At dismissal today, April 23, a student at the middle school was seen using a neon green cap gun. The toy was immediately taken away from the student. At no time was there any danger to staff or students. The situation is being dealt with according to the Liberty CSD Code of Conduct.

The district reminds families that, per the Code of Conduct, weapons, or items that appear to be a weapon, are not to be brought onto school property.

For the seventh consecutive year, Liberty Central School District has been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from the NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education.

To qualify for the Best Communities designation, Liberty answered detailed questions about funding, instructional time, participation rates, facilities and community support. To uphold the program’s rigor and credibility, all applications were independently reviewed and verified by WolfBrown, a leading research and evaluation firm specializing in education and the arts.

“Music education is essential education,” LCSD Director of Music Eric Aweh said. “Creativity, discipline and emotional expression as well as cognitive and motor skills are all enhanced through music.”

Liberty musicians and vocalists take part in a variety of events throughout the year, including concerts, ensembles, parades, all-county and all-state events, and the Liberty Jazz Festival, which unfortunately was canceled due to weather this year. The district did host the Sullivan County All-County Music Festival in March

The spring concert series will begin next month with the Liberty High School Mixed Spring concert on May 6., followed by the Grades 7-8 Spring concert on May 12, and  the LHS Honors concert on May 14. The series will conclude with the Elementary Spring concert on June 1. All concerts will be at 6:30 p.m. in the High School auditorium. The annual Liberty Music and Community Fest will be at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 10, in Lapolt Park in Liberty

“It is important for schools to foster an understanding—and love—of music in our students,” Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sullivan said. “The NAMM Foundation’s continued recognition of our dedication to providing a quality music education where that understanding and love can bloom is appreciated.”

Now in its 27th year, the Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students. The NAMM Foundation is a nonprofit supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants. For more information about The NAMM Foundation, visit www.nammfoundation.org.

The Fourth Annual Cinco de Mayo Festival, hosted by Liberty Rising, will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 2, in downtown Liberty.

The event will feature food, entertainment, traditional dances and more.
For more information, call 845-292-5111, or 845-798-9815 for Spanish speakers.

There will be a special meeting of the Board of Education at 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 28,  in the District Office at 115 Buckley St. in Liberty. 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, April 27.

The next regular meeting of the board will be Tuesday, May 5, in the HS Media Center, following the annual Budget Hearing in the HS Auditorium at 6 p.m.

The Liberty Public Library, in partnership with Sullivan County Public Health,  will host a bilingual storytime at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 2.

The event will include stories, songs, crafts and free snacks. No registration is needed.

The library is at 189 N. Main St. in Liberty. For more information, visit the library’s website or visit Sullivan Public Health’s Facebook page.

Information sessions planned

The Liberty Central School District Board of Education approved a $72 million budget for the 2026-27 school year  that includes no tax levy increase.

The proposed $72,032,104 budget increases spending 5.14%, or $3,523,742 and would fund all current student programs and services while accounting for increases in costs such as health care, transportation and contractual obligations.

Based on the governor’s budget proposal’s state aid projections, the district expects an overall increase in state aid of about $1.1 million, with the tax lex levy remaining at $17,760,162.

The district will have several opportunities for residents to learn more about the proposed budget.

Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sullivan will host a series of informational sessions before the public vote from 11 a.m  to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 19,  in the high school media center at 125 Buckley St.

He will present the budget to the Liberty Town Board during its meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 4, in the Senior Citizen Center at 119 N. Main St.

The following day, Tuesday, May 5, will be the official budget public hearing, which will be held in the High School auditorium, at 125 Buckley St. in Liberty. The public hearing will also be livestreamed.

The next opportunity will be “Budget, Dinner and a Concert” on Thursday, May 14, starting at 5 p.m. in the High School Media Center. Pizza will be served, and the public is invited to the High School Honors Concert starting at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium.

The series will conclude with a budget talk at the New Munson Diner at 12 Lake St. The public is invited to bring any budget questions to Dr. Sullivan between 8 and 10 a.m. Friday, May 15.

Full information about the budget will be available on the district’s budget page.

County Petroleum and Animal Hospital of Sullivan County will host a litter pluck around Liberty starting at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, May 17. There will be doughnuts and coffee in the morning at registration, which will be held at the Liberty Skate Park, and lunch at the end and bags are returned to be place in a Dumpster. There will be drop offs around Liberty.

All Liberty residents are invited to participate. To register, call Jack at 845-292-6711 or Mitchell at 845-292-4550.

Cub Scout Pack 1717 Lion’s Den is hosting an Art Supply Drive through May 11.

Collection boxes are located at Liberty Diner, Ferndale Post Office, Liberty Trading Post and Liberty Dollar Tree. All donations will be given to the local Children’s Home.

For more information, call Melinda at 845-807-9778.

Hello Liberty,

Mother nature was not kind to us this year, and because of that the district used our eight allotted emergency closure days.

One of our days in February was during a state of emergency. We were initially informed, and communicated to our families, that that day would not count toward our emergency closure days.

However, after consulting with the New York State Department of Education, it has been recommended that the waiver day should be used for state of emergency closures once all scheduled emergency days are exhausted.

Because of that, we will not be using any of our proposed give back days this year.

Thank you so much for your understanding.

If you have any questions, please email questions@libertyk12.org

Sincerely,

Dr. Patrick Sullivan
Superintendent