penny, Dawn Rochon, Miranda Sannino, Kimberly Scheer, Greg Sheryll, Sophia Sluyters, Andrew Stakey, William Stuckart, Joseph Tardif, Charles Zaloom.
Grade 9: Eshi Baldano, Amy Li Berninger, Alex Bradley, Ty Bugdin, Charley Claudio, Sean Gambaiani, Cheyenne Harris, Thomas Hoeg, Samantha Husak, Joseph Kelly, Colleen Kelly, Brendan Kent, Colette Kodym, Amy Macaluso, Hayley Martin, Christopher Massey, Ryan McCaffery, James McDonald, Joseph Mele, Carter Montgomery, McKenzi Murphy, Cassandra Nine, Joshua Prager, Corinne Reda, Sascha Rosin, Tyler Seifert, Sarah Shannon, Ryan Shuford, Emily Sidor, Dale Stonemetz, Christopher Waggoner, Dylan Wilsberg, Mary Wilton.
Grade 8: Talia Aiello, Alexandra Beebe, Alexander Bellavia, Brittany Benediktsson, Jack Bokina, Ashley Burns, Ashley Chew, James Clementi, David Conroy, Alissa Dabrowski, Mackenzie Daly, Joy Davis, Jane DiGregorio, Elizabeth Dwyer, Samantha Fine, Rebecca Foster, Brianna Fox, Jaime Gaffga, Jacqueline Galdamez SantaMaria, Macie Grathwohl, Drew Hahn, Rebecca Hammerle, Sophie Jacobs, Leah Kerensky, Jacob Kupecki, Justin Lake, Anthony Lopez, Chelsea Marlborough, Ethan Martin, Stephen Masotti, Lucas Micheels, Mauricio Moran, Emily Mowdy, Madison Osler, Sarah Park, Alexandria Peters, Peter Pugliese, Jennifer Rutkoski, Joseph Stuckart, Alexandra Talbot, Martha Terry, Carly Unger, Julia Vasile-Cozzo, Carly Woods, Kathryn Zaloom.
Grade 7: Lauren Bihm, Sarah Bihm, Charles Bordsen, Sophia Borzilleri, Max Cantelmo, Dorothy Condon, Cassidy Deerkoski, Christian Demchak, Annabel Donovan, Kaitlyn Driscoll, Gabrielle Dwyer, David Fasolino, Anne Finnegan, Caleb Foley, Jillian Gaffga, Savvas Giannaris, Bryce Grathwohl, Gabriella Hassildine, Claudia Hoeg, Riley Hoeg, Rachel Janis, Mason Kelly, Kristen Lisowy, Antonio Marine, Sean McDonald, Kyle McFadden, Catherine McGrath, Kacper Michalak, Cassidy Mullin, Alexander Nadel, Teagan Nine, Tyler Olsen, Tyler F. Olsen, Mikayla Osmer, Katherine Parks, Stephanie Perez, Ashley Perkins, Trevor Poole, Meghan Riley, Amber Rochon, Lily Russell, Wylee Sanders, Madison Schmidt, Julie Seifert, Madelyn Shannon, Matthew Sledjeski, Mia Slovak, Madison Storm, Courtney Trzcinski, Francesca Vasile-Cozzo, Gabrielle Wahlers.
HONOR ROLL
Grade 12: Luke Benante, Matthew Berezny, Ryan Bergen, Elly Bergen, Paige Catalano, Kimberly Clanton, Meghan Daly, Clay Davis, Jed Donikyan, Tricia Dorfmeister, Michael Dufton, Shannon Dwyer, Patrick Gillan, Mayra Gonzalez, Sydney Goy, Rowan Hausman, Kayla Healy, Charles Hickox, Christopher Hicks, Adam Hicks, Ian Husak, Anthony Jones, Victoria Lang, Mark McCaskie, Christopher Mehalakes, Robert Molchan, Christian Montgomery, John Nolan, Erik Olsen, Austin Pase, Ralph Pugliese, Tyler Reeve, Alaina Robins, Casey Rugnetta, Riley Savercool, Dana Sciacchitano, Michael Serrano, Francisco Sierra, Olivia Vayer.
