Miller Place senior Zoe Weissman battles at the draw. Photo by Bill Landon
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Miller Place sophomore Giulia Francese fires at the cage. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place senior Zoe Weissman battles at the draw. Photo by Bill Landon
Port Jeff goalie Emma Batter with one of her 11 saves. Photo by Bill Landon
Port Jefferson junior Anna Matvya looks for a cutter. Photo by Bill Landon
Port Jeff sophomore Marley York eludes a defender. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place attack Hayden Young breaks up-field. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place midfielder Angie Efstathiou splits a pair of defenders. Photo by Bill Landon
Port Jeff junior Savanna Florio drives towards the crease. Photo by Bill Landon
By Bill Landon
The Royals of Port Jefferson had their hands full when they hosted the Panthers of Miller Place Friday afternoon, April 26, in a home game in a girls lacrosse matchup. The Royals hoped to use the home field — which is grass, not turf — to their advantage. But the game didn’t play out that way in the Division II matchup.
Port Jeff junior Anna Matvya split the pipes midway through the second quarter to break the ice for her team, but it was little consolation as the Royals trailed 11-1 at the half. Miller Place peppered the scoreboard with seven more goals in the second half with Matvya finding the back of the net thrice more for an impressive four goals as the Royals fell to the Panthers 18-4.
Miller Place attack Mirabella Altebrando had three goals and eight assists with teammate Lyla Coffey netting three times.
Sophia Ingenito and Casey Gilbert both had two goals and an assist for the Panthers and Angie Efstathiou and Hayden Young had two goals apiece.
Port Jefferson Board of Education convened on Tuesday, April 9, to kick off the start to the final quarter of the school year. The meeting highlighted achievements and initiatives, such as academic recognition and community engagement discussions. Updates on student activities were shared alongside discussions on budget and curriculum enhancements, reflecting the district’s focus on educational advancement.
John Ruggero, principal of Earl L. Vandermeulen High School, announced the valedictorian, Eric Chen, and salutatorian, Michelle Wu, for the Class of 2024. Both students were congratulated on their exceptional academic achievements.
Capital projects
Following a few other brief presentations, Sean Leister, deputy superintendent, provided a comprehensive overview of the current status and future plans for capital projects. Leister began by addressing the delays encountered at the state level regarding project approvals, which contributed to the district falling slightly behind schedule.
For the 2022-23 period, Leister highlighted ongoing projects such as the middle school retaining wall and drainage, the high school bleacher project, the elementary pool repair and the completion of a segment of the high school roofing project. He noted that despite initial budget estimates, actual project costs varied with some coming in under budget while others exceeded projections.
Transitioning to the 2023-24 period, Leister outlined projects still under review, including the ADA bathroom and phase one of the windows replacement at the high school, while also mentioning completed projects such as the rear boundary fence at the elementary school and the cancellation of the stop-arm booth project.
Looking ahead to 2024-25, Leister proposed additional projects, including the renovation of the high school orchestra room, further pool maintenance and additional roofing work. He emphasized the importance of maintaining a contingency budget to address unforeseen circumstances, detailing the restrictions and limitations associated with such a budget.
Public comment
During the presentation, community member concerns regarding declining enrollment and long-term planning were raised. Leister acknowledged the importance of addressing these concerns and assured attendees that discussions regarding future plans were ongoing.
However, concerns raised by Port Jefferson residents during the public comment period shed light on broader community apprehensions.
Village resident Suzette Smookler expressed worries about declining enrollment and long-term planning, emphasizing the need for transparency and proactive measures. She urged the board to consider contingency plans and engage in open dialogue with stakeholders to address these concerns effectively.
“Whether I look at BOCES reports, your reports, Newsday’s reports, we definitely have a significant declining enrollment,” Smookler said of the district’s current enrollment figures.
Smookler asked the board how they plan to address the current enrollment numbers. “What is the plan B?” she asked. Smookler continued advocating for a more inviting conversation from residents. “Openness and communication go a long way,” she said. “I would appreciate it if maybe you [the board] can get a committee, a group together, some people from in town, some who have never had children, some who have put six through the distinct. I think by doing that you will foster less divisiveness and distrust.”
Another resident, Gail Sternberg echoed similar sentiments, posing questions before the board with regard to the district’s current reserve fund status. Sternberg noted the current amount of reserves the district has, at approximately $23 million, though only $1.8 million can be used on an unrestricted basis, as Leister explained.
