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Schools

School Board Shortens Meeting Because of Yom Kippur

Peekskill session concludes just before sunset start of Jewish holy day; agenda to be rescheduled.

The Peekskill Board of Education rescheduled most of its Sept. 25 agenda so it could conclude an abbreviated meeting before the start of Yom Kippur.

Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, appears on the calendar as Sept. 26 but began at sunset, 6:47 p.m., the previous day.

In what board President Joseph Urbanowicz described as a “scheduling oversight,” school district officials were aware of the holy day, but did not realize the sunset factor until Monday.

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“We decided it was not appropriate to conduct business this evening, out of respect for our neighbors of the Jewish faith,” Urbanowicz said after the board emerged from an executive session that began at 5:30 p.m. The board adjourned its brief public session at 6:45 p.m.

The meeting, in the cafeteria of Peekskill High School, was scheduled to include the official opening of the renovated facility. That ceremony will be rescheduled, along with agenda items that included a report on capital projects of the Putnam/Northern Westchester Board of Cooperative Educational Services, appointment of a communications specialist and approval of an agreement with the city of Peekskill to share services and facilities.

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The next regularly scheduled board meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 2.

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