[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6213576,"mediaKeyId","3676378-10675cb39b53fcc8f14d42ae6e07780c","parentId",3676378,"title","Bethlehem board approves 21 professional personnel items and recognizes tenured staff","audioSeconds",102,"startMs",436000,"endMs",538000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3676378-10675cb39b53fcc8f14d42ae6e07780c&start=436&end=538","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3676378-10675cb39b53fcc8f14d42ae6e07780c/thumbnail_436000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6213576/New-York/Bethlehem-board-approves-21-professional-personnel-items-and-recognizes-tenured-staff","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6213576-18df3755e5cf3b893dec3fce6ce260ad/orig.mp4?Expires=1771135839&Signature=LiLGCfDX5DopjseraX8qqs-PdQJTdIn2KZtRADmVjQJ3GMGx4LCF2Xt6rWKUf0fQXpuUhmXbKbG54DXMeJFZcC7n7-nSQThAvN7rTup-WBbu2wnYzvfltZuGeaCS6OB1zHvEWRXiexFFFkTrlbmKXfaVUvP5cq-94iFJ6l2t3avbC7AS1~yYq7BP8tQh5ujlLRd8a1z~VPewH3MBJcMtRMRkbstNJhSHFCUxJ4jaDAMmOSEUiLK~ilNGGMmisnqaoItKLatPqCwGZ-c2~iCVNPrP2Fqv6YtLCumoFYvMxKPjOoGAJmioh-WXmQf8WgXP7y32FnAqvGOzagQNd~YnQg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-06-05T16:06:51.183Z","article","The Board of Education unanimously approved the superintendent’s recommendation to accept professional personnel action items 1 through 21, which included tenure appointments, the board clerk announced during the meeting.

The board first took a voice vote on the personnel slate; the clerk recorded an affirmative voice vote and said, “That motion carries.” The meeting included a public recognition of teachers and staff receiving tenure and of 10‑year employees; the superintendent and staff presented certificates and brief photos for the honorees.

A roll call of individual votes was not recorded in the public transcript excerpt provided. The superintendent and board thanked recipients; several names were read aloud during the recognition portion of the meeting, including Deborah Anderson (art), Andy Baker (elementary principal), Mackenzie Freeworth (guidance counseling), Kaylee Hafner (library media specialist), Jessica Hallock (mathematics), Dan Hash (English language arts supervisor), Emily Judah (art), Ian Knox (elementary principal), Mike Kotcher (special education), Sarah Laster (remedial reading), Samantha Link (elementary education), Tom Maldonado (health), Dre Martone (elementary education), Grace McDermott (guidance counselor), Goll McGrath (elementary education), Rebecca McElveen (foreign language), Matt Melnikov (special education), Hannah Metzold (elementary education), Tom Nicholas (science), Cara Qualia (elementary education), Taylor Stoddard (elementary education), Amanda Wilson (elementary education), and Katie Zinecki (elementary education).

During the meeting clerk’s review of personnel items, board members noted a corrected start date for one new hire; the agenda had been updated to reflect the corrected 09/01/2025 start date for Mackenzie Barrett (the correction was noted as being reflected in the agenda packet). The board carried the motion to approve the personnel items by voice vote.

No amendments or roll‑call vote details were recorded in the public excerpt; the personnel approvals were presented as recommended by the superintendent and approved by the board.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","BCSD Board of Education meeting 6/4/2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Board of Education approved 21 professional personnel action items, including tenure appointments, and held a recognition for 10‑year employees and newly tenured staff.","taxTitle","BETHLEHEM CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, School Districts, New York","taxId",57191,"location","New York","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6213581,"Parent urges board to reverse decision moving eight special‑education students for final middle‑school year",343,3309000,3652000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3676378-10675cb39b53fcc8f14d42ae6e07780c&start=3309&end=3652","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3676378-10675cb39b53fcc8f14d42ae6e07780c/thumbnail_3309000.jpg","/articles/6213581/New-York/Parent-urges-board-to-reverse-decision-moving-eight-specialeducation-students-for-final-middleschool-year","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6213581-f1bf7405b3d8f9e616480d231803f1e6/orig.mp4?Expires=1771135839&Signature=QaUfur9j1-eqzNhnSX7DAPDCMui300XYBan5brsO0UuZ6h6CFiWTAMu2ds2KRMgRiua114I8hB5A8F5yimLA2cBBPjz~y7riV65dI6xSyRAn7gPBa~V-y7x8-vVFlzYeyIGM5c8yfC8CJSX-K2YyppnQb9ktQWee53EzRnT3bSG1kmh5DBBzkQw2KSx7bcFVznfZQzPXMycF260rhFmOnutP3WgWY1CntOJz-j-GarDE9M~kKYQhKkop39roHcE2rGYDgfaYxIrfN8z0rmb7giQpZJlQMak-pwfM9ws-kujJuIsKdy0PBZaNYOAAOUe5gYPDijHDI76qfxu3pUIrUQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Eileen Deizer, a parent and the middle‑school representative for the district’s newly formed Special Education Parent Teacher Association, asked the Board of Education to reverse a decision that will move two DCT special‑education classrooms and eight students out of Patroon and onto the Hudson team for their eighth‑grade year.

Deizer said the students will lose the familiarity and routines they rely on, calling the change “not equitable” and “harmful” even though she acknowledged the district is following FAPE (free appropriate public education) requirements. She asked the board to provide stability for the students and to reconsider the administrative decision.

In public comment, Deizer described attending a sixth‑grade orientation where teams (Hudson, Mohawk and Patroon) were presented as a stable “home” for students through middle school. She said her son and seven other students were scheduled to remain on Patroon but were told by administration they would be placed on Hudson for their final middle‑school year. Deizer said she met with middle‑school principal Mike Klugman, her son’s resource‑room teacher and the assistant director of special education and appreciated their responsiveness, but argued the decision should not have been made.

