Home Authors Posts by Andrea Moore Paldy

Andrea Moore Paldy

46 POSTS 0 COMMENTS

Andrea Paldy, a writer for The Village Times Herald, is co-author of the book, Exploring Motion Graphics. She is a lecturer in the Program in Writing and Rhetoric at Stony Brook University.

Three Village shows huge support for $209.8 budget

by Andrea Moore Paldy - May 18, 2018

0 1611

Deanna&Bill_3VBOE_5-16-18_paldyw — Trustee incumbents William Connors and Deanna Bavlnka look forward to three more years on the board. Photo by Andrea Paldy

By Andrea Paldy

The Three Village school budget passed with an overwhelming majority May 15.

Of the 1,948 votes cast, 72 percent were in favor of the $209.8 million budget for the 2018-19 school year with 1,412 yes votes and 536 voting no.

Spending will remain within the 1.97 percent cap on the tax levy increase and include enhancements to the well-being of students, as well as to the elementary science and music programs.

Three Village superintendent Cheryl Pedisich was appreciative of residents’ support, saying that Tuesday’s result is a reflection of their values.

“I am most proud of our ability to sustain programs and services we value most without reducing any for budgetary needs.”

— Cheryl Pedisich

“I am most proud of our ability to sustain programs and services we value most without reducing any for budgetary needs,” she said.

“It’s a real affirmation and validation,” said board president William Connors.

He acknowledged that residents “pay a lot of taxes” and said he appreciated their confidence in the board and the administration’s fiscal responsibility.

A small increase in state aid, along with shrinking enrollment and retirements, helped pave the way to some budget additions. Those include another high school guidance counselor and district psychologist and an assistant athletic trainer, officials said. The elementary grades will benefit from the addition of a third-grade orchestra program, along with new assistant teachers to help prepare for the 2020 implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards, which addresses disciplinary core ideas, scientific and engineering practices and cross-cutting concepts.

The district will restructure and combine some of its administrative positions by introducing a chair of foreign language and English as a New Language for kinder-garten through 12th grade. It will also create two coordinating chairs of physical education and health to oversee elementary and secondary grades.

There will also be change at Ward Melville High School. Principal Alan Baum will become executive director of secondary curriculum and human resources and move to the North Country administration building. William Bernhard, currently principal at P.J. Gelinas Junior High, will step into a new role as principal at Ward Melville.

Board president Connors and trustee Deanna Bavlnka ran unopposed to retain their board seats for three more years.

“I’m thrilled,” Connors said about starting his third term. “I enjoy what I’m doing.”

Before rejoining the board in 2012, he had served on the Three Village school board from 1994-2006. When he and his wife moved to Three Village 46 years ago, he said, it was because of the quality of the schools.

“It’s a real affirmation and validation.”

— William Connors

After 18 years of board service, it is “fulfilling to have had an impact on the educational programs,” he said.

Bavlnka, who has served on the board since 2011, said she’s excited and particularly pleased with the positive community engagement. With the goal of fostering communication and interaction between parents and Three Village faculty and administrators, Bavlnka has maintained the Facebook page, Three Village Connection, since 2013. She said she is proud to see that it has been a success.

Other district news

Three Village will enter into a new contract with Suffolk Transportation Service Inc., the bus company that currently provides student transportation to and from school, field trips and athletic events. While contracts between school districts and bus companies can be extended at a rate increase equal to the consumer price index, if both parties agree, the CPI has been low, and Suffolk Transportation did not want an extension of the old contract, said Jeff Carlson, assistant superintendent for business services.

After sending out requests for proposals and considering three bus companies, the school district chose to continue with Suffolk Transportation and will pay an increased rate of 16 percent, Carlson said. The district will extend its contract with Acme Bus Corp., which provides mini-bus service, without a rate increase.

Following the resignation of the district’s treasurer, who will be attending graduate school, the administration has decided not to refill the position. Instead, it will assign treasurer duties to another staff member and issue a $10,000 a year stipend. This will save the district $70,000, Carlson said.

