Grades 3-6 will go to 4 days of in-person, and grades 7-12 could as well

HOLLEY – The school district announced it will be bringing back more students next month for 4 days of in-person learning each week, and could have all grade levels at 4 days a week if the state approves lowering the minimum spacing between desks from 6 to 3 feet.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last Friday announced it was changing its guideline for minimum social distancing in schools, from 6 to 3 feet, as long as students are wearing masks.

“This has caused many regions and entire state health departments to alter restrictions and update their guidance plans, which could ultimately allow for more students to return to school buildings for in-person learning this academic year,” Brian Bartalo, Holley school district superintendent, said in a letter today to the community.

Before Holley can move desks closer it needs the NYS Department of Health to approve the change in social distancing guidance. Holley has been anticipating the change to 3 feet, and is planning a phase-in after spring recess to bring back more students for four days of in-perosn learning. Just last week Holley brought back students for four days in grades K through 2, instead of being limited to two days of in-person with the hybrid schedule.

Before last week, Holley already had four days of in-person learning in Pre-K, the alternative high school, and self-contained special education classes, where the class sizes are smaller.

Even if the state doesn’t reduce the minimum desk spacing to three feet, Holley plans to have grades 3 through 6 go to four days of in-person learning the week of April 5-9.

If the minimum spacing is reduced to 3 feet, Holley could move hybrid students in the Junior-Senior High School to four days of in-person learning. If the 3-foot distance is approved, Holley plans to move grades 7-8 to four days of in-person learning the week of April 12-16, and then the following week, April 19-23, the hybrid students in grades 9-12 would go from two to four days.

Holley will continue to have Wednesdays as remote only.

“The reasons for keeping Wednesdays as remote learning days include: providing time for staff to prepare and post lessons, and connect with our fully remote learners; allowing time to bring in small groups of students for academic intervention and related services; and for teachers to receive professional development, and update learning plans and curriculum,” Bartalo said in his letter today.

Holley will be reaching out to the fully remote student families prior to the start of the fourth quarter on April 19 to determine if they plan to stay remote or return to in-person school.

“Based on the number of students who remain fully remote and after evaluating how things are progressing with four days/week, we’ll determine if it’s possible to increase to five days/week for our in-person students,” Bartalo said.

The district superintendent said the situation and guidelines from the state have frequently been in flux, making it difficult for districts to plan. He expects the 3-foot change will be approved by the state, allowing for more students to be in class, in-person.

“We believe that this phase back-in approach is proactive, and gives staff time to prepare and adjust learning plans, bus schedules, and modify classroom and dining spaces based on new guidance from NYS,” Bartalo said. “We also hope it gives families time to prepare for this transition back to more in-person learning at Holley CSD.”

HOLLEY – The school district is dismissing middle/high school early today after a gas leak in the middle-high school.

Those students were evacuated to the elementary school. All staff and students are safe, the district posted on its website.

“The MS/HS students will be dismissed early from the ES, where the buses will pick them up for the departure home,” the district said. “If you plan to pick a MS/HS student up, please pick them up at District Office. Thank you.”

Evan Valentine

HOLLEY – The Board of Education approved a request to establish a new scholarship in memory of Evan Valentine, a courageous student who passed away on February 21, 2021 after a battle with acute myeloid leukemia.

A member of this year’s senior class, Evan played soccer and golf and performed in the school musicals. He was confirmed at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in August and was the altar server of the year in 2018 in the Western New York Diocese. He also was active in Boy Scouts.

The scholarship will likely start at $500. No qualifications have been developed yet. The Valentine family will be working with a school committee to come up with a profile and the family will also be involved with the selection of the recipient(s).

The Valentine family and the district want to make this an annual scholarship to be presented each year at graduation.

Photo by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – Prestyn McMillion, a Holley eighth-grader, was presented with a Soaring to New Heights award on Monday evening by Sue Cory, the junior-senior high school principal.

Prestyn assisted a neighbor who was having a medical emergency. He noticed a car was running, the driver appeared unresponsive and he was able to get her help. He was recognized by the school district for “his compassion and fast action.” He is part of a family that is active in the fire department.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Brian Bartalo, the Holley school superintendent, said there is a “gray area” for athletes wearing masks during high school events. Pictured in back are Connie Nenni, left, the district clerk and Robin Silvis, the BOE president.

