Kingston parents and staff urge district to create sustainability director and plan

At the Kingston City School District board meeting, a string of public commenters urged trustees to create a district sustainability director and adopt a formal sustainability plan to coordinate building-level efforts.

Christina Pokorny, a parent and member of the Kingston Schools Green Team, told the board the district — which she described as serving about 6,500 students and 1,100 employees — “falls well short” of its stated sustainability goals. She cited a Kingston High School student project that found about 80 pounds of food wasted daily at that building and urged the board to establish a district sustainability director position and interim building sustainability stipends paired with a written sustainability plan.

Several other speakers backed the proposal. Hugo Dual, a volunteer with the Green Team, offered his professional experience in clean energy and urged the board to prioritize eliminating single-use plastics, pursue clean-energy projects and begin fleet electrification planning. Lisa Gray, a founding Green Team member and parent, recommended reallocating existing staff responsibilities and instituting paid stipend representatives at each school to oversee local composting and recycling efforts; she noted Chambers is the only school in the district currently piloting composting.

School staff and students also spoke in favor. Sophia Sagan, a Kingston High School staff member and co-advisor of a student environmental group, proposed a district-wide sustainability PTSO and a liaison role at each building to coordinate activity and report to the board. Student remarks included a call for the district to model sustainable practices so classroom climate education required under a newly announced New York State Regents learning requirement will reflect real-world practice.

Speakers proposed both short-term and longer-term steps: immediate reassignment or stipends for building leaders to start composting and recycling pilots, and a dedicated district-level hire to align procurement, transportation and curriculum work over time. Several commenters urged the board to formalize metrics and accountability so volunteer-led efforts do not remain siloed.

The board did not take formal action on the sustainability proposals at this meeting; public commenters were told their concerns could be addressed at a future meeting or by district staff follow-up.