Port Jervis superintendent reports summer school, construction progress and district office renovations
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Summary
Superintendent John Bell told the board that K–12 summer school is underway at East Main Street, phase 4 construction continues with HVAC and roof work, IT has relocated to Pike Street district office space, and the business office reported $3.5 million in savings applied to ongoing capital work.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Bell told the Port Jervis City School District Board of Education on July 8 that the districtK–12 summer school program began July 7 at the East Main Street building, with younger students on lower floors and older students upstairs. Bell said some courses are for credit recovery, some to accelerate students into higher-level courses, and that the air-conditioned space improves conditions for staff and students.
Bell gave a summer construction update for the districtcapital project, reporting that phase 4 work has begun: the HPE roof is complete, classrooms are being reworked to replace unit ventilators (providing new heat and ventilation), and high school and middle-school roof work is starting with rubber resurfacing planned later in the year. Bell cautioned that full air-conditioning at some spaces will not be available at the start of the school year because additional electrical work is required; air conditioning installation will follow later in the schedule.
Bell said the districtIT department has moved into space vacated at Pike Street when Catholic Charities closed its Hudson Valley offices. The district is renovating the former IT space into a permanent boardroom so meetings can be held at the district office instead of setting up and taking down cafeteria configurations daily. The Pike Street parking lot will be repaved later this summer and the building roof resurfaced in the fall, Bell said.
Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Dr. Natasha Woffowicz reported that district curriculum-writing teams have begun summer work: K–5 teachers are engaged in an “inter reading” initiative, staff are preparing a migration of curriculum mapping from New York StateLearns to a platform called Tahoe that integrates with PowerSchool, and the district is piloting AI-assisted tools for secondary planning. Woffowicz also said many K–5 teachers are participating in optional Inter-Reading professional development and some staff will attend PLC training in Rochester.
Assistant Superintendent for Business reported that payment applications for phases 1–3 of the capital project are complete and the district is preparing a final cost report to recoup state aid. The business office said about $3,500,000 remained under budget from earlier phases and will be applied to phase 4 to accelerate work.
Board members thanked staff for graduation efforts and congratulated students. Superintendent Bell and district staff noted several summer camps and athletics programs running this summer and outlined plans to confirm summer-school graduation timing in August.
No formal board action was required for the operations updates; these were provided as administrative reports during the regular business meeting.