Grade 11: Oswaldo Aldaz, Brianne Briggmann, Steven Brisotti, Matthew Carter, Joseph Cavanagh, Nicole Considine, Andrew Cushman, Jacqueline Diaz, Elizabeth Dumblis, Christopher Dwyer, Olivia Finn, Kayla Gibbons, Jennifer Gonzalez-Euceda, Joshua Hassildine, Victoria Ireland, Lillianna Kiel, Benjaman Knowles, Emma Leaden, Terrence McKinney, Emily Mincieli, Maddalena Mineo, Rebecca Piraino, Marisa Sannino, Cal Seifert, Gebriell Sierra, Caralee Stevens, Cady Vitale, Nicholas Vitolano, Ya-Xin You, Andrew Young, Andrew Yurchison, Nicole Zurawski.
Grade 10: Taylor Berkoski, Tyler Corrigan, Alec Durkin, Jonathan Dwyer, Daniel Fedun, Sarah Fogarty, David Folk, Austin Gao, Emily Gatz, Joseph Graeb, Christina Hatzinikolaou, Jeffrey Hauser, Frank Imbriano, Tristin Ireland, Raven Janoski, Trevor Larsen, Garrett Malave, Ryan McCaskie, Matthew Mehalakes, Daniel Nugent, Kristina Olsen, Michael Onufrak, Artemis Pando, Brianna Perino, Randy Salvitti, Benjamin Savercool, Samuel Shaffery, Phurlamu Sherpa, Lucas Webb.
Grade 9: Chance Anderson, Hawkins Barratt Heitmann, Joseph Bartolotto, Thomas Beebe, Ryan Buchholz, Alexander Burns, Aidan Carter, Katherine Celic, Joseph Considine, Kimberly Corso, Donald Gatz, Demitria Genovese, Daniel Harkin, Matthew Heffernan, James Hoeg, Tina Imbriano, Grace Izzo, Luke Karlin, Miles Kelly, Jenna Kujawski, Bianca LaColla, Kyle Makely, Matthew Mauceri, Liam McShane, Karolina Morawski, Nicholas Parks, Johanna Pedone, Grace Pellegrino, Lilian Perez, Melanie Pfennig, Hannah Prokop, Autumn Reichardt, Sean Robbins, Jonathan Rogers, Christopher Schwamborn, Katherine Stumpf, Gage Suglia, Amanda Young.
Grade 8: Nicolas Andreadis, Larysa Andreadis, Cassidy Bertolas, Luke Bokina, Liam Corbley, Autumn DeRidder, Megan Dinizio, Brian Feeney, Sean Feeney, Kaitlyn Ficarra, Daniel Folk, Wade Foster, Shawn Howell, Jack Kitz, Taylor Larsen, Madison McDowell, Grace McKeon, James McKinnon, Stephen Nyilas, Thomas Olsen, Jakob Olsen, Dennis O’Rourke, Jillian Pedone, Greta Peters, Riley Peterson, Tucker Phillippe-Johansson, Jason Scalia, Dominick Skrezec, Connor Smith, Paige Starzee, Thomas Sullivan, Logan Urick.
Grade 7: Miranda Annunziata, Isaiah Baker, Kaitlyn Brisotti, William Burns, Trinity Butler Kelly, Ryleigh Canberg, Heather Carita, Jake Catalano, Tyler Cirincione, Joseph DePinto, Michelle Escalante, Benjamin Golanec, Melina Harris, Charlie Hasel, Abigail Heffernan, Christopher Imbriano, James Jacobs, Malayna Kaminsky, Jonathan Lisowy, Emily McKillop, Sierra McShane, Christopher Merz, Brian Molchan, Matteo Pellegrini, Mariano Perez, Ethan Prager, Aidan Reilly, Bayleigh Rienecker, Francesco Sannino, Matthew Schroeck, Kyle Schwartz, Ryan Seifert, Thomas Silleck, Nikita Siracusano, Scarlet Soto, Jaden Thompson, Lucas Tskhvediani, Adam Webb, Benjamin Webb, Caitlin Westermann, Lauren Zuhoski.
HIGH HONOR ROLL
Grade 12: Ria Anasagasti; Robert Anderson; Justina Babcock; Giuliana Buono; Savannah Calderale; Kelsea Cassone; Kimberly Connolly; Jamie Grigonis; Shannon Guyer; Daniel Insogna; Amy Kandora; Justine Kundmueller; Leah LaFreniere; Anna Mahaffy; Robert Mahony; Jose Membreno; Caroline Metz; Cassidy Mignone; Danielle Pagano; Logan Pfister; Gary Prieto; Shannon Quinn; Laura Rempel; Jessica Rizzo; Michael Schade; Abigail Scharadin; Shannon Smith; Daniel Stahl; Timothy Stankewicz; Dylan Stromski; Cynthia VanBourgondien.
