By Holly Crocco After months of drafting and debating, the Carmel School Board on March 10 adopted a policy that prohibits fraternization between school employees and students. Policy 2968 reads, in summary, that the relationship between district staff and students needs to be professional, ethical, free of bias, conductive to learning, have appropriate boundaries, and be free of any behavior that could lead to the appearance of impropriety. Inappropriate grooming or dating,

By Holly Crocco The Garrison Union Free School Board got its first look at the proposed $15.3 million budget for the 2026-27 school year during its March 4 meeting. According to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Greg Stowell, in drafting the budget, administration sought to stay within the state-mandated property tax cap, address infrastructure needs, maintain staffing levels, pilot new literacy programs, and invest in its proposed outdoor learning space – all while being mindful

This rendering by CPL Architects shows the vision for an outdoor educational learning space at the Garrison Union Free School District. By Holly Crocco The Garrison Union Free School District is considering developing an outdoor educational learning space on forested property that has been deeded to the district over the past 70 years. “This is something that, obviously, there is a lot of interest in and the board is very excited about,” said Garrison School Board President D

Carmel school buses currently park in a lot that is partially mud and dirt, at Kent Elementary School. By Holly Crocco The Carmel Central School District is considering putting a transportation capital reserve project before voters in May, which would renovate the bus lot currently in use at Kent Elementary School – at no cost to taxpayers.. According to Superintendent of Schools Michael Plotkin, the district is seeking to use between $2 million and $2.5 million in capital re

By Holly Crocco Both the Carmel and Brewster school boards last week unanimously approved resolutions to make a boundary line change that would place an incoming development entirely within the Brewster Central School District. In exchange, Carmel Central School District will be gifted several properties. Camarda Realty Investments is in the process of developing 185 acres between Putnam Plaza and Route 312 in the Town of Carmel, with Gateway Summit to offer age-restricted se

JFK students who are celebrating a birthday or half-birthday line up to get a book from the Bear-thday Book Vending Machine. Students at JFK Elementary School in Brewster hear a special announcement come over the PA system Friday afternoons: “Students who are celebrating their birthday or half-birthday, please go to the cafeteria for your bear-thday book!” The Bear-thday Book Vending Machine will eventually allow every student in the school to choose a birthday book to keep f

Fulmar Road Elementary School students in Mahopac try their hand at “Ice hockey." Professional athletes aren’t the only ones who want in on the Olympics excitement. Fulmar Road Elementary School kindergartners in Mahopac recently celebrated the Winter Olympics with an opening ceremony parade through the school hallways, greeted by cheers from older students along the way. Representing their home classrooms, students wore blue, red, yellow or green and proudly waved paper flag

The Mahopac School Board rose to its feet in announcing that it unanimously supported a member who works for ICE, and who some community members said should be removed. By Holly Crocco The Mahopac School Board was unanimous in stating last week that it would not be seeking to remove a board member due to his day job. “The board of education stands united behind Trustee Chris Harrigan and will not be entertaining his removal,” said President Michael Mongon at the board’s Jan.

By Rob Sample The Garrison Union Free School Board voted unanimously Jan. 7 to approve an amended district-wide safety plan. The amended plan adds a special patrol officer for the district, through a contract with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, as well as a cardiac-response plan crafted in response to new state legislation. The newly adopted safety plan can be viewed at www.gufs.org . A special patrol officer is a retired police officer who is responsible for school secu

Matthew Paterson students show off their projects. Provided photos. Learning about the Middle Ages is part of the fourth grade curriculum at Carmel Central School District. To bring that curriculum to life, students at Matthew Paterson Elementary School recently showed one another what they learned about the medieval period. The students had to pick a topic – castles and knights, lord of the manor or serf, medieval village, etc. – and decide how to present it to the class. Th

From left are Mahopac High School Principal Patrick Keevins, Mahopac School Board Trustee Tanner McCracken, Acting Superintendent Frank Miele, and Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction Matthew Lawrence. A proposal by Mahopac School Board Trustee Tanner McCracken to make personal financial literacy a graduation requirement for all students was approved unanimously at the board’s Nov. 18 meeting – making Mahopac the first school district in New York State to hav

By Holly Crocco Not for the first time in recent years, residents of the Carmel Central School District were drawn to a school board meeting to address inflammatory comments made by a board member that seemingly attacked minority members of the community. Following the Nov. 4 election of Zohran Mamdani as the first Muslim mayor of New York City, Trustee Michael Torpey posted a video on Facebook in which he stated: “So New York City, congratulations and thank you for doing you

The pink line represents the boundary line between the Brewster and Carmel schools, which bisects individual housing units being developed as part of the Gateway Summit (blue) and Fairways (orange) in Carmel. By Holly Crocco A housing development under construction in the Town of Carmel that straddles the boundary line between the Brewster and Carmel school districts – not only dissecting streets, but in some cases, homes – has the districts negotiating over the potential stu

C.V. Star students in Danielle Michielini’s art class created an exhibit to recognize International Dot Day, which was featured on “Good...

Students across New York State went back to school last week, with a promising 2025-26 school year ahead of them. At Mahopac Central...

By Holly Crocco The Brewster Central School District is continuing its efforts to make sure every student enrolled is one that lives...

By Holly Crocco Mahopac Central School District residents expressed disappointment in the school board and administration’s apparent...

High school seniors weren’t the only ones to wear a graduation cap last month. Here, universal pre-kindergarten students in Brewster...

More than 1,000 Putnam County seniors turned their tassels last month to mark the completion of their high school careers. Here, Carmel...

By Holly Crocco During a June 17 revote, residents of the Mahopac Central School District approved the 2025-26 budget by a tally of 1,498...

By Holly Crocco The Putnam County Legislature has unanimously approved an initiative to develop an early learning center and enter into a...

The rededication of the Clifton Watson Memorial Grove at Kent Elementary School on May 29 was a celebration of an educator who led the...

The Mahopac Central School District will hold a budget revote June 17 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., in the high school gymnasium. The district...

By Holly Crocco The Mahopac Central School District was the only one in Putnam County to have its proposed 2025-26 budget voted down by...

After serving less than one year with the Carmel Central School District, Dr. Erin Meehan-Fairben announced last week that she will be...

By Rob Sample The Carmel School Board unanimously approved a $147 million budget for the 2025-26 school year – a 3.9 percent or $141...