Three Village school district unveils 2018-19 budget

by Andrea Moore Paldy - April 17, 2018

0 2605

Budget stays within 1.97 percent cap

Setauket Elementary Schoolw — On Feb. 13, parents of Setauket Elementary School students spoke to the board of education about establishing a districtwide sustainability and wellness task force. File photo

The Three Village Central School District Board of Education has adopted a $209.8 million budget for the 2018-19 school year.

Among its proposals are additional resources for student mental health and counseling services, athletic training and elementary science.

Jeff Carlson, assistant superintendent for business services, who outlined the budget at the April 12 meeting, said it will stay within the 1.97 percent cap on the tax levy increase. There will also be no cuts for budgetary reasons, he said.

Jeff Carlson laid out the 2018-2019 school budget at the April 12 board of education meeting. File photo

As far as revenue, New York State will give the district an additional $833,579 in state aid, for a total of $34.4 million, Carlson said. The amount does not include building aid, which is tied to specific capital improvements and varies from year to year, he said.

The assistant superintendent said the budget is based on a combination of declining enrollment, staffing changes, student interest in courses across the secondary level and administrative restructuring. The result is easing the way for the proposed enhancements, he said.

Big changes will happen at the secondary schools, where enrollment in some courses will result in a reduction of two to three full-time equivalent positions, Carlson said. The district will therefore be able to add one FTE for another guidance counselor at Ward Melville High School and a .5 FTE for a psychometrician — a psychologist to conduct testing throughout the district. District Superintendent Cheryl Pedisich said the addition will give school psychologists more availability to counsel students, a decision motivated, in part, by the tragic events in Parkland, Florida.

“We believe that as part of our safety and security procedures and protocol, the need for clinical staff — and a robust staff — is critical to our efforts,” Pedisich said at the March 28 board meeting.

Also, with an eye toward student safety, the administration plans to add an assistant athletic trainer to increase coverage at the district’s athletic events, she said. For greater accountability, the budget includes a transition coordinator to help special needs students transition to the workforce or to the next stage after high school, Pedisich said. This addition will come at a nominal cost, since the district had previously contracted out the position, she said.

The retirement of two administrators — the high school chair of foreign languages and the assistant director of health and physical education— will result in the reduction of two to three FTEs, allowing the district to combine certain positions to be more “effective in terms of the delivery of curriculum,” the superintendent said. One new position will be a district-wide director of foreign language and English as a New Language for kindergarten through 12. Rather than having separate administrators for health and physical education for grades seven through nine and then for 10 through 12, there will be one coordinating chair of physical education and health for all secondary grades and another for kindergarten through sixth grade, she said.

“We believe that as part of our safety and security procedures and protocol, the need for clinical staff — and a robust staff — is critical to our efforts.”

— Cheryl Pedisich

The district will also restore one FTE of clerical help for junior high media specialists and one FTE for a maintenance specialist to increase cost efficiency, Pedisich said.

Similarly, declining enrollment at the elementary level will help the district to maintain a low student-teacher ratio, while also introducing third-grade orchestra at no additional cost to the district.

With the continued decline in elementary school enrollment — between 120 and 130 students next year — there will be two to three fewer sections to staff and a possible decrease of two FTEs, Pedisich said. That will allow the district to add three teaching assistants plus an additional .5 FTE from junior high science staffing — again, due to lower enrollment — to help prepare for the 2020 implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards, Pedisich said. Two more teaching assistants will come from existing staffing.

The Three Village free preschool program at Nassakeag Elementary School will continue into its second year. By the end of March, there were already 128 children enrolled, up from 109 this school year. The district can accommodate up to 200 students and has budgeted up to five FTEs for teachers should the program reach capacity.

Carlson said there will be an increase in the district’s contributions to the employee and teacher retirement systems. To cover the $1.5 million increase, the district will use funds from its reserves, which, he said, are set aside to cover employee retirement costs.

The vote to approve the budget will be held May 15, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Like last year, for security reasons, the vote will take place at the secondary schools. Those zoned for Arrowhead, Minnesauke and Nassakeag elementary schools will vote at Ward Melville High School, while residents zoned for Mount Elementary School will vote at Murphy Junior High. Families zoned for Setauket Elementary will vote at Gelinas Junior High.