Grade 11: Leah Baxendale; Michael Cosmadelis; Jack Dunne; Natalie Hocker; Jessica Jerome; Shayne Johnson; Kaitlyn Kettenbeil; Alexandra Lasot; Matthew McCarthy; Jennifer Membreno Umana; Thomas Messana; Sean Moran; Emily Pressler; Julia Saccamano; Willow Sutton; Juliane VanGorden.
Grade 10: Samuel Basel; Raeann Berry; Theresa Connolly; Jacqueline Davey; Katherine Hunstein; Noah Mina; Bryan Patchell; Julia Schade; Ethan Sisson; Walker Sutton; Albert “Aidan” Vandenburgh; Aidan Walker.
Grade 9: Emma Alvarez; Maria Amador; Jessie Bakanic; Garrison Bennett; Abagail Cacovic; Karen Campos; Michael Christman; Edgar Cotzojay Puluc; Evelyn Cummings; Miguel Gomez; Stephen Hocker; Owen Klipstein; Robert Kruszeski; Edwin Martinez Javier; Jake McCarthy; Patrick McFarland; Jamie Molnar; Sean Okula; Emily Perry; Meg Pickerell; Charles Poliwoda; Kyle Skrezec; Edwin Ward IV.
Grade 8: Brooke Averette; Katie Baumann; Hayley Brigham; William Burns; Alexandra Cardi; Mario Contreras; Andrew Crean; Rebecca Dickerson; Breana Gibbs; Katherine Jarvis; Kathryn Jernick; Ann Lincoln; Kai Obinata.
Grade 7: Sabrina Basel; Bryanna Bay; Eric Connolly; Patrick Connolly; Tyler DeFrese; Amanda Dickerson; Samantha Dunne; Robert Elliston; Jaedon Glasstein; Van Karsten; Max Kruszeski; Marie Mullen; Jake Okula; Emiliann Palermo; Emily Russell; Olivia Saccamano; Margaret Scott; Dante Tramontana; Michael Wineberger.
HONOR ROLL
Grade 12: Dean Albergo; Ericka Auer; Brittney Bellomo; Hayley Bolettieri; Christopher Bucci; Timothy Chilton; Katie Connolly; Charles Cook Firquet; Markis Croteau; Anthony Esposito; Anthony Fedele; Kenji Fujita; Brian Hallock; Kathryn Krukowski; James MacArthur; Kesley Mehrman; Kristen Mullen; Jamie O’Sullivan; James Penney; Erwin Perez; Stephanie Portillo; Michael Ryan; Katelyn Suskevich; Alexander Thompson; Robert Toman; Ian Toy.
Grade 11: Mary Bertschi; Rachel Burns; Abigail Conway; Zachary Ellis; Rebecca Guarriello; Jennifer Jaklevic; Heather Koscinch; Ajsia Martocchia; Katherine Mejia-Hernandez; Sarah Perry; Sophie Pickerell; Alexander Poliwoda; Gregory Quist; Jessica Saporita; Claudia Steinmuller; William Tondo; Megan VanBourgondien; Liam Walker; Winter Wilcenski; Kitty Zheng.
Grade 10: Angela Bucci; Peter Fouchet; Kimiko Fujita; Carson Hughes; Esther Jeffrey; Juliette Liegey; Lily Saeli; Andrew Seifert; Gabrielle Showalter; Liam Simmons; Aidan Toy.
Grade 9: Adam Baldwin; Samantha Baldwin; Charlie Bonilla; Mathew Cardi; Nicole Christman; Christopher DeSimone; Evelin Garcia Palencia; Angelica Klavas; Anthony Klavas; Althea Mignone; Mark Moran; Quinn Osmer; Alessandra Ramirez; Karen Ramirez-Torrento; Daisy Rymer; Joseph Saporita; Jheimy Uguna; Connor Vaccariello; Willow Wilcenski
Grade 8: Alexandra Apadula; Matthew Civiok; Sean Conway; Zachary Grathwohl; Ashley Hilary; Alexander Kandora; Michael Krause; Heather MacArthur; William (Liam) Mullen; Jared Palumbo; Kyra Panetta; Lucie Showalter; Hannah Sutton; Justin Tobin; Victoria Tondo.
