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Hauppauge superintendent offers positive approaches to self-worth

by TBR Staff - March 22, 2019

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Lori-Loughlin-When-Calls-The-Heart-Facebookw — Former Hauppauge resident Lori Loughlin was indicted for alleged bribery in a celebrity college cheating scandal. Photo from When Calls the Heart Facebook page

By Donna Deedy

People everywhere are talking about the celebrity college admission cheating scandal, since more than 50 people were indicted last week on felony charges. Television actress Lori Loughlin — voted mostly likely to succeed in Hauppauge High School class of ’82 — was among those arrested. The situation has turned tragic for her family and the other people involved. But, as people in education often say in the face of crisis, “Let’s make this a valuable teaching moment.”

Dennis O’Hara, superintendent for Hauppauge School District, agreed to respond to a few questions about the situation. Here’s his advice to the community:

What lessons can be learned about self-worth?

The greatest lesson here is that one’s self-worth is an inside job, meaning it comes from within. If one feels less than another, or inadequate, being handed something or gaining an advantage through cheating, is when feelings of inadequacy only increase. Low self-worth is erased only through hard work and perseverance. In life, we deserve what we earn — nothing more, nothing less.

I’d like to add that integrity is priceless. Once it is given up it cannot easily be regained. In this case, the integrity of these parents, and possibly more importantly, of their children is severely compromised — in a very public way. I hope they, and current high school students, realize it was not worth it.

What messages do you want high school seniors and families in the community at-large to take away from this situation?

I would like our students to understand there is a sense of pride and real peace in rejoicing in accomplishments that are earned. Life is about a sense of purpose, about finding a calling and striving to be the best one can be in that purpose.

It’s less important to measure oneself against others than it is to strive for one’s own dreams. I have four sons, and I often remind them life will be filled with challenges, but there is no glory in the accomplishment if it was without difficulty. In essence, having something handed to you does not build self-worth.

I often say it is not about where one is at the moment that matters, but where one is headed that counts. Each day be better than the day before and everything else will take care of itself.

Regarding college admissions, parents should not look for the best window sticker. Instead, they should help their children find the college or university that is the best fit. I can tell you from personal experience this approach relieves a great deal of stress for the parents and the child. In Hauppauge, we embrace this philosophy and are proud of the effort our students are putting forth.

One last thought regarding parenting and college admissions is that I would much prefer to be judged by the kind of men my sons have become than by the college they attended.

School district stays within tax cap, announces sustainability task force

by TBR Staff - March 20, 2019

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ThaliLapidus_3VBOE_3-13-19_Paldy (1)w — Parent Thali Lapidus discusses the importance of outdoor time and physical exercise at the March 13 board of education meeting. Photo by Andrea Paldy

By Andrea Paldy

As school administrators across the state begin to think about next year’s budget, Three Village Central School District officials announced last week that the district will not have to cut staffing or programs to stay within its 2.53 percent cap on the tax levy increase.

Jeff Carlson, assistant superintendent for business services, said the 2019-20 district budget will be about a 2.4 percent increase on last year’s $209.8 million budget. Decisions on staffing and programs will be based on enrollment and student need, not on the budget, Carlson said at the March 13 school board meeting.

Though the assistant superintendent is not expecting an increase in aid from the state, he can anticipate the district’s higher expenses, such as health insurance and retirement costs. While retirement costs are decreasing this year, health insurance will rise 2 percent, Carlson said. Because the district is part of a self-insured consortium with a couple of other school districts, the rate is lower than the New York State health insurance plan, he said.

This year, districts in Suffolk County are required to distribute budget documents in both English and Spanish, based on the percentage of residents in the county who speak the languages, Carlson said.

In other news, Superintendent Cheryl Pedisich announced the formation of a districtwide sustainability task force.

Members of the task force, which will convene in September, will include Pedisich, Carlson, director of facilities James O’ Hagan, school board trustee Irene Gische, as well as a principal, a teacher and a parent from each of the district’s schools. School-based teams will work with the schools’ PTAs to determine each building’s plans for sustainability, Pedisich said.

A group of parents from Setauket Elementary School prompted the task force. Two parents from the group spoke at the February board meeting, asking that the district forms a committee to introduce more eco-friendly practices, and educate students about reducing waste and being more conscious of their environmental footprint. As a result of their advocacy, Setauket Elementary has become the first school to begin using reusable utensils in its lunchrooms.