Three Village school district gears up for prekindergarten enrollment

by Andrea Moore Paldy - February 13, 2018

0 1993

3Vpreschool-playground-10-5-15_paldycw — Children play in the playground at Nassakeag Elementary School. File photo

It may only be February, but the Three Village Central School District has already announced plans for the upcoming year’s program for its youngest learners.

At a recent meeting, the school board received both an update on the inaugural year of the district’s prekindergarten and plans for the program during the 2018-2019 school year. The presentation, delivered by Nassakeag Elementary School assistant principal and prekindergarten coordinator Nancy Pickford, covered the curriculum and other highlights of the free prekindergarten program.

“The pre-K has brought an element of wonder and excitement to Nassakeag, and the entire building has embraced our youngest students.”

—Nancy Pickford

The prekindergarten, which is located at Nassakeag Elementary School, “supports students’ cognitive and social and emotional learning” and includes foundational language, math and technological skills features, Pickford said.

The curriculum, which is designed by Three Village educators, is age-appropriate, meets New York State standards and prepares students for kindergarten in the Three Village district, Pickford said. Learning is play-based, and students benefit from individual, small and large group instruction and activities.

Pickford also explained that students are placed in classes according to the elementary school they will attend for kindergarten, ensuring that they can begin to establish friendships as they continue in the district. She also noted that the prekindergarten program provides an opportunity for educators to evaluate students and identify the need for early intervention services.

While the preschool has a separate entrance with a security guard and its own playground, prekindergarten students have access to the school’s library, mini-gym and school nurse. They also participate in cultural arts programs, school-wide musical performances and PTA-sponsored events at Nassakeag. Class buddies from the elementary grades also read to prekindergarteners and do projects with them, Pickford said.

“The pre-K has brought an element of wonder and excitement to Nassakeag, and the entire building has embraced our youngest students,” she said

Parents receive midyear and end-of-year progress reports and attend parent-teacher conferences. Responses to parent surveys have been overwhelmingly positive and indicate that families are pleased with the program, Pickford said. Administrators, though, will track the students through kindergarten to gauge the effectiveness of the program, she said. Looking ahead, the district plans to install a grant-funded, outdoor classroom.

With current enrollment at 109 students, classes range in size from 15 to 18 students and are each led by a New York State-certified teacher and an assistant. There are currently seven half-day sections which meet from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and noon to 2:30 p.m. Start and end times are staggered to avoid congestion with the arrivals and departures of the elementary school students, Pickford said.

Enrollment for the new year begins on Feb. 26. Pickford, who anticipates an enrollment increase, said that if the number goes above the 200-student cap, there will be a lottery for spots.

Three Village teaches literacy for a technological world

by Andrea Moore Paldy - January 31, 2018

0 91

Setauket_3V_BeeBots3_3VCSDw — Three Village elementary students learn coding with Bee-Bots. Photo from Three Village Central School District

By Andrea Paldy

Whether it is a demonstration from the high school robotics team or honoring 2018 Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholars, recent school board meetings have been a venue to showcase the vast strides the Three Village School District continues to make in science, technology, engineering and math instruction and enrichment.

In recent months, the district’s teachers and information specialists have given presentations explaining how they are helping to prepare students from elementary through high school for the brave new world that’s theirs.

The spotlight is put on the elementary STEM curriculum and the district’s library services. These demonstrate the way Three Village integrates technology into the curriculum as a unit of study, while also using it as a tool for research and growth in other academic disciplines.

Three Village embarked on the first year of its elementary STEM program in the fall of 2015, just as President Barack Obama (D) was signing the STEM Education Act into law. The curriculum, which introduces elementary-aged students to concepts such as aeroponics, coding and robotics, also teaches them about engineering and design.