Board President Ellen Boehm reassured attendees that discussions regarding long-term planning and enrollment were ongoing. Boehm noted the board’s intention to consider the formation of a committee to facilitate dialogue and collaboration among various stakeholders.
Port Jefferson Village trustees meeting. File photo
By Lynn Hallarman
During the April 10 Village of Port Jefferson Board of Trustees workgroup meeting, Treasurer Stephen Gaffga presented the modified tentative budget for fiscal year 2024-25, highlighting the steps the new administration is taking to stay within the New York State 2% tax cap.
Gaffga divided the presentation into four sections:
• Overview of operational challenges and strategic initiatives
• Breakdown of the village’s funding sources
• Allocation of taxpayer dollars across services and obligations
• Explanation of the impact on resident taxes.
Operational challenges and strategic initiatives
Gaffga provided a detailed breakdown of a $541,000 rise in nondiscretionary spending for fiscal year 2024-25. This increase in spending is mostly due to contractual obligations, including employee health insurance, dental insurance, retirement and workers compensation. Notably, there is a large uptick in municipal insurance costs amounting to $131,000, signifying a 50% increase over the previous year.
Another challenge area is the gradual reduction over time in taxes collected from the Long Island Power Authority under the “glide path” agreement. This year, the village saw a decrease in LIPA’s tax contribution to the property tax base by $135,990. Gaffga noted a roughly $570,000 decline in the assessed valuation of LIPA properties, reflecting their reduced worth. “That decrease has an effect on the tax rate ultimately down the road,” he said.
Gaffga indicated that the village exceeded the state tax cap eight times in the last nine years. However, he asserted that will not be the case this year.
According to him, “spending under our control” — or discretionary spending — will decrease in the 2024-25 budget “by more than $260,000.” This decrease is due mainly to eliminating the managerial parking position and redistributing those duties over several departments.
“This operational change will result in a $190,000 decrease in spending, which will be passed on to the taxpayer,” he said.
Gaffga reported that the “deep dive” into the capital fund audit by specialized CPA firm PKF O’Connor Davies of Hauppauge continues. “They’re getting far along in that process. By the end of the fiscal year, we’ll have some idea of the results of that deep dive,” he said.
The treasurer stressed, “It is important that any changes made to this budget are made by the board and they’re done in full view of the public so that everybody understands that the board controls this budget.”
Funding sources
Property taxes account for 60% of the total revenues collected for the village’s general fund, which supports the operational aspects of the village’s budget. Other significant funding comes from managed parking, tax agreements with utilities and recreation fees.
Expenses
Employee benefits are the most significant expenditure at 23%, or $2.6 million, of the general fund. General governmental support, which includes funding the treasurer’s office, attorney support, the clerk’s office and the justice court, amounts to roughly $2.4 million.
Other village services funded by the general fund include public safety — fire marshals, building inspectors and code enforcement; culture, parks and recreation, including the Village Center programs; transportation, including sidewalk repaving; and home community services such as the building and planning department and street cleaning.
“The large majority of our spending [nondiscretionary] we do not have control over,” Gaffga said. There is a total village spending increase of 5%.
Tax impacts
The general fund appropriations in the modified tentative 2024-25 budget are projected at $11,458,475 ($11,371,826), an increase of 0.76%. In addition, the Port Jefferson Country Club budget is shown at $3,550,000 ($2,904,882), an increase of 22.21% that is paid for by raising dues and fees according to Gaffga.
Total amount of taxes levied by the village for the fiscal year are shown at roughly $6.8 million, about a 2% increase from last year. “New York State establishes the 2% tax cap to ensure local governments don’t grow their tax base beyond what is necessary. The village is coming under what the New York State allows,” Gaffga confirmed.
Residential individual taxpayers could see a tax increase of $1.45 per $100 of assessed valuation.
Residents can view the modified tentative budget on the village website. Public comments are open until 5 p.m. April 20. Comments should be directed to Sylvia Pirillo, the village clerk, at [email protected].
The Board of Trustees will meet again on Wednesday, April 24, at 6 p.m.
Further destruction of terracing and plantings on the East Beach bluff after recent rainstorms. Photo by Lynn Hallarman
Recent setbacks in East Beach bluff stabilization project have officials and residents on edge
By Lynn Hallarman
East Beach is a village-owned strip of sandy shoreline situated between the northern front of the Long Island Sound and the base — or toe — of a steeply set bluff, roughly 100 feet high.