Last week, two more Setauket parents discussed the importance of outdoor time and physical exercise for students of all ages. Thali Lapidus, mother of three students in the district, pointed to the “mental health crisis” suffered by upper-grade students, saying they feel pressure because of grades and tests, and don’t have time to be outside or with their friends. She said they, along with younger students, would benefit mentally and physically from time outside in an outdoor classroom, or taking part in yoga, caring for a community garden or even recycling.

“The kids want to be involved,” she said. “They want to make their schools a better place, and they want to connect with the planet.”

Irene Moshkovich, a mother of two, agreed. She added that now secondary students have district-issued Chromebooks, there is “much more engagement with electronics and not enough time spent outside.” She, too, wants the district to find ways to promote more time outside during the school day.

This is an issue that the district has been addressing, Pedisich said. She and Kevin Scanlon, assistant superintendent for educational services, have been working with elementary parents who are part of a recess focus group, she said. They have been looking at how to better use the courtyards at the elementary schools so that students have more opportunities to engage in outdoor activities throughout the year, Pedisich said.

“We are excited about working with the community,” the superintendent said about the efforts to expand courtyard use and address sustainability concerns.

Brookhaven National Laboratory hosts Middle School Science Bowl

by TBR Staff - March 18, 2019

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R.C. Murphy Junior High School and Harbor Country Day School take home honors

Great Neck South Middle School’s Team 1 edged out R.C. Murphy Junior High School of Stony Brook to take first place in the Long Island Regional Middle School Science Bowl held at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton on March 2.

Longwood Junior High School in Middle Island placed third and Harbor Country Day School in St. James placed fourth.

Twelve teams took part in the competition and were made up of four students, one alternate and a teacher who served as an adviser and coach. Presented in a fast-paced question-and-answer format, each team was tested on a range of science disciplines including biology, chemistry, Earth science, physics, energy and math.

As the winning team, Great Neck South will be awarded an all-expenses-paid trip to the National Finals in Washington, D.C., scheduled to take place from April 25 to 29. The top 16 middle school teams in the National Finals will win $1,000 for their schools’ science departments.

“The National Science Bowl has grown into one of the most prestigious and competitive science academic competitions in the country, challenging students to excel in the STEM fields so vital to America’s future,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry. “I am proud to oversee a department that provides such a unique and empowering opportunity for our nation’s students.”

Danielle Davey, a science teacher from Harbor Country Day School, said she was happy that her team placed in the competition. “This was our first year participating in the competition and we’re happy that we took fourth place,” said Davey. “I told my students this is about teamwork and just do your best. We are grateful to Brookhaven Lab for hosting the event and we plan to be back next year!”

Participating students received a Science Bowl T-shirt, and winning teams also received trophies, medals and banners, courtesy of event sponsor Brookhaven Science Associates, the company that manages and operates the lab for DOE.

For more information, visit www.bnl.gov.

Photos courtesy of Brookhaven National Laboratory

Northport community, students prune their locks for childhood cancer

by David Luces - March 15, 2019

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Seventh-grade science teacher John Braun donned a green mohawk and bellowed on bagpipes as he led a group of students into a packed Northport-East Northport Middle School auditorium. At the district’s St. Baldrick’s Day event, March 8, around 39 students and staff volunteered their time and lined up to shave their heads in support of childhood cancer research.

Since 2007, the middle school has raised nearly $215,000 and its team, The Bald Tigers, has raised more than $14,000 this year.

“I thought it was going to run its course, maybe be a year or two, but it has gotten bigger and bigger every year,” Braun said. “The kids get really excited to get involved and be a part of it.”

When Braun was in middle school, his best friend’s older brother died of cancer. He said that story is why he became involved with St. Baldrick’s.

Over the years, the district has been impacted by childhood cancer, and for this year’s shave they honored a number of individuals including Caleb Paquet, who died in August 2017 after a battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and Danielle DeSimone, a former student who at 19 was diagnosed with leukemia.

DeSimone couldn’t be at the event but sent a video thanking the crowd for participating in the event and for continuing to raise awareness for childhood cancer research.

The crowd listened to her story of how one week she was surfing with her friends, and the next week she was in a hospital bed where she stayed for five months receiving treatment. After seven rounds of chemotherapy she was informed that she was a candidate for a bone marrow transplant. She received a transplant from a person in Germany and went on to say one day she hopes to meet them.

