There will be a Special Meeting of the Board of Education at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26,  in the District Office at 115 Buckley St.

The board will vote on a brief agenda, which will be open to the public. There will be no other business.  The agenda will be available at Board Docs on Monday, Aug. 25.

The next regular meeting of the board will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9, in the HS Media Center.

Sullivan 180 will host its Empowering a Healthier Generation Celebration at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, in the Event Gallery at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.

During the event, Sullivan 180 will present more than $145,000 in awards recognizing the success of local schools in making healthy, meaningful change.

There will also be a special tribute to Sullivan BOCES Superintendent and Sullivan 180 Board Member Dr. Robert Dufour. Music will be provided by John Zanger.

Empowering a Healthier Generation engages Sullivan County public school in creating a culture of health and wellness among students, staff, parents and their communities.

Schools are eligible for Sullivan 180 grants to support and implement initiatives that advance wellness goals. Healthier Generation advisors serve as liaisons and coordinators for the work in their school building. The Empowering a Healthier Generation Celebration will honor all of the schools that have participated.

The public is invited to attend the celebration to support and celebrate their school community.

Those who wish to attend are asked to RSVP online at bit.ly/2025EHGRSVP by Sept. 5.

Bethel Woods is at 200 Hurd Road in Bethel.

Liberty Central School District will host its annual back-to-school community forum starting at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26, outside near the high school lobby entrance.

The forum will offer the Redhawk community a chance to hear updates on the LCSD strategic plan, District Comprehensive Improvement Plan and related plans, as well as the capital project and other building projects.

Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sullivan and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Derek Adams will also review security and visitor procedures, the Dignity for All Students Act policies and communication tools and procedures.

Administrators will also highlight changes for the upcoming school year, including expanded universal pre-k at LES, new programs to assist in curriculum management and student assessments, additional curricular programs at the middle and high school and the state-mandated cellphone and internet-enabled device policy, also known as the bell-to-bell cellphone-free policy.

There will also be a chance for attendees to ask questions at the end of the forum.

The forum will also be livestreamed. Questions may be submitted to questions@libertyk12.org

Join the Liberty Central School District for its first Great Pumpkin Dash 5K, held in conjunction with the Town of Liberty Parks and Recreation Department’s Fall Festival, on Saturday, Sept. 20, at Walnut Mountain.

The 5K mountain run/walk/hike will kick off events at 9 a.m. Individuals and teams are welcome. There is a  minimum donation of $5, with a suggestion donation of $20, per runner. Proceeds will go to Ride 2 Survive and the Liberty High School National Honor Society. Participants may sign up via a Google Form, but walk-ons are welcome. All donations will be collected the day of the event.

The Fall Festival will continue from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with food, bounce houses, hay rides, corn mazes, pumpkin picking and more at the park at 73 Mountain Road in Liberty.

Throughout the event, Liberty Central School District will be collecting donations for Fearless, a not-for-profit agency in Orange and Sullivan County dedicated to assisting survivors of domestic violence, teen dating violence and human trafficking by providing free and confidential services.

Food within the expiration date and new and unused personal care products will be accepted.

Potential donations include:

• Food: Rice; pasta and pasta sauce; rice or pasta meal mixes (items similar to Rice-A-Roni, Pasta Roni, Hamburger Helper, etc.); canned vegetables, beans and fruit; all-purpose flour, sugars, artificial sweeteners; seasonings and Spices, adobo, sazón, chicken/beef/ham bouillon; mashed potato mix, canned potatoes; nut butters, jelly/jam; canned/boxed soups and stews; canned tuna and chicken, Vienna sausages; basic condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, hot sauce, BBQ sauce, and mayonnaise; shelf-stable microwavable meals; breakfast cereals (low sugar) and oatmeal; pancake mix and syrup; fruit and pudding cups; granola bars, snack crackers, and other individually-wrapped snacks; 100% juice boxes or pouches; shelf-stable milk; cake and muffin mixes, cake frosting, gelatin and pudding mix.
• Personal care products: Feminine hygiene products: (tampons, pads, panty liners); full-Size toiletries (please, no travel or “hotel” size): (Soap, Body Wash, lotions, shaving cream, toothpaste, deodorant, cotton balls, cotton swaps); diverse hair care products: (shampoo, conditioners, gels, anti-breakage treatments, etc.); hairbrushes and Combs (bristle hairbrushes, synthetic or detangler style brushes, wide-tooth combs); and hair accessories (hair ties, bobby pins, clips, head wraps).
  The rain date will be Sunday, Sept. 21.

For more information on the 5K or Fearless donations, email Liberty Central School District Community Schools Coordinator Katlyn Rusin at krusin@libertyk12.org.

For more information on the festival or to be a vendor, contact Parks and Rec at 845-292-7690 or p.r.dept@townofliberty.org.