A jetty opens into Mount Sinai Harbor eastward of the bluff. To the west, the shore stretches past a series of private properties, then past the village of Belle Terre, and finally curves inward, reconfiguring as Port Jefferson Harbor.
For decades, the village-owned Port Jefferson Country Club, perched near the crest of the bluff, was invisible to beachgoers below, shielded by a thick tangle of greenery clinging to the bluff’s north front.
But in recent years, a series of intense rainstorms, combined with sea rise and pressures from human-made alterations in the landscape above the bluff, have set in motion deforestation and scouring, denuding the bluff of vegetation and accelerating erosion in the direction of the country club’s foundation. The club has become precariously close to the bluff’s edge. Without a plan, there was no doubt it would slide down the bluff onto the shoreline below within a few years.
To make matters worse, the bluff stabilization project, whose aim is to stabilize the position of the club, has been beset with complications in the wake of a series of recent storms unraveling costly work completed just last summer as part of Phase I of the project.
As communities across Long Island are confronting relentless coastal erosion, TBR News Media focuses on the obstacles facing the bluff stabilization project at East Beach, exploring the complexities, costs and alternative solutions to rescuing the country club.
The big picture
Bluffs change naturally over time, feeding sand to the beach and replenishing the shoreline. They respond to the force of winds, waves and tides, creating new states of equilibrium with the beach below and the landscapes above. The Long Island shoreline has been reshaping for thousands of years, sometimes imperceptibly and sometimes in dramatic fits of landslip — that is, chunks of shoreline abruptly falling into the sea.
East Beach and its bluff are inseparable from the adjacent coastline — they move as the coastline moves. When humans make changes in the shorelines by adding bulkheads, jetties and other rigid structures, the effects resonate laterally, affecting the movement of sand and ocean from beach to beach along the shoreline.
“Port Jefferson’s experience with bluff restoration is a microcosm of what has been happening all over Long Island,” said Chuck Hamilton, a marine biologist and former regional natural resource supervisor for the state Department of Environmental Conservation for some 33 years.
“For a long time, farmers on Long Island had their farms right on top of the bluff, and shoreline erosion happened naturally,” he said. But now those same areas are being subdivided and developed, adding weight and impermeable surfaces abutting the shoreline. “And guess what? Now we need to stabilize.”
For decades, Port Jefferson Country Club was invisible to the beachgoers, shielded by a thick tangle of greenery clinging to the bluff. Undated photo courtesy Port Jeff historian Chris Ryon
The project
When Port Jefferson’s mayor, Lauren Sheprow, took office in July 2023, the bluff stabilization project was already in motion. Sheprow, a former public relations professional, had campaigned on a platform of two core values: financial transparency and safeguarding of village assets. However, the realities of rescuing the country club — purchased in 1978 when her father, Harold Sheprow, was village mayor — while keeping project costs under control have proven to be complex and demanding.
Most of Phase I of the project happened before the current mayor took office. This work included the installation of a 454-foot rigid wall at the base, terracing and native grass plantings on the bluff face. With Phase II now under her purview, Sheprow believes it is her responsibility to see the project to completion: the installation of a wall system along the bluff’s crest, directly seaward of the imperiled country club.
“I swore to protect and preserve the property owned by the Village of Port Jefferson, and therefore the residents. Preserving and protecting is not ignoring an erosion issue,” the mayor said.
Phase I, costing approximately $5 million, relied on local taxpayer dollars financed through a bond repayable over time. Phase II, estimated at $4.8 million, will be financed mostly by federal taxpayer dollars by a FEMA grant of $3.75 million.
Financing the endeavor has been rife with holdups and stymied by a six-year-long permitting process. It has been almost a year since Phase I was completed. Final signoffs related to the FEMA funding for Phase II are still pending, preventing the village from seeking bids for construction of the upper wall. However, the village treasurer, Stephen Gaffga, said he hopes to see the signoffs come through this month.
By many accounts, questions about the project’s funding have rankled residents for years. The prevailing sentiment is that the village pushed through a $10 million bond for the stabilization project (phases I and II combined) without a community vote through a bond resolution.
“When I am asked about my position about the bluff restoration, I never saw the arguments on all sides of the project flushed out,” said Ana Hozyainova, president of Port Jefferson Civic Association. “Village officials took the position from the beginning that the building must be saved, no matter what. That imperative has limited the discussions about options.”