Grade 7: Jonathan Baumann; Ally Boyle; Maxwell Cichanowicz; Gabriella Drumm; Joseph Hayes; Ryan Hunstein; Shane Kollen; Rosanna Mollica.
Bishop McGann-Mercy Diocesan High School in Riverhead is offering a driver’s education course this summer.
The New York State approved program runs between July 28 and Aug. 19 — five days a week, three hours per day.
After successful completion of the course, students will receive an MV-285 certificate and be eligible to test for a senior license at age 17.
Students must be 16 years old and have a learner’s permit to register. Space is limited.
For more information, call (631) 727-5900, ext. 320.
The Mattituck-Cutchogue School District has generated more than $5 million in surpluses and created an undue burden for taxpayers over the last three fiscal years, according to the findings of a state audit.
In January, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office released an audit of the district’s financial operations and fund balance use between July 1, 2012, and July 31, 2013. The report indicates that monies the district moved into reserves during that period were “excessive and were not used.”
“These ongoing budgeting practices resulted in taxpayers paying more than necessary to sustain district operations,” the report states. “Had district officials used more realistic budget estimates, they could have avoided the accumulation of excess fund balance and possibly reduced the tax levy.”
In a July 5 Newsday article, Mattituck was named as one of six school districts that built up millions in cash surpluses over multiple years, creating unnecessary hardship for taxpayers.
Mattituck district administrator Michael Engelhardt told The Suffolk Times this week that the district’s conservative budgeting has been necessary under the state-mandated 2 percent cap. He said recent surpluses are the result of several factors, namely, not running into unexpected expenses — like paying for equipment breaking down — and receiving an increase in revenue from eight out-of-district tuition students. The district received about $55,000 per student and $100,000 for each special education student.
The district also realized savings of nearly $250,000 when its health insurance contribution rate dropped from 8 percent to 2 percent.
“I’m delighted we under-spent,” Mr. Engelhardt said. “We’ve always been right in the middle of the pack with our budget and tax increases. It’s not like we were budgeting tremendous amounts and hoarding it.”
The audit claims the district didn’t need to allocate as much money as it did into its dedicated savings accounts, known as reserves, which are designed to pay for very specific items. It recommends the district develop a plan for the use of future surplus funds, which Mr. Engelhardt said is currently in the works.
Like most districts, Mattituck has had reserves for certain expenses, including employee benefits and retirement costs. In recent years, the school board approved two additional reserve funds for unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation.
Another type of savings account, called an appropriated fund balance, contains monies that can be applied only to offset the tax levy.
Voters approved a $39.6 million budget in May, which reflected an $817,590 spending increase and carried an estimated 1.8 percent increase to the tax levy. During the budget process that preceded the public vote, the school board decided to use an additional $225,000 from the district’s fund balance to further offset the tax levy, totaling $1 million.
Mr. Engelhardt said the school board has been cautious about subsidizing the budget with too much fund balance because it isn’t a stable revenue stream and taxes would eventually spike.
Surplus, he said, will be applied to the district’s debt, which was one of the comptroller’s recommendations. There are the $11.9 million bond from 2000, which is expected to be paid off in 2018, and capital improvement bonds totaling about $26 million from 2006 and 2008 that are scheduled to be paid off in 2030.
“We certainly have places to put additional funds to prepay debt,” he said. “The report that the comptroller did was coming in from a different angle. Not that it’s wrong and not that it’s off-base. They’re just looking at it a little different than us.”
Click on the tab below to read the complete report, which includes a response from Mattituck school board president Jerry Diffley.
Greenport Junior-Senior High fourth-quarter honor roll
HIGH HONOR ROLL
Grade 12: Amanda Aurichio, Ana Carolina Baisch Gracia Costa, Laura Casanueva, Mary Creedon, Kelly Dacimo, Gavin Dibble, Yanais Garcia, Schuyler Gillispie, Brandi Gonzalez, Shyane Jones, Dory Lieblein, Cole Mezynieski, Briana Pagano, Victoria Piechnik, Edward Rogers, Emmaline Saito, Georgia Seas, Ryan Weingart.
