Parents, students urge Kingston board to keep middle-school activity and extended periods amid bus-run review

Parents, students and community members urged the Kingston City School District board on June 23 to retain middle-school activity and extended periods after families learned—mainly through other parents—of a possible schedule change tied to efforts to make bus runs more efficient.

The public-comment period lasted roughly 30 minutes and featured multiple students who said the activity and extended periods are vital for making up work, receiving one-on-one help and participating in clubs. "Activity and extended really helped me to adjust to a new school, make new friends, learn new things," Eliza, a fifth-grade student, told the board. Another student said losing those periods would mean missing orchestra lessons and make group practices "nearly impossible."

Parents described abrupt, confusing communications from the district and urged board members to consider alternatives before cutting programming. "If implemented, this would effectively eliminate the activity period, and many of them return opportunities that make middle school a positive experience for so many children," Mariel Fiore, a PTO member and parent, said. Several speakers also raised equity concerns for students with IEPs and for working families who rely on late buses and after-school programs.

During the superintendent's report, district leadership sought to calm immediate concerns. The superintendent said all students who had been accepted and selected for the Hudson Valley PTECH program—"there was 23 total students"—are expected to attend in the fall and that the district is not removing itself from PTECH. He said district staff are examining transportation options and that "the savings in transportation alone is probably in the $2,000,000 range," adding that activity period "will not be eliminated next year; your 9th and your 10th period will not be eliminated." Those comments were framed as status updates, not final board action.

Board members and staff discussed possible operational changes—including moving from a three-tiered to a two-tiered bus-run system, rerouting buses, and better data collection on bus loads—to shorten routes and use buses more efficiently. Administrators said those options are being studied and that communication practices would be reviewed to avoid repeating the recent community confusion.

The meeting record shows no formal vote to change schedules during this session. Rather, the superintendent and administrators characterized the work as ongoing transportation and scheduling reviews; parents and students asked the board to preserve current activity and extended periods and to solicit wider community input before any final decision.

The board accepted multiple public comments and said it will follow up on several questions; the district also pledged clearer communications in the coming weeks.