HOLLEY – School leaders who watch high school sporting events or who see photos on the Orleans Hub notice that many of the athletes have their masks pulled down and aren’t covering their nose or mouth.

Some of the opposing players aren’t even wearing masks.

Brian Bartalo, the Holley school superintendent, said other students and parents see that and wonder why other students can’t do the usual musical, marching band or chorus concert.

“It’s created consternation for the music and drama folks,” Bartalo told the Board of Education on Monday.

Board member Anne Smith brought up the topic, saying she sees many of the sports photos on the Orleans Hub with masks that don’t seem to be properly worn.

Bartalo said the New York State Public High School Athletic Association allows a “gray area” with the masks. The association calls for athletes to wear masks at all times “unless unable to tolerate face covering for physical activity.” If they feel they can’t tolerate a mask, they can lower it, Bartalo said.

If athletes decide to lower their masks, referees or game officials have told the schools they aren’t going to “police” it, Bartalo said.

Coaches are taking athletes at “face value” if they lower their masks, it’s because they can’t handle playing the sport with the mask on, said Robin Silvis, the board president.

HOLLEY – When the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan was signed by President Biden last week, Holley Central School was expecting the package would include $1,114,999 for the district.

That follows the $373,533 approved last March for Holley in the $2.2 trillion CARES Act. That initial funding helped the district pay for additional costs of PPE and other Covid-19 expenses.

Turns out Holley is getting the $1,114,999, plus another $2,428,000 in the American Rescue Plan. The district was notified of the unexpected funding on Monday at 2 p.m.

Sharon Zacher, the district assistant superintendent for business, said Holley has until Sept. 30, 2023 to spend the money. So far the only stipulation known for the money is at least 20 percent needs to go to “loss of learning costs” to help students get caught up who fell behind during the pandemic, Zacher told the Board of Education on Monday evening.

The $2.4 million takes some pressure off the district in the next two to three years. Holley is plugging the $1,114,999 into the proposed 2021-22 budget. Zacher was concerned the following year how the district would respond with the loss of that funding from the budget, especially if state aid didn’t increase significantly.

“This eases the worry about when the $1.1 million is gone,” Zacher said about the additional $2.4 million.

She updated the Board of Education on Monday about the budget progress so far. Next month the board will vote on a budget to present to voters in May.

Right now the budget is at a 3 percent spending increase, $26,553,900 compared to the $25,780,000 for 2020-21. The budget was also at $25,780,000 the previous year.

Zacher’s draft proposal would increase taxes by 2 percent, from $7,427,919 to $7,576,477. That would be just under the district’s allowable tax cap for next school year, which is a 2.029 percent increase.

Holley has the usual budget increases with staff raises and the costs of health insurance. Next school year, Zacher said Holley should budget for an additional bus attendant, some equipment for Buildings and Grounds, a new kettle at $25,000 for the kitchen, and a bigger expense for repair costs for take-home devices for students.

Zacher expects to receive more information from the state and federal governments about the $2.4 million and how it can be used by the district.

“We want to hear more before making a recommendation,” she told the board.

Photos by Tom Rivers: Karri Schiavone, Holley Elementary School principal, tells the Board of Education on Monday that the school had a great first day with students in grades K through 2 back this week without the hybrid schedule.

HOLLEY – It felt like the first day of school at Holley Elementary School on Monday for students in kindergarten through second grade.

It was the first day without the hybrid schedule, where students were in-person for two days a week, alternating with half their class to keep the capacity down in the classroom and on buses.

Holley school officials did the calculations and found they could bring students in those grade levels back for four days of in-person a week. Wednesday will remain a day for remote learning.

“It was so smooth,” Karri Schiavone, the elementary school principal, told the Holley Board of Education on Monday evening. “It was happy kids and happy teachers everywhere.”

Students were able to meet some of their classmates in person for the first time this school year. Some of those students were only known as faces on a computer screen for Zoom video conferencing.

The district needs to work out details for the student drop-off because there was a line out to Perry Street.

“We need to tweak the arrival and dismissal times for cars,” Schiavone said.