She said the reassignment will require these students to adapt to new staff, routines and classmates at a difficult academic and developmental moment and that the move appears to single out special‑education students for disruption that general‑education students would not face. Deizer asked the board to “step in” and reverse the reassignment and warned that special‑education families are mobilizing and that the issue has gained attention on local social media.

The transcript records Deizer’s request but shows no formal board motion or vote on the matter during this meeting. The board did not announce an immediate reversal; the item remained in public comment with an invitation to the board to follow up.","A parent urged the Bethlehem Central School District Board to rescind an administration decision to move two DCT special‑education classrooms (eight students) off their Patroon team to Hudson for eighth grade, calling the change disruptive and inequitable despite the district's compliance with FAPE.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6213585,"Bethlehem to offer universal free school meals under Provision 2 next school year",1371,1607000,2978000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3676378-10675cb39b53fcc8f14d42ae6e07780c&start=1607&end=2978","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3676378-10675cb39b53fcc8f14d42ae6e07780c/thumbnail_1607000.jpg","/articles/6213585/New-York/Bethlehem-to-offer-universal-free-school-meals-under-Provision-2-next-school-year","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6213585-9235b161bb3a0f8812cf52f4537f6ca3/orig.mp4?Expires=1771135839&Signature=EILdvP70~t7j4EUdw7NBCdd7oJldACF7XIDw4Z6pSaaO6OWaJBJw7eggrJ4NaGrZVQvD2Kgu23ONgujavqFDSappzbOetd-oKPCSGHziT3V7T-q14mCgARwUDSbGBI8M6ZD9Eo7BQsPmxWOnV~aSekhfbj8ZZF55SZYUKQOy4-o7rd6w~BTq8qZiJNX5WcRISsvCfmY09tlu0ddANZcWgfw9~Jedf4ilRGpLGcsnJlkIkpnjG5idbGnN~-9r3sTW-zC7rZ6ejFGWHqUCKY6TFeB97lUKe3fhVIoQXzPsq0nCexgPfJhO2hCE1geL79PsbJwJWNUOehCwxRjR1w2Iyw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Bethlehem Central School District will offer universal free breakfast and lunch to every student in the 2025–26 school year under Provision 2, the district’s food service director told the Board of Education.

The district’s food service director said the change follows state budget action that makes universal free meals available statewide and that the district will operate year 1 (the “base year”) in 2025–26, during which all students will eat for free while the district continues to collect free-and-reduced-price lunch applications to set reimbursement levels for years 2–4.

The move matters because it changes how meals are funded and counted. The director explained that Bethlehem has not met the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) threshold in prior years (CEP requires 25% identified students; Bethlehem was about 15.6% free in the presentation). Under Provision 2, all students receive free meals during the base and subsequent non‑base years and the state will cover the funding gap beginning in 2025–26 so meals are reimbursed at the free reimbursement rate.

The director outlined operational and financial implications. She said meal counts could rise substantially — noting that in the 2021–22 school year, when meals were free during the pandemic, the district served about 127,000 more meals than in 2023–24, and that meal counts could increase roughly 42% compared with recent normal years. Using current reimbursement rates (the district does not yet have 2025–26 rates), the director estimated a projected $400,000 increase in reimbursement revenue and revised the food-products budget to $915,000. After those projections she said the program is expected to roughly break even in 2025–26 with a small net gain (about $5,900) and that a general‑fund subsidy would likely not be needed at year‑end.

The director emphasized that eligibility determination during the base year matters because federal and state reimbursement shares differ by eligibility category; she urged families to complete the free‑and‑reduced application after it becomes available (she said it will be online sometime after July 1) to maximize federal reimbursement. She also noted other benefits to qualifying for free/reduced status beyond meal pricing, including possible fee waivers and graduation cap and gown supports.

On operations, the director said the district will likely start with a simplified menu, expect longer lunch lines and may need investments in storage, small wares and staffing capacity. She described a change already used at elementary schools — a “straight serve” breakfast to speed service — and said principals and staff are planning additional serving‑line efficiencies. A la carte items (second meals, snacks, drinks) will still require payment and families may need to maintain lunch accounts for those purchases; account balances will carry forward to the next school year. For students with allergies or intolerances, families should contact the school nurse to arrange accommodations, the director said.

Board members asked how the change affects local‑food purchases and prior grant funding. The director said a recent local‑food grant has ended and so some local purchases may decline, though a high‑school garden and a produce distributor will still supply local items. She said the district expects no decrease in overall meal quality and that kosher, halal and vegetarian options will continue or be added through a local distributor that provides individually wrapped kosher/halal options.

The board asked about long‑term cost coverage; the director acknowledged raw food and labor costs historically exceed reimbursements and said she plans to simplify menus and scale back certain items to manage costs. The director also cautioned that final reimbursement rates for 2025–26 are set later (she expected them in July) and her financial projections used current rates as an estimate.

The presentation closed with the director reiterating practical next steps for families and the district: the free/reduced application when posted after July 1, optional meal‑account alerts for families who do not want students to buy a la carte items, and continued operational planning with principals and staff to manage increased meal volumes.","The Bethlehem Central School District presented details about implementing universal free meals for all students in 2025–26 under USDA Provision 2, outlining funding, operations, projected meal counts and impacts on staffing, equipment and revenues.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Bethlehem board approves 21 professional personnel items and recognizes tenured staff

Parent urges board to reverse decision moving eight special‑education students for final middle‑school year

Bethlehem to offer universal free school meals under Provision 2 next school year