“I’m still in recovery — it’s tough and a really slow process but one thing that has been consistent throughout everything has been the support of the Northport-East Northport community,” DeSimone said. “Every well-wish just reminds me every single day to keep going and that I have a full community of people behind just rooting for me and pushing me to get to my goal of getting better.”

Nicole Paquet, the mother of Caleb, also spoke at the event about her personal experiences.

She said her son, up until he received news of his diagnosis, was very much like Danielle, a robust, healthy person who was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed long distance walks.

“You are not just shaving your head, wearing a T-shirt and getting a green hair extension, you are a part of a much bigger mission today,” she said.

Caleb’s mother added many research hospitals are able to receive grants to help them come up with better treatments for cancer thanks to the money raised from St. Baldrick’s events.

“Many children’s lives will be saved because of this research and treatment — I have hope that more types of treatment will be developed in the years to come,” Paquet said. “I also have a grand hope that there will be a cure for cancer in my lifetime.”

This year’s St. Baldrick’s event also honored Charlotte Stewart, a current middle school student who is battling cancer. When she was called up on stage to participate in the head-shave she received a loud ovation from the packed crowd.

Braun couldn’t have been happier with this year’s turnout.

“The community is great — I grew up here, I went to school here, I still live here — they’ve always been super supportive of any event we do, and I couldn’t imagine doing this
anywhere else.”

Commack community unites for 10th annual St. Baldrick’s Day event

by David Luces - March 11, 2019

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By David Luces

Students, teachers and parents in Commack recently went bald for a cause.

For the 10th year running, members of the Commack School District and surrounding community gathered at the high school March 1 to shave their heads in support of childhood cancer research. Over 100 people participated to raise money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a not-for-profit whose goal is to raise funds to find cures for childhood cancer.

In the past nine years the district has held the event, Commack has raised over $650,000. This year the district raised close to $45,000, with some teams donating well over $10,000.

The annual event is organized by Commack High School teachers Lee Tunick, Bill Scaduto and Dan Revera. Since its inception, close to 1,000 people have shaved their heads in solidarity to those suffering childhood cancer. Hairdressing students from Eastern Suffolk BOCES donated their time to cut the participants hair.

The idea for the fundraiser came about through a cancer awareness club that Revera and Scaduto ran at the high school for quite some time.

“Bill Scaduto and myself have been working in this building for 20 years,” said Revera. At that time St. Baldrick’s didn’t exist as we know it today. When we first found out about St. Baldrick’s, we would go to a school in Northport and a colleague of mine thought why don’t we host our own event here [at the high school].”

Now with the event in its 10th year, Revera said it is great to see Commack School District students and community come out to support this.

“One of the main influx of people [that come here] are the elementary students,” the high school teacher said. “Anything that we can do to generate [money] to help these kids who are going through this is great.” Revera added that the students that came to the event have shown bravery, have stood up for what’s right and are dedicated to a good cause.

“That’s why we are here,” he said. “Just the thought of a family going through something like this and dealing with their child battling cancer — I can’t even imagine. If providing one day where we can support them and try to help however we can, it’s the least we can do.”

Mount Sinai educators square off in annual faculty basketball game

by Kyle Barr - March 5, 2019

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By Bill Landon

The Mount Sinai middle school all stars squared off against the high school varsity squad in the 17th annual Battle of the Educators faculty basketball game.

For yet another year, the middle school claims the bragging rights of the district as they snatched the victory in the final seconds winning 73-72. The fundraiser was played March 1 in front of a packed house where the proceeds benefit the Mount Sinai Booster Club.

All Photos by Bill Landon. Captions were provided in part by Matt Dyroff, the assistant principal Mount Sinai High School.

SWR survey reveals areas to improve in next five years

by Kyle Barr - March 1, 2019

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Superintendent Gerard Poole speaks to residents about the survey results. Photo by Kyle Barr

The Shoreham-Wading River Central School District is trying to gauge its long-term future with community, teacher and student feedback.

The district has surveyed district residents to help determine which school functions are doing well and which need to be improved. This data was especially important, Wading River Elementary School Principal Lou Parrinello said, because of expectations over declining enrollment.

“They’re putting it out there because the district is shrinking in enrollment,” Parrinello said. “This shows what we want to hold dear, what we want to expand and what we want to let go. We don’t want to make those decisions in isolation.”