Otherwise, she said the shift to bringing more students back has gone “fantastic.”

She praised the Buildings and Grounds staff for rearranging desks and tables to meet the 6-foot social distancing guideline from the state. The food service, transportation, district office, teachers and support staff “all made it work,” Schiavone said.

Holley wants to bring back more students for in-person each day but Schiavone said the social distancing guideline would need to be lowered. Brian Bartalo, the district superintendent, said school officials around the state are expecting the guideline to be reduced to 3 feet, as long as students are wearing masks. That change would allow for more students on buses, more in classrooms and more in the cafeteria.

“We expect the changes will come,” Bartalo said.

This elementary classroom has plastic barriers on the desks as an added protection against the spread of Covid-19.

If the distancing isn’t lowered from 6 to 3 feet, Bartalo said the district will still try to bring back more students, but may not be able to do more full grade levels.

The district wants to have more students in-person by April 19, which is the start of the final quarter when students will be gearing up for final exams and state assessments.

Bartalo noted that Monday was very close to the one-year anniversary of when schools last year were closed to in-person learning due the Covid-19 pandemic. March 13 was last day for in-person learning in 2020.

“Today was our youngest students and we will start working are way up,” Bartalo told the Board of Education.  “We can all agree that having 5- and 6-year-olds at home on a computer being supervised in very challenging.”

The district early in the school year increased the in-person days to four days for students in prekindergarten, those in self-contained special education classes and the alternative high school, which is held in a wing of the elementary school.

Those groups are all smaller classes of no more than 12 students where the district can meet the social distancing requirement, keeping desks 6 feet apart.

The district also brought back for four days of in-person learning about 100 students with IEPs who have a learning disability and need some additional educational services.

Holley on March 1 also allowed students at the WeMoCo in Spencerport to attend in-person classes four days a week.

“Our goal is to get all of the hybrid kids back for the fourth quarter,” Bartalo said.

That will depend on the state changing the social distancing to 3 feet. He said he is encouraged by the number of new cases in the county being the lowest since October, while more people are getting vaccinated from Covid.

At police reform session, Holley PD viewed as ‘stepping stone’ to other larger departments

Photos by Tom Rivers: Roland Nenni, Holley police chief until he retires on March 31, speaks during a forum on police reform last Thursday at the village office in the former Holley High School.

HOLLEY – The Holley Police Department responds to about 1,000 calls annually, and many are lockouts, alarms going off, and building checks.

But increasingly, the department responds to people in mental health crisis. Holley Police Chief Roland Nenni said more mental health personnel are needed in the community to help assist individuals in a mental health crisis.

In Orleans County, two classes of law enforcement officers, about a dozen in each class, have taken week-long crisis intervention training, learning techniques to de-escalate situations with people suffering a mental health issue.

“It’s not enough,” Nenni said about the training for officers. “It’s definitely not enough.”

The county would benefit with a  team of trained specialists who could quickly be deployed to a crisis situation. “With SWAT, you’re bringing a sledgehammer to the problem,” he said.

Nenni said there needs to be more psychiatric facilities with beds for people to stay.

“We’re trying to find better ways of dealing with mental health,” he said. “There’s no doubt about that.”

Nenni spoke last Thursday during a meeting about police reform. Those meetings are required for the 500 law enforcement agencies around the state. They need to submit a plan to the state by April 1, and show that they have given the public a chance to air concerns about how the police departments are responding to community needs.

“We have a great community and we have a great police department,” Nenni told about 20 people at the meeting.

About 20 people attended the session last week about the Holley Police Department.

Nenni said the mandate on law enforcement agencies of all sizes around the state for police reform is “insulting” to departments like Holley, which have banned chokeholds and have a policy for use of force.

Holley officers have had body cameras since October 2017. They carry AEDs in their patrol cars in case they go to a call and someone is in cardiac arrest.

The Holley PD does about 25 to 75 arrests each year. In the past 10 years, Nenni said officers have used force about a dozen times.

Holley’s policies and its police reform plan will be posted on the Village of Holley website and Facebook page before the April 1 deadline.

“What the governor is mandating, we already have that,” Nenni said. “Our orders exceed the policies mandated by the governor.”

