The district's main offices, next to the high school.

The Pine Bush Central School District was established in 1938 in Pine Bush, New York, United States, and spans all of the Town of Crawford and includes part of six other townships in Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster counties. For the 2021-2022 school year, the district approved a budget of $125.8 million[1] and currently enrolls just under 5,000 students. [2]

The school district has been named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed in March 2012 by three families alleging inaction following accusations of antisemitism and the resultant creation of a hostile learning environment.[3][4]

Schools

The district has 7 schools.

  • Pine Bush
  • Circleville:
    • Circleville Elementary School
    • Circleville Middle School
    • Pakanasink Elementary School

Towns

Antisemitism Lawsuit

On November 8, 2013, The New York Times ran a front-page story that detailed allegations of antisemitic bullying in the Pine Bush Central School District and a related lawsuit by the parents of three district students. There were students known to have a good relationship with the teachers and performed anti-semitic rituals almost every day after school.[4] In an earlier Times article, Philip G. Steinberg, the district's superintendent from 2008 to 2013, who, as well as two other administrators named as defendants, is Jewish, described the lawsuit as a "money grab."[4] In the days following the Times' coverage hundreds of people protested against "its portrayal of Pine Bush as a bigoted, biased community."[5] The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York issued a statement in support of the plaintiffs in January 2014.[6] Following a five-month long state police investigation, the Orange County District Attorney's Office announced in September, 2014, that no criminal charges would be filed against any children and "the investigation revealed no evidence that any school official had engaged in any criminal conduct."[7] On November 4, 2014, Federal District Court Judge Kenneth M. Karas, presiding in White Plains, NY, denied a defense motion to dismiss the case brought on behalf of three of the five children included in the complaint.[8] In 2015 the school district filed a settlement agreement that required them to pay $2.9 million to the five plaintiffs. School officials additionally were required to undergo training to respond to antisemitic incidents.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Budget". Pine Bush Central School District. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  2. ↑ "PINE BUSH CSD | NYSED Data Site". data.nysed.gov. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  3. ↑ Yakin, Heather (December 12, 2012). "PB bullying lawsuit can name school officials". Times Herald-Record. Middletown, NY. Retrieved November 15, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 Weiser, Benjamin (November 7, 2013). "Swastikas, Slurs and Torment in Town's Schools". The New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2013.
  5. ↑ Randall, Michael (November 14, 2013). "Feds looking into claims of anti-Semitism in Pine Bush school district". Times Herald-Record. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  6. ↑ "US attorney: NY district didn't deal with student anti-Semitism". The Times of Israel. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. January 27, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  7. ↑ Solis, Marcus (September 3, 2014). "No charges to be filed amid Pine Bush school anti-Semitism allegations". WABC-TV. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  8. ↑ Weiser, Benjamin (November 4, 2014). "Judge Denies Motion to Dismiss Lawsuit Over Anti-Semitic Bullying in a New York School District". The New York Times. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  9. ↑ Berger, Joseph (July 9, 2015). "Settlement Over Anti-Semitic Bullying at Pine Bush Central Schools Is Approved". The New York Times. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
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