Complications
The uncertainty surrounding the cost and timing of needed repairs because of winter storm damage to the bluff faces further complications in Phase II. “Negotiations are ongoing” between the village and the contractor about who is responsible for absorbing these additional expenses, Gaffga said.
Drainage issues at the bluff’s crest are also hampering progress, and likely contributed to the recent collapse of the newly-installed terracing along the western part of the bluff, below the tennis courts. “There are huge puddles sitting at the crest, after heavy [recent] rainstorms,” Sheprow said. The strategy and cost related to addressing the drainage issues have not yet been determined, she added.
Although the project was divided into two phases because of funding constraints, “its ultimate success,” according to Laura Schwanof, senior ecologist at GEI Consultants of Huntington Station, “hinges on both walls working together to curtail erosion and prevent the club slipping down the slope.”
GEI has been involved with village erosion mitigation projects since 2009. The two-wall system for the bluff stabilization was their design. “The problem with this project is protection number two — the upper wall — has not been installed,” Schwanof said. When asked how long the wall system might hold up, she couldn’t say.
“What does happen, and has been seen across the Northeast, is that as we get more frequent storms, higher wave energy, higher rainfall events, rigid wall structures may work in the short term. But if you look 50 years down the road, they may not be as effective,” she said.
“Hard erosion protection structures such as revetments or bulkheads can be costly, only partially effective over time and may even deflect wave energy onto adjacent properties.” Jeff Wernick, a DEC representative, wrote in an email.The DEC, he said, permitted the East Beach project based solely on “the immediate threat to significant infrastructure.”
Completion of Phase I in spring 2023, before winter storms unravel work on the bluff face. Photo from the PJ Village website
Retreat?
When Steve Englebright, 5th District county legislator (D-Setauket) and geologist, was asked about the stabilization project, he started with a lesson about glacial formations dating back 17,000 years. Englebright scrutinized photographs of the bluff during an interview with TBR News conducted after the recent storms.
“When the bluff, which is partially made of clay, is overweighted it behaves like squeezed toothpaste,” he said. “You can see toothpaste-like extrusions on the beach.”
Missing from the conversation, according to Englebright, is a reckoning of what is happening along the entire Long Island coast. “People don’t understand the overall dynamics,” he said. “That’s why I’m trying to give you the big picture — that the entire North Shore is unstable.”
“Trying to defend a single property is human folly,” he added. “You can buy some time, but how much are we paying? I don’t believe it’s realistic because you can’t stop the overall dynamic. The village should celebrate the fact that they have the ability to retreat and use that ability. Right? The bind is if you don’t have land, but they have the land. Strategically retreat, rebuild the building.”
Stan Loucks, a village trustee and a former country club liaison, was asked to put together a retreat plan by former Mayor Margot Garant — confirmed by her to TBR News. “I did a plan A — proceed with the restoration project — or plan B, retreat —about three years ago,” Loucks said. “I got prices for the demolition of the country club, moving the tennis courts and an architectural rendering of a new club further inland.”
“The drawings had a huge deck on this side overlooking the Sound, and the huge deck on this side overlooking the golf course. I would have loved to take that plan to the end,” he added.
Loucks’s retreat plan was never vetted publicly. Sheprow told TBR she never saw a retreat plan.
Loucks remembers when tennis court No. 5 went in a landslide a few years ago. “It was massive and happened overnight,” he said. “And the slide took the gazebo, too.”
The Port Jefferson Civic Association meets inside the Port Jefferson Free Library on April 8. Photo by Samantha Rutt
By Samantha Rutt
At the Monday, April 8, Port Jefferson civic meeting, residents congregated to tackle one of the community’s most pressing issues: the fate of the Port Jefferson power plant. As the world pivots toward renewable energy and sustainable practices, the discussion revolved around embracing new energy sources while addressing the environmental and financial concerns associated with the current plant.
Xena Ugrinsky, a member of the Village of Port Jefferson Budget and Finance Committee, urged the need for a collective community conversation stating, “Everything is in motion. All we can do is ensure that we’re a part of the conversation and do our best to guide them to the right decisions.”
The conversation highlighted two essential work streams: Exploring new energy possibilities and navigating the political landscape in order to best incorporate the voice of the civic and community more broadly. Residents recognized the political sensitivity surrounding the issue and emphasized the importance of engaging local leaders to facilitate meaningful dialogue and action.