But the purpose of the meeting on Thursday was to hear from the community what Holley PD could be doing better.

Diane Rouse, a local resident, said more mental health services are needed to assist the police and respond to residents who need help. There are bigger issues, too – poverty and drug abuse – that are part of the mental health issues and crime in the community, Rouse said.

District Attorney Joe Cardone said law enforcement often are called to people “hysterical” with mental health problems that may been even more extreme from drug use.

“I have a lot of respect for law enforcement,” Cardone said. “These men and women walk into very volatile situations and have to make decisions quickly. We’re asking law enforcement to diffuse situations and these are very difficult situations.”

Nenni expects to see more resources for mental health services. In Orleans County, a crisis intervention team should be run from the county and not from the Holley PD and individual law enforcement agencies, Nenni said.

“This is on the national radar,” he said. “We’re keenly aware of the problems that mental health causes for law enforcement.”

‘I have a lot of respect for law enforcement. These men and women walk into very volatile situations and have to make decisions quickly. We’re asking law enforcement to diffuse situations and these are very difficult situations.’ – DA Joe Cardone

Another focus of the police reform mandate from the governor is to make sure the public feels they are being treated fairly by law enforcement, Cardone said, whether they are victims of crime or the defendants.

Joanne Best, the county’s public defender, also attended the Holley forum.

“We don’t honestly get a lot of complaints from our clients that the police did something wrong to me,” Best said.

She suggested the law enforcement agencies make annual reports public, and detail how many calls, how many arrests and the results of those arrests.

Nenni is a Holley resident who also is Albion’s police chief. He is ending a 29-year law enforcement career on March 31. He said it has been an honor to lead the department in his home community.

Nenni, the leader of the Orleans County SWAT team, was praised for his service by Joe Cardone, the county’s district attorney.

“I can tell you he will be sorely missed,” Cardone said. “He has done great work in Albion and Holley and throughout Orleans County.”

Best also praised the retiring police chief for being “extremely accessible.” She also commended Nenni for leading numerous community events, from the National Night Out at Bullard Park in Albion to DWI simulations at Holley and Albion schools. In those mock accidents, students role play being in an accident, with firefighters extricating them from vehicles. In Holley, there has been a court re-enactment with the drunken driver sentenced to state prison.

Bob Barton will take over as acting chief of the Holley Police Department. He is retired from the Greece Police Department and has worked as a part-time officer in Holley for several years.

The Village Board has appointed Bob Barton to serve as acting chief beginning April 1. Barton is retired from the Greece Police Department and has worked as a part-time officer in Holley

Barton said he prefers working in a small town, where it is easier to get to know the residents and businesses.

“Being a cop is getting to know your community and letting your community get to know you,” he said. “I like being a local cop because a local cop gets to know the people. That’s what it’s all about.”

Holley currently has one full-time officer, a part-time chief and about 10 other part-timers. Mayor Kevin Lynch said Holley is looking to fill another full-time position.

John Kenney, a former Holley mayor, said the department acts as a “stepping stone” for new officers to get experience and then move on to bigger departments. The turnover can make it challenging to maintain consistent staffing. Right now, Nenni said there are about 6-7 open shifts a month that aren’t staffed.

When a Holley officer isn’t on duty, there is usually a Sheriff’s deputy or state trooper close by.

Cardone said law enforcement will likely face another new challenge. He expects the State Legislature and governor to legalize recreational use of marijuana. Cardone believes that will result in more serious and fatal car accidents and other problems for the community.

“There is no question that will lead to more issues,” Cardone said. “There is no question this is a very difficult time for law enforcement.”

Photos by Tom Rivers: The clocks on the former United Methodist church in Holley’s Public Square loom large on Friday morning.

Daylight Saving Time starts tonight at 2 a.m. with clocks going forward an hour. Daylight Saving Time ends on Nov. 7.

AAA warns that as Americans “spring forward” and set their clocks ahead one hour, they will be losing an hour of sleep. The change in daylight hours means motorists could experience drowsy driving and added distractions behind the wheel, AAA said.

AAA urged motorists to take precautions against drowsy driving and be alert for kids walking home from school or playing outside.

