Here is the response received from John Cima, school board president for Pembroke for the questions we sent each individual board member of the school district. Cima said he was responding as school board president and the response reflected the views of the school board.
The school board members who failed to provide their own responses:
- John A. Cima
- Heather Wood
- Ed Levinstein
- Dan Lang
- Art Ianni
Do you support the District’s policy and reopening plan? Why or Why not?
As Board President of the Pembroke Central School District, I have been asked to give you our Board’s response. At Pembroke, and across the State, school boards operate as one unit not as individuals. We set policy and work in conjunction with the Superintendent and administrative team to effectively and efficiently operate our district. Individual opinions and ideas from all are listened to and discussed as we formulate policies and plans affecting the District as a whole. It is through these rich and respectful discussions that our policies and plans are developed. By adhering to this process, we examine situations and, in the end, develop policies and plans that we feel best meet the needs of our District. So, with that being said, our Board and the individuals who serve on our Board strongly believe in and support the District’s policy and reopening plan.
The reopening plan offers options to our school community to address various comfort levels while providing our students the challenging education and safe environment they richly deserve whether they choose virtual or in-person learning. We have also provided a structure to allow parents to change the initial option chosen for their children on a quarterly basis and our district the flexibility to adjust on the fly to a hybrid or 100% virtual model should the health numbers change.
No plan developed will completely satisfy everyone’s concerns but, we listened to all stakeholders and feel that our reopening plan comes very close to addressing those concerns in a manner providing educational opportunities and a safe environment for all of our students and staff.
What feedback have you received from parents in your district?
We have surveyed parents numerous times throughout the process of developing the reopening plan and used that feedback to effectively formulate the plan. The feedback received has been extremely positive. Also, the Superintendent and administrative team held a series of question and answer sessions via Zoom to answer questions and receive feedback. The valuable feedback has allowed for some tweaking of the plan to address concerns. Our Board feels strongly that the Superintendent and Administrative team has done a highly effective job communicating the elements and expectations of our district’s reopening plan and has welcomed the community feedback we have received,
