Jeff Tech plans for outdoor graduation; hires special education director

The Jeff Tech Operating Committee met on June 22, this time in person in the school gymnasium instead of online.

School director Dr. Barry Fillman talked about the planned outdoor graduation to be held at the Hummingbird Speedway June 23. Due to the COVID-19 quarantine, an online ceremony was held on May 29. This ceremony has been in the planning stages since that time. (Editor’s note: due to weather conditions, the graduation was moved to June 25 at 7 p.m. at the Hummingbird.)

In regular business, the committee voted to approve the hiring of Amber Hathorne as the director of special education. She comes to Jeff Tech from the Seneca Islands Intermediate Unit located in Smethport. She starts June 25.

The operating committee normally doesn’t meet in July, so the next meeting would have been in late August. The committee decided to move that meeting date up to August 3 at 6 p.m. Dr. Fillman said a plan for the reopening of school later that month will be presented at that time, which will give students and parents three weeks to prepare.