“While many people are looking forward to the end of winter, few realize the added dangers that can come as a result of a time change, especially when behind the wheel,” said Elizabeth Carey, Director of Public Relations, AAA Western and Central New York. “This hour change can disturb sleep patterns, perhaps even resulting in drowsy driving.”

Holley’s Public Square was busy on Friday morning. The former church has been a landmark in the square for more than a century. The four clock faces on the clock were refurbished in 2015 after being bare for many years. Glenn Hughson, owner of the former United Methodist church building, put back the clocks and their mechanical systems.

Press Release, Police Chief Roland Nenni

HOLLEY – The Holley Police Department will be holding a police forum at 7 p.m. today at the Village Office (the former Holley High School), 1 Wright St.

The purpose of this forum is to get the input form the community so that the Police Department can better serve the citizens of the Village of Holley.

The Orleans County District Attorney and Public Defender will be in attendance to address recent changes to the legal and criminal justice system and can address any questions.

The intent is to have open discussions. If anyone would like to speak or address a particular issue, we ask that you contact the Village Office at 638-6367 before the event to be placed on the agenda.

HOLLEY – The Holley Police Department will have a public forum at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the village office as part of the requirement to meet Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive order issued last June on police reform.

The governor mandated that law enforcement agencies review policies on use of force and de-escalation, and with policies on training of officers on bias in profiling. The governor urged each department to form a committee to review the policies and solicit feedback from residents.

Each department needs to submit a plan to the state by April 1, or they could be cut off from state funding.

Holley is having a public meeting to get feedback from residents. The session will be in the meeting room at the recently reopened old Holley High School at 1 Wright St.

District Attorney Joe Cardone and Public Defender Joanne Best are expected to attend the meeting to discuss recent changes in the criminal justice system.

Residents who want to speak at the meeting are asked to call the village office at (585) 638-6367 to be put on the agenda.

Photo by Tom Rivers: The school district has recently welcomed more students back for in-person learning, from 2 to 4 days a week.

HOLLEY – The district started the school year on a hybrid schedule with students able to take two days of in-person classes a week. The students were split into two different groups in each grade level and those groups alternated days of in-person school with everyone going remote on Wednesdays.

That was done to reduce the number of students on buses and in the school buildings, to allow for social distancing and reduce the chances for spreading Covid.

The district early in the school year increased the in-person days to four days for students in prekindergarten, those in self-contained special education classes and the alternative high school, which is held in a wing of the elementary school.

Those groups are all smaller classes of no more than 12 students where the district can meet the social distancing requirement, keeping desks 6 feet apart.

The district has recently pushed to bring back more students for four days of in-person learning. That includes about 100 students with IEPs who have a learning disability and need some additional educational services.

This week the district also allowed students at the WeMoCo in Spencerport to attend in-person classes four days a week. That started on Monday.

Holley wants to bring back more students for four days a week of in-person learning, but the district needs to ensure it can meet the state mandates for social distancing on buses and in classrooms, said Brian Bartalo, the district superintendent.

Or, the state needs to provide some relief to the 6-foot distance for social distancing to allow more students to be in class. Bartalo said students have been wearing masks inside classrooms which should allow them to be closer together than the 6 feet.

‘I want our families to know we’re working on it. We’re looking at our options. We want the kids to come back but we have to do it in a way that abides by the rules.’ – Brian Bartalo, district superintendent

Paul Pettit, the public health director in Orleans County, said the state is expected to make an announcement soon about the 6-foot buffer between desks and what districts must do to allow students to be closer together.

Some districts have set up Plexiglass barriers between desks. Bartalo said that would be a big expense for the district to go with the barriers.

If the state doesn’t allow desks to be closer than 6 feet, Holley still may be able to bring more students for in-person classes. Holley has about 20 percent of its students fully remote who don’t attend in-person classes this year. That gives the district some room to bring students back for in-person classes four days a week.

“At this time, I want everyone to know that we expect some changes soon regarding how to increase our in-person opportunities for students at school,” Bartalo said in a message to school community on Monday. “As we await new guidance on safety protocols, we’re working diligently at the district to consider all options for transportation and classroom limits to have students return more fully. It’s likely, just as we’ve done with other aspects of our phase-in approach, that we start bringing our younger (elementary) students in more at first, then move to the middle/high school.”