Dear Parent/Guardian,

The Liberty Central School District (the “District”) is committed to ensuring that all students receive the supports and services they need to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. The District recognizes its obligation of providing a Free Appropriate Public Education (“FAPE”) to all eligible students and continues to align its practices with the requirements set forth by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) and New York State Education Law.

Recently, the New York State Education Department (“SED”) released guidance and a New York State appellate court issued a decision concerning New York State public schools’ obligation to provide special education and related services to resident students with disabilities up until the student’s 22nd birthday. Effective with the 2026–2027 school year, the District will provide special education and related services to students with disabilities only to the extent required by applicable federal and New York State law.

If you have any questions regarding your child’s special education services, or how this notice may affect your child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP), please do not hesitate to contact the Office of Student Services.

We remain committed to collaborating with families to ensure the success of all students.

Sincerely,

Deborah DeGraw

Director of Student Services

Dear Parents and Guardians,

In accordance with New York State’s Sex Offender Registration Act, local law enforcement agencies will, at their discretion, notify school administrators of  sex offenders living or working in this district. Such information may include the offender’s address or zip code, photograph, crime of conviction, modus of operation, type of victim targeted and the description of any special conditions imposed on the offender.

The information the district receives from local law enforcement will be posted in an appropriate location in all district buildings, and will be available to you upon request. This information can also be located on the Liberty Central School District website at www.libertyk12.org where the link to the NYS Sex Offender Registry is updated continually and the District policy 5450.1 Notification of Sex Offenders is located. In addition, any information received will be circulated to all staff that might come into contact with the offender in the course of doing their jobs, including Building Principals, staff who issue visitors’ passes, bus drivers, custodians, playground monitors and coaches. All other staff members will be informed of the availability of the information. Staff have been directed to notify their supervisor if they observe any suspicious person(s) in an area where children congregate, and law enforcement officials will be notified in cases where the circumstances warrant it.

We are dedicated to the safety of our children while they’re in school. All of our schools have strict sign-in/sign-out procedures for our students, and all visitors must first report to the school’s main office for a visitor’s pass. In addition, our school curriculum includes teaching personal safety and stranger awareness skills.

We encourage you to talk to your children about personal safety. Books and other resources are available from school counselors, if necessary.
Specific questions about this matter may be directed to Police Officer Christopher Orlando at Liberty Police Department, 159 North Main St., Liberty, NY 12754 – Phone: 845-292-4422 or to any School Resource Officer.

Please be assured that the school district will continue to take responsible and appropriate measures to protect our students.

Sincerely,
Patrick Sullivan
Dr. Patrick Sullivan

Dear Liberty families,

As you may be aware, New York State passed a law prohibiting students from accessing cellphones and internet-enabled-devices during the school day on school property, with few exceptions.

The law was passed to help reduce distractions and increase student engagement, as well as support student mental health.

We have created a policy and have a plan in place to address this issue. The full policy and plan can be found on our website.

The policy states that, unless there is an approved exception, middle school and high schools students must silence their phones and store them and other prohibited devices in their lockers. We discourage our elementary students from bringing devices to school, but if they do, the devices must be stored in their cubbies.

Students will have access to their school-provided Chromebooks and other devices.

We understand parents and guardians need to be able to reach their students during the school day. Students and their parents and guardians can communicate via the district-provided email or via phone at their schools main office.

If a student is found with a prohibited device, the student will be asked to place the device in their locker or cubby. A second offense will result in the device being stored in the main office, with a parent or guardian notified and the student able to retrieve their device at the end of the school day. A third and subsequent offence will result in the phone being stored at the main office and a parent or guardian must retrieve the device. Further offenses will result in the devices being stored at the office daily for longer periods of time.  Administrators will also discuss the goal of the policy with students and their parents or guardians, the benefits of a distraction-free environment, the reasons the student had difficulty following this policy, and how the district can help the student contribute to a distraction-free environment. Students will not be suspended based solely on violation of this policy. However, the district may use consequences under the district’s Code of Conduct, including detention, in-school suspension and exclusion from extracurricular activities. Assignments on the detrimental impact of social media on mental health, smartphones in school, or other relevant topics may also be issued.

The district will also monitor enforcement of the policy and publish an annual report beginning in September 2026.

We appreciate the feedback provided by families earlier this year. To address some of the questions and concerns raised, a FAQ sheet is available on the district website. The issue will also be addressed at our annual back-to-school community forum, which will be held at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26, outside the High School Library.

If you have questions, please look over the FAQs, attend the forum or email questions@libertyk12.org.

Sincerely,

Dr. Patrick Sullivan
Superintendent

Liberty Elementary School’s annual 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony: Honoring the Past, Present and Future, will take place at 8:45 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 11.

All past and present firefighters, police officers and EMTs are invited to the ceremony. Those who wish to attend are asked to RSVP to Samantha Davis at SDavis1@libertyk12.org by Wednesday, Sept. 3.

The ceremony will take place at LES at 201 N. Main St. in Liberty.