By Mary Jane Pitt
The Board of Education of the Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery Central School District heard a presentation from Superintendent of Schools Michael McElduff on his goals for the year ahead at its meeting on September 17. Submitting those goals, with an expected completion date on all of them, is required of superintendents every year.
Here’s what he detailed:
Establishing a District Advisory Committee: McElduff said he will establish a district advisory committee, with representation from each building, to strengthen teacher voice and initiative in shaping district-level decisions throughout the school year. At times, he added, students, parents and board members will be a part of the committee work.
Advancing the K-12 Curriculum Mapping Initiative: McElduff, with Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction & Technology Dr. Crystal Waterman and building administrators, will continue and advance the K-12 Curriculum Mapping initiative launched in 2025-26. That, he said, supports “vertical alignment, instructional consistency, and integration of the Portrait of a Graduate competencies across all district buildings”.
Strengthening Family and Community Connections: Expect to see him more! McElduff said he’ll increase his visibility and continue to work to build relationships with families and community stakeholders by hosting parent round table sessions and educational workshops throughout the school year. That, he said, will create additional opportunities for two-way communication between the district and the families it serves.
Strengthening Community Communications: Maintaining consistent, transparent communication with the community through bi-weekly district newsletters as well as quarterly community updates, “to keep families and stakeholders informed of district news, initiatives, and progress throughout the school year,” he said.
Developing a Five-Year Financial Plan: McElduff said he’ll work with the business office and district’s financial planner, RGT, to develop a comprehensive five-year financial plan which recognizes the uncertainty of district revenues, builds fund balance, and plans for future capital needs. A realistic timeline will be developed once the current audit is completed, “since long-term financial planning is dependent on that work being current”.
Developing Short- and Long-Term Facilities Plans: This will mean working collaboratively with the facilities director and assistant superintendent of business to develop both a short-term and long-term facilities maintenance and capital plan. This includes, he said, strategically planning for the turf field replacement project to be incorporated into the 2027-28 capital outlay budget.
Board members were receptive to McElduff’s goals. Board President Anne Lawless said leading up to the meeting, board members had reviewed the goals and got some clarification from McElduff on his plans. She said they appreciated the work McElduff had done in the process.
In other action from the meeting:
- At McElduff’s recommendation, the board awarded tenure to Kelley-Anne Lonergan in the School Social Worker tenure area, effective September 13. Her work in the district was lauded and expectation for “her future contributions to student learning and success” noted.
- A speech language pathologist, Jennifer Kimbiz, was appointed to a full-time position (she was previously employed by the district in the position); Rose Newman was appointed as an art teacher; William Gonzalez was appointed as a computer maintenance specialist; and Janeal Chertok (the district’s former speech pathologist) was appointed as a per diam substitute.
- The following coaches were appointed: Robert Duvall as JV boys’ soccer coach, Paul Podias as modified boys’ soccer coach, Darren Sorenson as the varsity girls’ basketball coach, and Jacqueline Wardynksi as modified volleyball co-coach.
- The board okayed a period of overlap between the outgoing (Christopher Carballo, effective October 2) and incoming (Kevin Liebertz, effective October 3) assistant superintendents for business to ensure continuity of the district’s financial operations, including but not limited to budget development, payroll and benefits administration, cash management, State aid claims, procurement and contract administration, and preparation for the annual external audit. They’ll have up to eight days to work together.