Bartalo said the district would like to keep pushing to have more students in-person by April 19, which is the start of the final quarter when students will be gearing up for final exams and state assessments.

The district will be reaching out to parents and guardians to see if they would support four days of in-person instruction. Bartalo also wants to know if the students who are fully remote would stay that way if they had the option for four days.

The district could find out some families would be uncomfortable with more in-person days and would rather stay with two in-person days or be fully remote.

“I want our families to know we’re working on it,” Bartalo said. “We’re looking at our options. We want the kids to come back but we have to do it in a way that abides by the rules.”

Teen inspired community during fight with leukemia for 2 ½ years

Photos by Tom Rivers: Evan Valentine is hugged by principal Sue Cory when he returned to school on April 22, 2019. About 450 of his classmates surprised him in the school gym and gave him a standing ovation for his first day back at school after enduring five months in the hospital for chemo and recovery. Many of the teachers and students wore orange “Evan Strong” shirts to celebrate Evan’s return.

HOLLEY – Evan Valentine, a member of Holley’s Class of 2021, passed away on Sunday after fighting leukemia for nearly 2 ½ years.

“This is a loss to our school and our community, as many have rallied around Evan for the past couple of years,” Sue Cory, the middle and high school principal, said in a message on the district website. “Death is difficult for us all to deal with,” Cory wrote in her message. “We all handle this in different ways. We want you to know that it is OK to need and ask for support.”

Provided photo: Evan Valentine is shown on Nov. 4, 2018 with some of the get well cards he received. These cards were from Boy Scouts in Holley and the First Presbyterian Church of Holley.

Grief counselors were at the school today and will be available on Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Students, even those on remote learning are welcome to come to the school for any support.

Evan, the son of Diane and Neil Valentine, was a very popular student at Holley. He played soccer and golf and performed in the school musicals. He was confirmed at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in August and was the altar server of the year in 2018 in the Western New York Diocese.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Valentine family,” Cory said. “They have continually felt the love of this community.”

Evan was diagnosed with leukemia on Oct. 19, 2018, a day before he was to play in a Sectional soccer game for Holley as a center defender.

Evan went to the doctor after battling some digestive issues. After getting his blood drawn, doctors were concerned about the presence of blast cells. Evan was diagnosed with leukemia and was admitted to Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong.

He completed multiple rounds of chemotherapy and had a bone marrow transplant, but the leukemia returned. He handled the chemo, the hair and weight loss, and the pain with grace and in a laid-back manner, with few complaints while keeping his faith.

Since his diagnosis, Evan and his family were inundated with love from his classmates and teachers. There are many cards, signed by hundreds of students and staff, in his hospital room. He and his family have seen the social media posts, showing the school community wearing orange T-shirts, face masks and bracelets in his honor.

Earlier, this month most of the Holley teachers wore orange “Evan Strong” T-shirts to school and posted those photos to an Evan Strong Facebook page.

Mrs. Valentine posted on Feb. 13  in response to the many photos of Holley teachers in the orange shirts: “HCSD we are thankful for your support EVERY SINGLE DAY. It has made such a difference to Evan and to us knowing that we have an army behind us in this battle. Evan Strong!”

Evan Valentine was given an escort by local fire trucks and community members lined the sidewalks on April 19, 2020 when he returned to the hospital for a bone marrow transplant at Golisano Children’s Hospital in Rochester.

There were fire trucks from Holley, Clarendon, Fancher-Hulberton-Murray and Brockport in the escort for Valentine.

The community organized the sendoff for Evan partly due to the Covid restrictions on visitors at the hospital. Many of Evan’s friends weren’t able to visit him while he recovered from chemo and when he prepared for the bone marrow transplant. Evan’s classmates, teachers and the firefighters wanted to give him a show of support and strength as he prepared for the transplant.

“He is an inspiration to not only all the students and staff at Holley High School, but to the entire Holley community,” Brian Bartalo, the Holley school district superintendent, said that day. “He is an incredible young man with an engaging personality and unwavering spirit that encourages all of us.”

A Clarendon fire truck displays an “Evan Strong” sign during his escort on April 19, 2020.