Speaking at a school board meeting in November, Setauket Elementary’s STEM teacher Gina Varacchi explained how design challenges are embedded into the program to teach students about the design process. Students are given a design goal along with guidelines and constraints, she said. Similar to the scientific method, students must follow certain steps as part of the process. After determining “the problem” and conducting research, they can begin to design, but most important is that students experiment with their design through old-fashioned trial and error. Varacchi said that not only do they learn problem-solving skills, they also learn persistence.

Three Village students learn coding with Bee-Bots. Photo from Three Village Central School District

Design projects range from physical construction of marble tracks and bridges to using the online program Tinkercad to design 3D sculptures and containers for 3D printing. Students also learn coding for robots — Bee-Bots for kindergarten through second grade, and Ozobots for third and fourth grade. Additional STEM units include building with littleBits circuits, as well as coding with Scratch.

The district goes further in supporting students’ technological literacy. R.C. Murphy Junior High School information specialist and district library head Betsy Knox said at January’s meeting that the library departments put an emphasis “on teaching information and inquiry skills to students and collaborating with teachers on planning appropriate lessons on research.”

To achieve this mission, the libraries offer Lightbox, a web-based system that provides supplementary lessons in English language arts, science and social studies. It also includes supporting materials such as videos, primary documents, interviews and articles, Knox said. The district has 74 different units that are also accessible to students at home.

Additionally, media specialists help to design curriculum that includes research projects with suggested resources or team-teach lessons on developing thesis statements and providing research-based evidence for support. Nicole Connelly, information specialist at P.J. Gelinas Junior High, said this helps to give students the skills they need to navigate systems to “make informed decisions and become critical thinkers.”

In addition to providing maker spaces and experiences with virtual reality, the district’s libraries, or “information centers,” teach internet safety and provide instruction in online behavior from kindergarten to 12th grade. Ward Melville’s information specialist April Hatcher said the curriculum on “digital citizenship” for grades six through 12 was recently updated and covers cyberbullying, copyrights and plagiarism, social responsibility and identity protection. Lessons on hate speech are also addressed in the high school curriculum, she said.

The district’s media specialists not only support educators with research and curriculum, but also with technology. The library service department has recently submitted grant applications for drones, digital cameras and an outdoor classroom.

But, said Allyson Konczynin information specialist at W.S. Mount Elementary School, even with growing focus on technology, emphasis is still being placed on book selection and literature appreciation.

“Nothing beats seeing a student light up with excitement when they find a book they love,” she said.

Ward Melville brings robots to the classroom

by Andrea Moore Paldy - October 9, 2017

0 2533

RoboticsTeam_3VBOE_Sept2017_palduw — Members of Ward Melville's Iron Patriots introduce one of their robots at the Oct. 3 Three Village school board meeting. Photo by Andrea Paldy

High school isn’t just for kids these days.

In attendance at the most recent Three Village school board meeting was a student-built robot and some of the Ward Melville High School students who built it.

What began as an extracurricular offering in 2005, has evolved into a yearlong, honors robotics course at the high school. The Ward Melville Iron Patriots — robotics students and teachers Steve Rogers, John Williams and Mark Suesser — presented their work to the school board after the course’s inaugural year.

Rogers said students in the robotics class built two robots. The first is a generic one built from a kit and programmed to complete various tasks. The second robot is one that students design and build from scratch to solve a specific problem.

Last spring the Iron Patriots took part in the FIRST Robotics Competition at Hofstra University, where they competed against 55 other teams from Long Island and around the world. With a 13th place overall finish, the Ward Melville team brought home the highest rookie seed award for having the highest ranking of a first-year team. The district’s young engineers are no strangers to competition; the club team won the regional Botball championships in 2014 and 2015.

A robot built by the Ward Melville Iron Patriots in their robotics class. Photo by Andrea Paldy

The Botball robot competition requires that the robots pick up ping pong balls, transport them and then hit a target. For the FIRST Robotics Competition, which Rogers calls “a football game on steroids,” larger robots have to complete even more specialized tasks. Designed and built from scratch in six weeks, these 150-pound robot contestants must pick up gears and place them on propellers, among other challenges.

In addition to the work of building and programming the robots, members of the team also work on fundraising and build websites to get the word out about their project. They also take part in community outreach visits to elementary schools to introduce students to robotics and to local organizations such as the Disabled American Veterans.