That loss of students could then mean a loss of revenue for the school over a period of several years, along with shrinking class sizes and potentially less specialized electives available. Superintendent Gerard Poole said the district has already hosted forums with teachers and students of all grade levels.

“They’re putting it out there because the district is shrinking in enrollment.”

— Lou Parrinello

In a special focus group meeting Feb. 26, the district asked residents to present their own ideas for where the district should head in the next five years.

In the survey, close to 1,000 residents rated where the strongest and weakest elements of the district were. On the negative end, 47 percent of those surveyed said the cafeteria programs needed improvement. While the high school cafeteria remains as it is, the district has used funds from a bond passed in 2015 to create a new kitchen and cafeteria spaces in both the Wading River Elementary School and Albert G. Prodell Middle School. The district plans to renovate the cafeteria with the ongoing bond funds this summer.

A number of teachers, parents and even some students were present to speak about the issues they see with the school, with some noting a lack of proper communication with parents and students, especially over social media.

Karla Roberts, a fourth-grade teacher in the district, said the schools need to look toward standing out among the flock of other districts on Long Island. She was especially disappointed to learn how some seniors in the high school, because they were already at the mandated amount of class credits they needed to graduate, were coming in late during the school day and leaving early.

“It’s making sure all students have something, and [the school] should be tracking if students are in sports, clubs electives, or not,” Roberts said.

High school senior Katie Loscalzo said there is a disconnect between the guidance counselors and the students, especially in guaranteeing there is interest for students in varying classes. She noted she is currently in an Advanced Placement course with only seven students and is taking an elective with only four enrolled.

“We don’t have those guidance relationships,” the senior said.

The district conducted an enrollment study in 2015, which was updated for the 2017-18 school year. The study predicted the district will recede to 1,650 enrolled students by 2025, compared to its current enrollment of 2,264. Along with a declining birthrate and an aging population, the district has in the past pointed to low housing turnover from 2008 to 2016 for part of its ebbing enrollment figures.

“We don’t have those guidance relationships.”

— Katie Loscalzo

This fact brings a call for strategic developments of new school budgets. At its Feb. 26 meeting, the district revealed a preliminary proposed budget of $75,952,416, approximately a million more than the current year’s budget of $74,776,072 and below the current year’s tax cap of 2.96 percent.

Also represented in the budget is a 3.69 percent drop in state aid funding, based on projections of the New York State budget proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).

In the continuing work of the 2015 bond, the district outlined a number of projects for the upcoming summer, including renovating the high school theater lighting and dimming system, a full reconstruction of the main parking lot, a renovation and expansion of the existing kitchen and serving line and a reconfiguration of the office spaces within the center corridor. The board awarded bids to a number of contractors for that work at the Feb. 26 meeting.

Suffolk sheriff tells PJ students to “say something” about potential shootings

by Kyle Barr - February 27, 2019

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Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. and his deputies spoke on what students should do about school shootings. Photo by Kyle Barr

When Suffolk County Deputy Sheriff Brian Butler asked Port Jefferson High School students whether they felt safe in school, approximately half of the assembled ninth- to 12th-graders languidly raised their hands.

The county sheriff’s office has been conducting violence prevention classes with districts called Say Something as part of the national nonprofit Sandy Hook Promise campaign to mitigate school shootings. The presentation that was made to Port Jefferson middle and high schoolers Feb. 26 asked students to learn the warning signs of a person who may commit a violent act in or out of school, and then tell a teacher, school official or another adult about it.

“We’re not going to completely prevent a school shooting, but we can do a much better job,” Butler said.

“We’re not going to completely prevent a school shooting, but we can do a much better job.”

— Brian Butler

The deputy sheriff said one of the issues he has seen with kids being unwilling to come to adults with these comments is the aura of being called out as a “snitch.”

“We live in this, ‘I don’t want to be a snitch’ culture,” he said. “That’s a prison term.”

Butler said there were a number of warning signs students should look out for among their peers, including withdrawing from others, bullying, excessive anger, thoughts or plans of harming one’s self or others or other significant personality changes. Though the most obvious sign is a social media post, which in past shootings, shooters have used to explicitly announce their intentions days before the tragedies.

