By Katherine Kelton
The Miller Place Union Free School District Board of Education met on Oct. 30 and discussed the many approved constructions of the schools, ranging from elementary to high school. They also addressed school changes following a threat against the high school.
Superintendent Seth Lipshie shared safety plans for the school district, including using explosion detection canine searches at the high school and North Country Road Middle School. The searches will be unannounced.
Additionally, the district has employed armed guards at stations outside of each school. To enter any building, a person must have administrative permission and identification.
All staff will complete two tutorials: School Safety for New York and Student Mental Health. During the year, each school will have four lockdown drills.
For the Be Heard portion of the meeting, three concerned parents spoke about the threat against the school a week before the meeting, yet parents were not notified for days following. One parent said, “There’s really no excuse, in my opinion, for the fact that we were not notified last week.”
Another parent proposed that a committee review the Code of Conduct, including the word “threat,” as a violation against the school. She also wanted to develop a crisis management plan.
President Lisa Reitan also addressed a Be Heard from the last meeting, where a parent spoke about the summer assignments for AP and Honors classes. Reitan stated, “The district is compiling data about assigning summer projects for AP and Honors classes.” Many other high schools around Long Island, including Ward Melville, have been doing away with summer assignments due to parental complaints.
Trustee John Galligan attended the New York State Department of Education online meeting where regionalization was introduced. The department hopes to incentivize interdistrict cooperation over sharing education resources, such as the BOCES program. Although BOCES is already a shared resource for many Long Island schools, regionalization would provide subsidies for such schools.
Regionalization plans are to be created every five years. The first draft of the school planning process was due Nov. 1 and will be implemented in the 2026-2027 school year. The Department of Education also stated that there would be no attempt to consolidate school districts, something Reitan is concerned about. She said, “The biggest con is local control. We are Miller Place, y’know.”
School Business Official Colleen Card spoke about the recently approved revitalizations of the district’s schools. Most significant are the plans for Miller Place High School: a ventilation system, a new art room and showers for the boys’ locker room. Andrew Muller Primary School is wrapping up construction on the gymnasium with an upcoming fire marshal inspection. Andrew Muller also finished building a kindergarten playground. Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School recently installed a ventilation system as well.
Lipshie also recapped the district’s celebrations and news. The Safe Halloween event, held at the high school, was a great success at raising funds for the Miller Place UFSD. Boy’s varsity soccer earned a play-off qualification. Girls field hockey won the Division 2 Regular Season Championship and is now 16-2.
In upcoming events, Lipshie highlighted the sixth- and seventh-grade dance, the Miller Place Driver’s Safety Program, winter sports starting on Nov. 18 for the high school and Nov. 4 for the middle school and college admissions workshops. More information about the events can be found on the Miller Place School District website (www,millerplace.k12.ny.us).
The next BOE meeting will be Nov. 20, at approximately 8 p.m., at the Miller Place High School. — Photos courtesy Miller Place UFSD