Students who attended the meeting spoke of their interests and how the class offered the opportunity to apply certain scientific principles, develop problem-solving skills and explore interests in aerospace and mechanical engineering.

Noor Kamal, a student with an interest in math and computer science, said she went into the class not having much building experience.

“Those six weeks every single day after school designing the robot from scratch and building it exposed me to all these different things I want to do in the future,” she said.

Rogers said with the expanded role that robots will have in the future, “Our work force now has to retool to train to be able to run the robots and program the robots.”

Three Village plans final phase of Smart Schools bond spending

by Andrea Moore Paldy - August 4, 2017

0 1429

WardMelvilleHS-AmericanFlagsFor911--#5--9-14-14--ByGregCatalanoW — File photo by Greg Catalano

By Andrea Paldy

As another school year drew to a close, the final Three Village school board meeting of 2016-17 brought news of security enhancements and the district’s third phase of spending for its Smart Schools Bond allocation.

The Smart Schools Bond, an initiative approved by New York voters in 2014, allocated $2 billion to public schools across the state for education technology, preschool classrooms and security.

Three Village received $3.39 million from the fund, which is being spent on hardware, equipment and infrastructure. Speaking at the district’s final meeting for the school year, safety and security coordinator Jack Blaum said that the final phase of spending — about $1 million — will include an upgrade to security cameras, digital video recorder storage and card key access devices.

The district will convert cameras it already has on its properties from analogue to digital, Blaum said. Besides those cameras, located both in the interior and on the exterior of district buildings, officials plan additional digital security cameras at each school and will install wireless cameras at the two junior high schools to monitor the athletic fields. There is already a surveillance system for the fields at the high school.

To accommodate all of the new cameras, new DVR units will be purchased for the district’s schools. Blaum said the upgrades will also boost the number of key card readers at doors for faculty and staff at all schools, the North Country Administration Building and the old administration building on Nicolls Road. He said that there will also be additional ID scanners in building vestibules to produce visitor badges.

He discussed turning the old administration building into a command center where cameras and security vehicles could be monitored.

For Phase 1 of the Smart Schools Bond, money, about $1.2 million, has been budgeted for upgrading network infrastructure. Phase 2, recently outlined in April, will see the district spending about $1 million on classroom technology and on the district’s one-to-one device program that will provide notebook computers to junior high students.

The plan was posted to the district’s website for a 30-day period to allow residents to comment. The 30-day comment period has now passed, and the district is currently in the process of submitting the plan to the New York State Education Department for approval.

While the district still awaits approval of the first two phases of spending, he anticipates that many of the security requests will be “fast-tracked.”

Coordinating security within the district is like running a small city, Blaum said.

“All the infrastructure is great but, again, the support of all the staff and all the students are crucial,” he said.

Ward Melville’s 2017 graduates kick off future with new tradition

by Andrea Moore Paldy - June 28, 2017

0 2889

1 of 17

Debuting gender-neutral green gowns, accented with gold stoles, Ward Melville High School’s graduating seniors took their places in front of the school’s clock tower Sunday.

A satisfying cap to the Three Village school district’s 50^th year, more than 600 students received diplomas at the commencement ceremony.

Ward Melville’s principal Dr. Alan Baum reminded those in the class of 2017 that they come from a 50-year tradition of greatness and will continue the tradition because they are “unbounded and unlimited.”

Salutatorian Isabelle Scott and Valedictorian Kirti Nath celebrated the individual gifts of their classmates.

“There is no person here without accomplishment today,” Scott said. “Parents, faculty, our victory is yours, too.”

The salutatorian urged her classmates to be true to themselves.

“I hope, if nothing else, that you do the things to make yourself proud,” she said. “Your life deserves nothing less.”

Nath encouraged her classmates to look on their mistakes as opportunities to move forward or gain strength.

“We don’t have to pretend that everything in high school is easy, because that’s what makes today so uniquely special,” she said. “And even though you may not have realized it at the moment, every fall was indeed a fall forward, moving us closer to success — and, if not success, then strength.”