Ugrinsky and other affiliates have organized a committee to gather thoughts, concerns and invite further conversation on this issue.
“This is kind of a second run at this problem,” Ugrinsky remarked about the formation of the committee. “We’re going to do a bunch of research and we’re going to engage all the stakeholders. We’re not solutioning — we’re trying to gather the data, create a common conversation about what’s going to happen to the power plant and ensure that Port Jeff village has a voice in that conversation.”
“We’ve got the right people on board and we’re gathering more people. If you know of anybody who has either the background or the willingness to roll up their sleeves and participate let me know and we’ll get them engaged,” Ugrinsky said of the committee. “Our charter is to explore forward-looking and innovative possibilities for the future of the power plant, be a catalyst for positive change, while fostering a transparent and inclusive decision-making process.”
During the previous civic meeting, on March 11, Bob Nicols, a resident, shed light on the financial implications, emphasizing the need for strategic decision-making. With potential tax increases looming, residents expressed concerns about the economic impact on the community and the desirability of living in Port Jefferson.
As discussions delved deeper, the focus shifted toward finding productive solutions that align with the community’s values. In conversation, residents explored the possibility of repurposing the existing infrastructure to support new energy endeavors, such as hydrogen or battery storage, thereby maintaining the plant’s value to the community.
The urgency of the matter was brought to light by the recognition that delaying action could lead to missed opportunities and increased financial burdens. As Ugrinsky remarked, “If we don’t do this now, 20 years from now, tons of places will have done it, and we’ll think, ‘You should have done something about that when you had the opportunity.’”
The meeting also served as a platform to address broader community concerns, such as waste collection costs and upcoming events like the village’s first Arbor Day celebration.
The Arbor Day event will take place on Wednesday, April 24, at 5 p.m. in the parking lot behind Old Fields, Billie’s and The Pie where county Legislator Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) and Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R) will hold ceremonial plantings of two trees.
Looking ahead, the path forward for Port Jefferson’s power plant remains uncertain, but the commitment to engagement and collaboration remains. At the next meeting, the civic plans to invite candidates for the Port Jefferson school board.
“The next meeting will be May 13 and we hope that we will be able to invite the school board candidates to come and present their platforms, and have a discussion about their vision for their role,” said civic President Ana Hozyainova.
Port Jefferson resident Xena Ugrinsky has announced her bid for the village board of trustees.
Ugrinsky served as the head of financial reporting, budgeting and planning at Young & Rubicam, a New York advertising agency/public relations firm. After becoming involved in the software and technology fields, she worked with clients in the utility industry. She moved into management consulting with national companies including Arizona Power, PG&E, Con Edison and National Grid.
She described her background in a letter to The Port Times Record editor on June 29 last year: “The proudest day of my life was when my parents and I took the oath to become citizens of the United States. I was 8 years old. As a Russian emigrant, my father applied for and received a Tolstoy grant, which sponsored our family’s journey to America. They arrived on these shores with a baby, a box of books and dreams for a brighter future.”
In an interview, Ugrinsky, who currently sits on the village’s Budget and Finance Committee, said that she was running for trustee because “I’ve reached a point in my career where I want to give back to the community I live in.”
One of her major issues is figuring out the future of the Port Jefferson power plant.
“My goal was to figure out a way that I could help the village be involved in the broader conversation, and I believe we have a moment in time where we have the opportunity to be in the forefront of what is happening in energy,” said Ugrinsky, who also sits on the village’s Power Plant Working Group. She suggested the plant could be used to start producing “green hydrogen.”
Ugrinsky said that while she may not have the solution for how to handle the power plant’s future, she is trying to “create a collective conversation among all of the stakeholders so that Port Jeff has a voice, has visibility into what’s happening and, in a best case scenario, can become a beacon to the rest of the United States for innovative power.”
“Let’s collectively figure out what we need to build so that Port Jefferson has a future with this power plant,” she said.
Ugrinsky’s other key issues include fiscal responsibility and transparency. She believes that Mayor Lauren Sheprow has increased transparency, including establishing an ethics board, along with other volunteer committees.
The election for the trustees is on Tuesday, June 18.
