Summer vacation for Newburgh students was just extended.

At a hastily called Monday morning meeting, the Board of Education of the Newburgh Enlarged City School District approved a request by Acting Superintendent Ed Forgit to delay the first day of instruction until Thursday, September 9. Classes were originally scheduled to begin on September 1.

Forgit said a directive was received from the New York State Department of Health (DOH) on Friday that mandated six-foot distancing for those not wearing a mask. The district had been preparing for three-foot distancing.

While mask-wearing is normally mandated for anyone inside a school building, regardless of vaccination status, exceptions are when students are eating, drinking, singing, or playing a wind instrument. On Saturday, Forgit said the district received an email from the Governor’s office, reversing the distancing back to three-feet, but anticipated there might be revised guidance coming from the DOH later this week.

“We want to make sure our buildings are up to par and ready for our students to come back,” Forgit told the school board. “In order for us to stay true to the expectations, we are requesting that you change the opening of school, from Sept. 1 to Sept 9.”

The change in scheduled means that Wednesday and Thursday, September 1 and 2, will now be Superintendent’s Conference Days. Friday, September 3, will be declared a pandemic emergency day and the district will be closed, with the exception of some essential personnel. Forgit said the district is allowed to have up to four superintendent’s conference days each year and had already had two in the school calendar. School holidays had already been scheduled for Monday, September 6 (Labor Day) and Tuesday and Wednesday, September 7 and 8 (religious holiday).

Originally, only the 7th, the first day of Rosh Hashanah was scheduled to be a holiday, but the school board added the second day last week at the request of former school board member David Rein.

Forgit said the additional time will enable the district to solidify mitigation strategies. Additionally, the district is still negotiating with the Newburgh teacher’s Association over the details in administering COVID tests to non-vaccinated staff. The extra time also enables the district to process an influx of new registrants. Forgit reported that 500 new students were registered to the district during the month of August and, this past Friday, 150 new students were placed in a single building alone.

Forgit said the plan is still for 100 percent in-classroom learning, except for those students who have tested positive for Coronavirus, and those defined as “medically fragile.” All others should be in a classroom.

“Are we looking at last year’s model of virtual learning?,” Forgit asked. “Not at this point.”