Grade 11: Caitlin Grilli, Aylin Guvenc, Samantha Henry, Emma Marshall, Megan Murray, Yaquelyn Pineda Rivas, Rosario Rodriguez, Carolyn Saito, Maria Soriano, Timmy Stevens, Sarah Tuthill, Christian Van Cleef, Sean Walden, Connor Whittle.
Grade 10: Valentina Acero, William Blasko, Susan Bunchuck, Ryan Costello, Marina DeLuca, Senih Gorgulu, Liam Lieblein, Maxwell Mastrangelo, Carly Rebecca Short, Thomas Spackman, Rosemary Volinski, Brendan Walker, Nicholas Wallace.
Grade 9: Remi Droskoski, Toni Esposito, Ginger Hughes, Dominique Kart, Vivian Mantzopoulos, Maia Mazzaferro, Angelina Pagano, Jennifer Palencia, Erica Peterson, Eduardo Sanchez, Keegan Syron, Madison Tabor, Kathleen Tuthill, Emelys Villareal, Jonathan Webster, Alexandra Zurek.
Grade 8: Rosa Chapeton, Elizabeth Clark, Shannon Colfer, Joseline Colon, Blayr Corazzini, Madison Hilton, Alexis Hubbard, Emelia Jacobi, Kevin Lin, Anna Maria Llukaci, Jenna Loper, Madison Manwaring, Samuel Mastrangelo, Emma McCabe, Kathleen McCabe, Zoe Medina, Kristian Nikolov, Kateryn Pineda Rivas, Nellie Spackman, Grace Syron, Isabelle Torres, Lena Wolf.
Grade 7: Jorlan Alvarez, Mateo Arias-Roldan, Julesiah Atkins, Brandon Clark, Reese Costello, Maximo Cruz, Jillian Golden, Cem Harvey, Garrick Hughes, Jacob Kahn, Xavier Kahn, Jennifer Kravitz, Jacob Mazzaferro, James Morrison, Joseph Owens, Saed Puac, Ian Thompson, Nereida Toribio, Miguel Torres, Thomas Tsaveras, Christopher Vedder, Brittany Walker, John Wright.
HONOR ROLL
Grade 12: Ashley Billera, Alijah Bolling, Kayleigh Commins, Victoria Hilton, Austin Hooks, Dimitrios Karatzas, Mackenzie Lennox, Edgar Pocasangre, Christopher Rabig, Andi Sorocco, Christopher Sponza, Brian Tuthill.
Grade 11: Sophia Albizures, Dawn Angevine, Cindy Azurdia, Samil Bolat, Stephanie Clark, Chloe Creighton, Brittany Doucett, John Drinkwater, Matthew Drinkwater, Niklas Droskoski, Jasmine Fell, Cinthia Gaitan, Yanet Garcia, Kelsey Hubbard, David Krumenacker, Ivy Manwaring, Dennis Nikolov, Tyler Olsson, Elizabeth Powe, Neville Reece, Kenya Sanders, Isabelle Carina Simon, Eric Tonyes, Jarod Tramontana.
Grade 10: Andrew Aurichio, Malyssa Del Gaudio, Mercedes Edwards, Danielle Fauteux, Kenia Henrriquez Lopez, Rosa Hernandez, Tyler Kruszeski, Sidney Mulvaney, Aidan Pollock, Paige Pope, Jewel-Joy Stevens, Isabel Wachtel, Maleik Yoskovich.
Grade 9: Lucina Aurichio, Glenda Bachez-Gomez, Maleek Boisseau, Darius Bolling, Benjamin Bracken, Ellen Cecaida, Adrianna Chandler, Sarah Gogan, Joseph Henry, Rachael Hughes, John Karatzas, Tucker King, Jared Leon, Rosa Lopez, Caitlyn Macomber, Benjamin Marczewski.
Grade 8: Olivia Behrle, Carlos Chapeton Masin, Robert DeLuca, Cinthia Gonzalez, Hanna Land, Casper Loveless, Jordan Marshall, Myles Murray, Jordyn Neese, Abby Perez, Karla Rivas, Esvin Secaida Hernandez, Matthew Tuthill.
Grade 7: William Chapeton, Anna Coria, Jason Cruz Rodriguez, David Jenkins, Cristian Lopez-Giron, Johnathan Montgomery-Medina, Anyelina Ramirez, Christian Romero, Frank Ruiz, Andria Skrezec, Jaxan Swann, Joseph Wysocki.
