Tuesday night’s Board of Education meeting marked a lot of firsts for the Shoreham-Wading River School District. It was the first meeting for four people on the dais: board members Katie Andersen, Erin Hunt and Henry Perez, as well as Superintendent Gerard Poole, who officially began his position July 1.
A member of Shoreham-Wading River’s Wildcat Athletic Club is wondering why the school district doesn’t provide helmets for its boys lacrosse teams.
During last Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting, the club’s second vice-president, Jim Daly, said he believes the district should join the 25 other Long Island school districts that do provide helmets.
Each time a new school board member is elected in New York State, they must take a training course to learn the ropes.
Shoreham-Wading River school board president John Zukowski thinks they could save a lot of time by simply shadowing fellow board member Michael Fucito for a day or two.
A capital improvements referendum passed on Tuesday night. (Credit: Jen Nuzzo)
Shoreham-Wading River school district residents made their voices loud and clear on Tuesday: they want upgrades to their schools.
A $48.5 million construction project passed 1,421 to 585 on Tuesday, with 70.8 percent of voters approving the measure. The capital improvement project will require issuing a $33.5 million bonds and using another $15 million in reserves for additional construction work.
The Shoreham-Wading River school board is expected to vote on a nearly $7.03 million energy performance contract proposal at Tuesday night’s meeting.
JOE WERKMEISTER FILE PHOTO | Shoreham-Wading River interim athletic director Lynn Schwartz abruptly resigned from his position just over two months after being appointed to start.
The Shoreham-Wading River school board is expected to vote on a resolution to accept the resignation of interim director of health and athletics Lynn Schwartz at tonight’s Board of Education meeting.
Mr. Schwartz was hired this summer as a per diem substitute by the district to replace former director Ken Marlborough. According to a June agenda, Mr. Schwartz was hired to work from July 1 to Dec. 31.
In Oct. 2011, Mr. Schwartz was appointed substitute director of health and athletics for the district while Mr. Marlborough was out on leave.
Tonight’s board meeting takes place at 8 p.m. at Briarcliff Elementary School’s all-purpose room.
To view the agenda, see below.
PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | Repairs are scheduled to begin at the high school track this week.
The Shoreham-Wading River school board voted to resurface the high school track using red material at its meeting Tuesday night, paving the way for construction workers to make the repairs.
The nearly $300,000 in subsurface repairs and resurfacing efforts on the track are scheduled to begin Thursday, district officials said.
Work will likely last for about three weeks, weather permitting, said the district’s assistant superintendent for finance and operations, Glen Arcuri.
The track will be closed to the public during that time, he said.
But district officials said the track should reopen well before Aug. 16, the first practice date for next school year’s athletic teams.
Voters approved a $1.6 million track and tech proposition last fall that allows the district to upgrade the track, which students and district committee members said was in disrepair, as well as install new wireless networks and other technology upgrades throughout the district.
The school board also elected a new vice president at its meeting Tuesday night. John Zukowski, a board member since 2011, was unanimously voted in as the new vice president, replacing Richard Pluschau, who held the role this past year.
President William McGrath, who was re-elected as president without opposition, had nominated Jack Costas to be elected as vice president, but changed his vote to Mr. Zukowski after the other six board members voted for him.
Shoreham-Wading River school district architects Tuesday night unveiled preliminary plans to establish a school bond this coming school year to pay for upgrades and repairs to district facilities.
Roger Smith of BBS Architecture outlined a rough plan, under which the school board would determine what to include in a bond by Oct. 15.
The bond would then go to district taxpayers for a vote tentatively scheduled for Dec. 10.
This summer, Mr. Smith said, his firm will look at improving efficient use of facilities in the district, prioritize repairs and upgrades and examine the structure of the class grades. He said district administrators would ultimately make the call on what would be included in a potential bond.
“I’m not driving the bus; I’m just a participant,” Mr. Smith said.
Mr. Smith said it’s nearly impossible for districts to include capital projects in school budgets due to tax levy caps and state mandates.
“This is path of the way school funding will go in the future,” he said of the bond.