Port Jefferson fire chiefs accepting recognition of Mayor Lauren Sheprow
at the March 27 village trustees board meeting. Photo by Lynn Hallarman
By Lynn Hallarman
Village officials honored the service of the Port Jefferson Fire Department at the board of trustees meeting at Village Hall on March 27.
Chief Soeren Lygum, first Assistant Chief Anthony Barton and third Assistant Chief Christian Neubert were present to accept special recognition on behalf of the fire department.
“I thought it was an important time to recognize the fire department after the recent fire in the Port Jefferson village on Feb. 22 in which you preserved the health and safety of many people in the community by curtailing that blaze,” Mayor Lauren Sheprow said.
“We’ve had a great working relationship with Mayor Sheprow,” Lygum said. “We’re constantly communicating with her when anything is happening in the village.”
The mayor recounted numerous fire and rescue operations for the public, in which the fire department participated.
Villagers were reminded they could become volunteer firefighters. “You can stop by, and we have applications readily available,” Lygum said.
Dangerous roadways
Several residents spoke about long-standing problems with traffic accidents, dangerous intersections and a lack of walkable corridors into the village.
Janice Fleischman described the “multiple scary moments with cars” walking her dog on Old Post Road East near Laurel Drive. “It’s gotten worse because of debris and encroaching foliage,” she said.
Fleischman cited data issued by Suffolk County between 2017 and 2021 demonstrating that the county had the highest number of people who died while walking, bicycling, riding a motorcycle or driving than any other county in New York State during the same period.
“The suburbs were engineered for cars, not for people to walk,” she said. “Now we know that’s not good for our health.” She advocated for a network of sidewalks and to remediate dangerous intersections before “a terrible accident happens.”
Lisa Jaeger reiterated Fleischman’s concerns about dangerous walking conditions on Old Post Road near Laurel Drive.
“I can’t tell you how often I’ve almost hit people coming around that corner from Laurel Drive going down the hill toward Old Post Road. It’s very dangerous,” she said
Barbara Sabatino described perilous traffic conditions and numerous accidents near her home on East Broadway. She advocated for traffic-calming measures and enforcement.
Trustee Rebecca Kassay responded to concerns by informing the public of a recent walkability study completed by the village. The next steps will include strategic discussions with the planning board and trustees, and seeking grant funding to address dangerous areas in the village’s most trafficked areas.
Municipal parking administrator position
Kevin Wood, an employee of the Village of Port Jefferson for the past seven years as the municipal parking administrator, gave an impassioned speech arguing against eliminating his position as part of the tentative 2024-25 fiscal budget.
“I won’t go into the complexity of our system but, suffice it to say, it is extremely complicated and busy. The village needs and deserves a dedicated parking administrator,” Wood said.
He added, “Port Jefferson Village processes 250,000 transactions per eight-month season. No other village on Long Island even comes close to that. Parking brings in good revenue.”
Wood highlighted some of his accomplishments in the past several years, including the revenue-generating digitally managed parking; the completion of the “first downtown parking lot in 50 years” — the Barnum parking lot, that is free for village employees; EV charges, merchant billing, pay-by-plate parking and lot security cameras.
“Parking is hugely complicated. It takes somebody to negotiate and bring what we’re up against to the board,” Wood said.
Sabatino questioned the elimination of the parking administrator position. “The parking is so complex nowadays I can’t see eliminating the position without something else taking its place,” she said.
Village attorney, David Moran, responded: “The board, when it decides to act, will act in this room publicly, and if it decides to go whatever way, we’ll fully lay out the plan in this room.”
The board of trustees will hold a work session Wednesday, April 10, at 5 p.m.
Earl L. Vandermuelen High School hosts St. Baldrick’s event on March 15. Photo by Aramis Khosronejad
Earl L. Vandermuelen High School hosts St. Baldrick’s event on March 15. Photo by Aramis Khosronejad
Earl L. Vandermuelen High School hosts St. Baldrick’s event on March 15. Photo by Aramis Khosronejad
Earl L. Vandermuelen High School hosts St. Baldrick’s event on March 15. Photo by Aramis Khosronejad
Earl L. Vandermuelen High School hosts St. Baldrick’s event on March 15. Photo by Aramis Khosronejad
By Aramis Khosronejad
Earl L. Vandermeulen High School in Port Jefferson hosted its sewcond annual St. Baldrick’s event on March 15. During the event, students and faculty volunteered to shave their hair in solidarity with all those who are struggling with or have already gone into remission from a childhood cancer.