Cutchogue East principal Kathleen Devine. (Credit: courtesy photo)
Cutchogue East Elementary School students will see at least one new face on the first day of school this September.
Kathleen Devine of Bayport, 57, was hired last Thursday to replace Anne Smith, who will step into her own new role as Mattituck-Cutchogue School District superintendent after James McKenna retires July 31.
Ms. Devine was in the audience with her husband, Ronald, an Islip Town assessor, and their 20-year-old son, Ronald III, a junior at Emerson College, as the school board unanimously approved her three-year contract. Her employment commences Aug. 1.
Since 2011, Ms. Devine has been assistant principal at Mary G. Clarkson School, a K-2 elementary school in Bay Shore, where she was also coordinator for the Bay Shore School District’s universal pre-K program.
Previously, Ms. Devine had worked in Connetquot schools as an elementary teacher and later as a staff developer.
In addition to teaching, she served as an assistant director of labor relations for the Long Island Rail Road from 1985 to 1989 and a director of program development at Cornell University’s School of Industrial & Labor Relations from 1989 to 2003.
Ms. Devine earned a master’s degree in elementary science and literacy education from Dowling College and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from Hofstra University. She’s certified to teach both elementary and special education students and is currently writing her dissertation for the St. John’s University doctorate program.
We talked to Ms. Devine about her new role after last Thursday’s meeting. The following was excerpted from the conversation.
Q: What are your goals as the district’s elementary school principal?
A: One of my major priorities will be getting to know the students, teachers and families at Cutchogue East. I really want to see where everyone is at. I was interviewed by the student leadership team and was extremely impressed by some of the initiatives they’ve had just in this past year and I think I can learn from them as much as they can be learning from me. I really want to listen, see what’s happening in the building and take it from there. I don’t want to change things and move things around. It’s a successful school and I’m there to learn from them also.
The community of Mattituck-Cutchogue was really one of things that drew me most to this position. I did a walk-through of the school and it’s very apparent what a collaborative group of teachers are at Cutchogue East, and the children have been extremely friendly and inviting to me when I came into the building.
Q: How did you learn about the position?
A: I had known Anne [Smith] through different professional development circles. We were in Communities for Learning. She was there with her team from Mattituck and I was there representing Connetquot. She’s also a professor at St. John’s University and happened to teach one of my courses. I worked for three years as an assistant principal in Bay Shore. I do love the Bay Shore School District and, unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to have any principal openings at this time. In addition to working as an assistant principal for three years and completing my doctoral work, I felt I was ready for the next step. The Mattituck-Cutchogue School District’s philosophy and its vision were enticing to me. And considering Dr. Smith was going to be staying on as superintendent, I felt her leadership style and vision for the school district was something I paralleled along with.
Q: What’s the best way for parents to encourage their children to read and do their homework?
A: As far as reading is concerned, I think it’s important to read to your child when they’re young — read to them every night and have them read to you at the point they can be readers. It’s bringing the love of reading: They should see you reading, visiting the library, enjoying literacy from the very beginning. As far as homework, I was brought up to have a set time and place for homework. It’s important that the children learn very young about how to manage their time as far as their homework is concerned.
Q: What challenges do you anticipate in your new role?
A: I think right now the education field is in a constant pattern of change. There are so many things going on, coming down from state ed — whether it’s APPR, Common Core, the testing the children are being exposed to. It’s just a matter of being aware of what’s going on and what’s coming down from the state and being able to work with the teachers with those changes. The teachers are under a great deal of pressure now with all of the changes that are happening with the state on a daily basis, so I think my real challenge is making sure that we’re compliant with the regulations of the state, but also making sure that the teachers receive professional development — whether it’s the Common Core, APPR, whatever is necessary.
• Desiree Reese of Cutchogue has graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Stony Brook University, where she also made the spring dean’s list and received a Socratic Legacy Honor. She will continue her studies at SBU toward a master’s in social welfare.
• Caitlin Polistena, daughter of Deborah and Frank Polistena of Mattituck, was recently awarded an M.D. degree from New York Medical College in Valhalla. A 2007 graduate of Bowdoin College, she will move on to a residency in general surgery at Albert Einsten College of Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.
• Cara Slotkin of Laurel recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio.
• Christina Stankewicz of Peconic has graduated cum laude from St. Bonaventure (N.Y.) University with a bachelor’s degree in history. She will continue her studies toward a master’s degree at St. John’s University in Queens.