The class gift — additional picnic tables for the football field — was presented by Brandon Cea, student government president.

Three Village school board president, William F. Connors, had advice for the soon-to-be graduates.

“I urge you to work hard, work to your potential and believe in yourself,” Connors said.

Three Village budget passes, incumbents retain seats

by Andrea Moore Paldy - May 18, 2017

0 119

Three-Village-Candidatesw — Incumbents Irene Gische, Jeff Kerman and Inger Germano are running unopposed for their seats back on the Three Village board of education.

By Andrea Paldy

Three Village residents have overwhelmingly approved the school district’s proposed $204.4 million budget for the coming year.

At the polls Tuesday, 1,708 voted for the budget, while 719 voted against.

Incumbents Dr. Jeffrey Kerman, Irene Gische and Inger Germano, who all ran unopposed, will retain their seats.

The 2017-18 budget, a 2.77 percent increase over the previous year, covers academic enhancements, staffing changes and maintenance projects at the district’s buildings. The most notable additions are the free prekindergarten program for four-year-olds, a drug and alcohol counselor to work with students and their families, and a supervisor of technology and information systems to help oversee next year’s initiative to provide all junior high students with notebook computers.

The three board trustees, each going into a third three-year term, acknowledged the challenges of the cap on the tax levy and the controversy over Common Core in the past few years, but look to the future with optimism.

Kerman has said that in the next three years he wants to “continue to have our district advance and to educate all of our students — the entire range, from special education students to Regeneron Science Talent Search finalists.”

“All in all,” Gische said at a previous meeting, “the district is thriving in spite of the tax cap.”

She cited the addition of the free preschool and the drug and alcohol counselor as continued signs of progress, and said she will continue to support the prekindergarten and additional program and curriculum enhancements.

Germano also cited the preschool — as well as the Three Village Academy, which opened in 2013 — as recent district successes and pointed out that the Academy is a source of revenue through tuition from non-district students. She will “continue to ensure that Three Village maintains academic excellence” while staying fiscally responsible and “putting the needs of the children first,” she added in an email.

This year, because of safety concerns, voting took place at the three secondary schools instead of the elementary schools. Though voter turnout was lower than in past years, district officials interpreted it as a sign of residents’ satisfaction. The absence of additional propositions, like last year’s for transportation, and an uncontested school board election, may also have contributed to the lower turnout, they said.

However, with 70 percent voting in favor of the budget, the message from residents was still clear.

“The community has shown their approval and support and we couldn’t be more pleased,” Superintendent Cheryl Pedisich said.

Three incumbents re-run for seats back on Three Village board

by Andrea Moore Paldy - May 12, 2017

0 1533

The May 3 board meeting gave Three Village residents another chance to learn about the 2017-2018 school district’s budget before heading to the polls April 16. Along with the budget, they will also vote on three school board trustees; all are incumbents who are running unopposed.

The board trustees on the ballot are Dr. Jeffrey Kerman, current board Vice President Irene Gische and Inger Germano. This will be the third three-year term for each since joining the board in 2011.

Kerman, a dentist with practices in Mount Sinai and New York City, is the father of two Ward Melville graduates and served previously as the board’s president, in addition to a six-year term from 1999 to 2005. He currently sits on the board’s audit and facilities committees.

Well known for sewing costumes for the district’s theater productions, Gische is also a parent of Ward Melville graduates and grandmother of current Three Village students. She was head teacher at Stony Brook University’s preschool for 25 years. Prior to her current service on the board, Gische was a board trustee from 1983 to 1995, during which she was president for two years. Gische currently chairs the board’s policy committee.

Germano, the mother of two Three Village students, is president of medical management and billing company Universal Medical Billing, Corp. A Three Village resident since 2005, she also served on the North Shore Montessori School board and owns Global Alliance Realty with her husband. Germano sits on the board’s policy committee.

At the May 3 board meeting, Jeffrey Carlson, assistant superintendent for business services, addressed the issue of the $204.4 million budget that stays within the 3.4 percent cap on the allowable tax levy increase.