The department pointed to a recent event in Brentwood where Suffolk County police arrested a 16-year-old student Feb. 24 who allegedly posted a message on Snapchat saying he would be “shooting up the Brentwood Freshman Center” the following day. A student took a screen capture of the Snapchat message and sent it to officials, who arrested the young man on charges of making a terroristic threat.

While some could look at those warning signs and see a young person going through the normal emotional swings of becoming an adult, the deputies said the point of the presentation was to increase student’s awareness and to lighten the stigma of speaking up.

“This is not a paranoia thing,” Deputy Sheriff Keith Hoffman said.

Sandy Hook Promise was formed in part by parents of children involved in the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting in 2012, where a 20-year-old man fatally shot six adults and 20 elementary school children, all of whom were 7 years old or younger. The nonprofit announced a partnership with the county sheriff’s office in August 2018. Since then, Butler said the department has been to more than 10 school districts and spoken in front of hundreds of children.

“It may not happen here, but it might happen somewhere else you might be.”

— Errol Toulon Jr.

While the sheriff deputies said the likelihood of a school shooting happening in Port Jefferson is slim, Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. (D) said the specter of the possibility hangs over students as they continue in school and even into higher education.

“It may not happen here, but it might happen somewhere else you might be,” Toulon said.

Still, many schools across Long Island have increased security measures. Port Jeff Superintendent Paul Casciano said the 2018-19 school budget included increases for the number of security staff, as well as funds for new security vestibules in both the elementary school and the combined high school and middle school building. These projects are currently awaiting review by New York State’s Department of Education and won’t likely be completed until this summer or later.

Other districts have taken the step of hiring armed guards for their schools, such as Mount Sinai and Miller Place, but Casciano said the point when security becomes overwhelming for students is when “kids feel like they’re going into a prison.”

“It’s a community decision,” he added.

Suffolk police, schools reach agreement on SRO’s job description

by Sara-Megan Walsh - February 27, 2019

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Huntington-High-School-w — Huntington High School. File photo

Exactly two months after a New York Times Magazine article about the deportation of a Honduran immigrant rocked the Huntington school community, Suffolk County Police Department and Suffolk County school superintendents have agreed on a job description for school resource officers.

Kenneth Bossert, president of Suffolk County Schools Superintendents Association, said his organization has been diligently working hand-in-hand with Suffolk police to craft the one-page document that sets out a 19-point bullet list outlining the roles and responsibilities of every school resource officer shared with TBR News Media Feb. 26.

“This document is intended to specify what these roles and responsibilities have been and is in no way intended to modify this existing program, which has achieved much success since it was established decades ago,” read a joint statement issues by Suffolk police and the superintendents association.

Suffolk’s SRO program was established in 1998, but there has never previously been a formal written document outlining the responsibilities of an SRO, according to Bossert. The issue has become a matter of pressing local concern after ProPublica reporter Hannah Dreier wrote in her Dec. 27 article that Huntington’s SRO officer Drew Fiorello was allegedly involved in providing evidence resulting in the deportation of Alex, a Huntington High School student accused of being involved with MS-13.

“[An MOU] is different from a list of roles and responsibilities, it has a legal seriousness to it different from those.”

-Josh Dubnau

“For years, I believed the [school resource officer] was placed there to protect us,” 2016 graduate Savannah Richardson said at Jan. 9 board of education meeting. “I was never aware information shared with the SRO would end up in the hands of ICE.”

At the top of new one-page policy document outlining of an SRO’s responsibilities is, “perform all duties, responsibilities, and lawful requirements of a duly sworn Suffolk County Police Officer.” This is immediately followed by the directive that SRO officers should, “Forge and maintain effective relationships” with all students and school staff.

Some of the outlined duties and responsibilities set forth in the SRO policy are very broad based and vague in details. For example, “Assist school officials when matters involving law enforcement officers are required” does not give any further explanation but seems open to individual interpretation.

Both Bossert and a police spokesperson made clear the document is not in any way to be construed or taken as a Memorandum of Understanding.

“If any individual district opts to take further action, that would be up to individual board of education and the SCPD,” Bossert said.

Huntington Superintendent James Polansky and the district’s board of education previously promised in a Dec. 28 letter to the community that they would seek an MOU as “such an agreement would establish formal procedural guidelines associated with the SRO position, as well as with information flow and restrictions.” The superintendent also expressed in January that any MOU would likely need to be individualized per school district.

Polansky did not respond to requests for comments on the new SRO policy outlining the position’s role and responsibilities.