• The following local students were named to the spring dean’s list at Fairfield (Conn.) University: Christopher Burger of Cutchogue; Catherine Brabazon of Greenport; Laura Stakey of Laurel; Christine Angell, Abigail Gatz and Nicole Murphy of Mattituck; and Abigail Abrams and Sara Abrams of Southold.
• Dylan Hahn, son of Donna and David Hahn of Mattituck, was named to the spring semester dean’s list at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., where he is a freshman civil engineering major.
• John Dunne of Southold has graduated with distinction from SUNY/Maritime College with a bachelor’s degree in marine transportation and a U.S. Coast Guard third mate’s license-unlimited tonnage. He has been commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy and will report for naval aviator training in Pensacola, Fla., in October.
• Jonathan Borowy of Mattituck has been named to the spring semester dean’s list at SUNY/Brockport.
Chris Johnson of CJ’s American Grill in Mattituck gives the teens a cooking demonstration. (Credit: Claire Leaden)
A half dozen students competed in the inaugural teen cook-off at Mattituck High School on July 17. The event was sponsored by non-profit community group The North Fork Alliance Youth Advisory Council.
Judges from three local restaurants picked the winner.
Find out who won and more at northforker.com.
The Mattituck school board hopes to elect a president during a special meeting Thursday (Credit: Jennifer Gustavson file)
After the Mattituck board of education was unable to choose a president at its July 10 meeting because one member tried to participate via Skype, the board will be holding a special meeting next week to resolve the matter.
The board is scheduled to meet in person on Thursday, July 31 to pick a president. Until then, the board’s vice president Charlie Anderson is charged with running the meetings until a president is elected.
The meeting follows a heated argument between board members over accusations of breaking the state’s open meetings law at the July 10 reorganization meeting.
School board member Laura Jens-Smith objected to fellow board member Sarah Hassildine participating from Rochester via Skype, because the public notice for the meeting failed to include Ms. Hassildine’s location. Ms. Jens-Smith said she believes a district must notify the public 72 hours in advance if a member is going to participate from another location.
Ms. Hassildine later told The Suffolk Times that she supports current school board president Jerry Diffley and would have voted for him Thursday if she had been allowed to cast a vote.
She is expected to cast the deciding vote to re-elect him during Thursday’s special meeting at 6 p.m. in the Mattituck High School library.
The board is also scheduled to discuss staffing and hiring changes at the meeting. A full agenda is expected to be posted on Monday.
Leonard Skuggevik will be named superintendent of the Shelter Island School District, replacing Dr. Michael Hynes, sources say. (Credit: The Suffolk Times, file)
Greenport High School’s principal of the past five years is leaving to head the district on Shelter Island.
Leonard Skuggevik is set to be named to the full-time post of superintendent by the Shelter Island school board, replacing Dr. Michael Hynes, whose resignation from the position was effective last Friday.
Dr. Hynes is now superintendent in the Patchogue-Medford School District.
Members of the Shelter Island Board aren’t commenting on the appointment yet, but it was confirmed by educational sources aware of Mr. Skuggevik’s plans.
Mr. Skuggevik will become the second Greenport transfer to join the Shelter Island District.
In June, Todd Galluscio was appointed to the newly created position of dean of students and director of physical education and district operations. He was athletic director in Greenport before transferring to the Sag Harbor School district a few years ago as its director of athletics and personnel. He’s the son of Shelter Island math teacher Ginny Gibbs.
Details of Mr. Skuggevik’s contract were still being worked out, so there’s no information yet on his salary or other terms of his employment.
Prior to his appointment in Greenport, Mr. Skuggevik taught social studies in the Longwood School District in Middle Island.
Among his achievements in Greenport was implementation of a plan to improve attendance by requiring students to make up missed classes after school once they had exceeded more than five absences. Prior to implementation of that program, students could make up missed work on their own time but the result was too many students falling behind in their studies, he told the Greenport Board of Education, according to The Suffolk Times archives.
The district provides after school help in math, science, English and social studies.
“It’s not just get your work in,” Mr. Skuggevik told the board at the time. “It’s coming to school; work with a teacher and ensure that we’ve got you where you need to be.”
Students were banned from all after-school activities, sports, field trips and leaving school grounds for lunch until they made up their absences. Students missing classes due to an illness are exempt from the new rule because they receive home tutoring.