Carlson announced that the district will receive a $715,000 increase in state aid, up from the governor’s original proposal of $247,000. There will be no cuts to programs or services to stay within the cap, he said. In fact, the new school year will bring new programs.

As residents go to the polls, one of the most discussed additions is the free, district-run preschool for four-year-olds. The prekindergarten will replace the district’s current fee-based preschool, run by Scope Education Services. The district will now offer morning and afternoon sessions that run two and a half hours, five days a week, at Nassakeag Elementary School.

Some residents have questioned the district’s decision to subsidize a free preschool. Gloria Casano, who said her taxes have increased by $13,000 since purchasing her home in 1994, raised the matter at the meeting.

“I would like to know when you can give taxpayers a break,” she said. “With continuing enrollment decreases, you’re instituting a free pre-K?”

Board president Bill Connors responded that the preschool and other new programs were not “frills” but lay the foundation for the district’s students.

“We are very concerned about costs because they affect all of us in our community,” he said, adding, however, that the board is also concerned about maintaining the quality of educational programs.

Superintendent Cheryl Pedisich said the preschool and the additional programs would give students “the opportunity to be successful.” Also, she said, preschool is shown to save money in special services that would be needed later.

“Early intervention is priceless,” she said.

Carlson said that it is estimated that the cost of the preschool will add about $20 to the average tax bill.

Other new academic offerings will include fourth-grade chorus and daily band and orchestra for ninth-graders, as well as additional secondary level electives, an expansion of the high school writing center and the introduction of math centers at the junior high schools.

The budget covers small increases in staffing at the elementary level — up to 4.2 full-time equivalent positions (FTEs), Carlson said. The preschool will be staffed by three FTE elementary positions that will be reassigned to the preschool because of declining elementary enrollment. If the preschool reaches its capacity of 200 students, the district will hire two more teachers. As of last week’s meeting, enrollment was at 111, requiring 3.5 FTEs, Carlson said.

With more students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), 2.2 FTEs will go toward elementary special education, health and physical education. The secondary level will see an increase in staffing of 1.15 FTEs, Carlson said.

Three Village will also hire a drug and alcohol counselor to work with students and their families. Additionally, the district will add a supervisor of technology and information systems to help pilot its one-to-one device program, an initiative to provide junior high students with notebook computers. Two FTEs will be added to the grounds and maintenance staff.

The district’s capital projects, which are reimbursed by the state at a rate of 66 percent, will include the installation of generators at the elementary schools and field renovations at Ward Melville High School and P.J. Gelinas Junior High. Also planned are building repairs at Ward Melville and Gelinas, as well as district-wide plumbing and bathroom renovations.

Voting for the budget and trustees will take place on Tuesday, May 16 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Residents zoned to vote at Arrowhead, Minnesauke and Nassakeag elementary schools will vote at Ward Melville High School. Those zoned for Mount Elementary School will vote at R.C. Murphy Junior High and those zoned for Setauket Elementary School will vote at P.J. Gelinas Junior High.

Three Village sends of 2016 Ward Melville grads

by Andrea Moore Paldy - June 27, 2016

0 2774

FriendswithDiplomas_WMHS_graduation_06-26-16_paldyw — Soon-to-be graduate proudly displays high school diploma at Ward Melville High School’s commencement on June 26, 2016. Photo by Andrea Moore Paldy

They came with cameras, air horns and even a graduate’s photo held high on sticks. These were the proud families and friends who came to celebrate the 618 students who graduated from Ward Melville High School on Sunday.

Before receiving their diplomas, graduating seniors listened to final pieces of advice from their peers, their principal Dr. Alan Baum and school board president William Connors.

Class salutatorian Ariel Long urged her classmates to take their experiences at Ward Melville and “look on new beginnings with excitement and not fear.” Jeffrey Michel, the class valedictorian, reminded them to not limit themselves to one talent or interest.

“Change starts with you,” said Dr. Baum, who quoted a number of artists, including Shakira, to remind students that failure is a part of life and a way to learn. He told the graduates to “challenge obstacles,” try again and move forward.

1 of 14