Several requests made by Huntington school district parents, students and community members over the last two months for clear boundaries and restrictions on the SRO’s position are not reflected by the new one-page policy. There is no mention made of SROs receiving required training in areas such as cultural competency or restorative justice practices and nothing regarding privacy of students and their records. Notably, there was no community forum or event provided for residents as was repeatedly requested by Huntington parents and students to give their input on the agreement.

“This document is intended to specify what these roles and responsibilities have been and is in no way intended to modify this existing program…”

— Joint statement

Huntington parent Josh Dubnau reissued his call for a full Memorandum of Understanding contract as “necessary” between the school district and Suffolk police at the Feb. 25 board of education meeting while wearing a T-shirt that read, “Agents of Change.”

“[An MOU] is different from a handshake agreement, different from a gentleman’s or woman’s agreement,” he said. “It is different from a list of roles and responsibilities, it has a legal seriousness to it different from those.”

Dubnau called for Huntington school administrators to give more specific details on what they have alleged were inaccuracies in the New York Times Magazine piece as well as what steps the district has taken internally to prevent a similar situation from occurring again.

“What internal investigation has taken place to figure out what went wrong and to identify what needs to change?” he asked. “What changes if any have unilaterally been put in place by the school to prevent children from being labeled as gang associated and to provide a process for families to be aware of that and challenge it if it indeed happens. “

Jennifer Hebert, president of Huntington’s board of education, reacted only to tell Dubnau that it was “not the forum to address this.” The board does have a policy of not responding to speaker’s questions during its public comment period. However, no trustee chose to address the issue during a time set aside for closing remarks by board members.

The next Huntington BOE regular business meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. March 25 at Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School.

Mount Sinai School District unveils portions of proposed budget

by TBR Staff - February 25, 2019

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Mtsinaiguards meeting 2w — Mount Sinai School District's board of education during its March 8 meeting. File Photo Photo by Kyle Barr

By David Luces

The Mount Sinai School District is looking at a budget that could see a decrease in debt services and changes to school textbooks and special education.

The district continued its presentation of its proposed 2019-20 school budget at a district board meeting Feb.13. Between the January and February presentation, the district has shown approximately 23 percent of the budget, which is just about $13 million out of the $62.5 million proposed total budget for the next school year.

At the February meeting, after hearing the needs from parents, the board said it is supporting the recommendation to make the Consultant Teacher Direct Instructor program full day for children in grades 1 through 4 in the elementary school. CTD instructors provide services and support students with disabilities in his or her general education classes. This would increase the special education budget to $4.3 million, $98,780 more than the previous school year.

“It will align with the full-day program at the middle school,” Superintendent Gordon Brosdal said. “To create that [at the elementary school] it would take the hiring of two special education teachers.”

District officials said they will examine class size and registration to figure out how many teachers they would need overall. In addition to the planned full-day program, the teachers will be supplied with additional textbooks.

“This is a pretty big add,” the superintendent said. “But we believe this is the best for our kids and what their needs are.”

“We believe this is the best for our kids and what their needs are.”

— Gordon Brosdal

Officials also stressed the need to replace older textbooks in the middle and high school. The district would be replacing sixth-grade algebra II textbooks, replacing middle school science textbooks, seventh- and eighth-grade English books along with social studies textbooks.

The superintendent said that some of the textbooks in the middle and high school are over 20 years old. The total for the new textbooks will cost the district $75,550.

“[With the newer textbooks] everything is accessible online,” he said. “You could have the lesson in class and then see it again
at home.”

In conjunction with newer textbooks, the board will also renew IXL site licenses, which is a platform that offers students K-12 educational practice outside the classroom.

“We have seen many students use this —we are reacting to the popularity and use it,” Robert Sweeney, president of the Mount Sinai board of education said. “When students go home they can go through lesson plans, online help — it is helping them do better in
their classes.”

A highlight of the Jan. 16 meeting was the announcement of a 25-year-old bond loan that is expected to be paid off in full at the end of the year.

“This is good news for us,” Brosdal said. “Finally, that bond on the high school that we got years ago to borrow money will be paid off this year.”

With the bond being paid off, the school district is projected to see a decrease of close to $1 million in debt services.

The next budget presentation will take place on March 20 at 8 p.m. in Mount Sinai Middle School. Topics of discussion will be operations, maintenance, grounds/security, athletics,
salaries and benefits.

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