In addition to those who “brave the shave” during this event, Port Jefferson high school helped fundraise by selling merchandise or simply accepting donations. All the money raised was donated to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.
According to the American Childhood Cancer Organization, there are more than 300,000 children diagnosed globally with cancer each year. In the U.S. alone, more children die due to cancer than any other disease. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is an international organization dedicated to funding research for different kinds of childhood cancer to help accelerate and improve this type of research.
The principal of the high school, John Ruggero, is passionate about hosting St. Baldrick’s events annually and exposing the high school to these kinds of events.
“I want to get it so it occurs every year, so that lots of students and faculty and families, and people off the streets, come to donate,” he said.
Ruggero has been hosting St. Baldrick events for “over a decade,” he said. The principal is a firm believer that the most important education “takes place outside of the four walls” of a classroom.
“When you have a philanthropic mindset, it really opens your mind out to what’s happening around us,” he said. Ruggero pointed out that these events can show students the most important lesson: If possible, doing things for others “should come first.”
“What happens is that kids who start to see that people rally behind these [events] become a little more confident in sharing their stories and want to get the word out,” Ruggero explained. He elaborated on how he wanted students to learn “the impact their actions have on others’ lives.”
The event was also supported and promoted by a 16-year-old student, Kyle Martin. When he was a child, Martin was fighting cancer and has been in remission for almost been eight years.
Martin approached Ruggero and expressed his own desire for the school to host such an event, and the two worked together to bring the dream alive. Ruggero expressed his admiration for Martin’s mindset and ideas, explaining how because of his remission, Martin has been inspired to help other kids who are battling cancer. It’s safe to say that St. Baldrick’s will become a powerful tradition that Port Jefferson will adopt in future years.
A recent Port Jefferson Civic Association meeting held at the Port Jefferson Library saw a significant turnout of residents, both familiar faces and newcomers, gathering to discuss the future of the Port Jefferson School District. The March 11 meeting, which drew a diverse crowd, sparked a heated debate regarding the declining enrollment within the district and how best to address this pressing issue.
On one side of the debate were residents, led by a presentation from Gail Sternberg, advocating for measures such as closing the school district altogether or offering tuition options for students to attend neighboring districts. During her presentation, Sternberg cited documents she allegedly received from a Freedom of Information Act application from the school district regarding its projected enrollment numbers.
Conversely, another group of residents passionately argued for investing in the school district in hopes of revitalizing it and attracting more families to the area. They proposed initiatives aimed at enhancing the district’s offerings, improving facilities and implementing strategies to promote the district to potential residents.
“By not investing money in the schools, we are making a self-fulfilling prophecy for people not to want to come here,” a concerned Port Jefferson parent of two said. “My son has three new students in his grade in the past two or three weeks. My daughter who is in kindergarten, also has had new students in the classroom. So, if we do not invest in the school, people are not going to want to come here.”
In addition to raising questions about dwindling enrollment, questions were asked throughout the meeting regarding other budgetary concerns. Residents argued that cutting losses and consolidating resources would be the most financially responsible course of action, whereas others advocated for investing in the enhancements for the struggling district.
Sternberg urged for a public forum to address the financial expenditures from the district, making note of the areas unaffordability and conversations that have allegedly begun to address a consolidation plan.
“If our school taxes are so high that young families can’t afford to live in Port Jefferson, we’ll just be shooting ourselves in the foot,” Sternberg said. “The declining enrollment situation has already created public discussions with the Three Village and Mount Sinai school districts and their respective constituents. We need to have the same public forum to openly discuss our challenges and options. And we must be proactive.”
The civic association’s high school liaison, Drew Sora, suggested investment is the key to a more prosperous future.
“Improving our schools is the key to drawing new students,” Sora said. “You can read the comments on Facebook, or listen at the school board meetings to hear not just those in opposition of some of the things coming from the school, but from the parents of young children who are afraid and tired of this new kind of fear, which is the fear that their young children or their children’s younger siblings will not get to grow up in the same school that they do, and that they’ll have to cart them off to Comsewogue or Three Village or Mount Sinai, which will inevitably raise our taxes because of our extremely low tax rate in our district.”
Sora continued explaining to the association how he has seen finances be directly allocated to programs within the high school.
“The expenditures that some call questionable would have prevented my chorus class from having to rehearse in the back of an auditorium instead of a classroom, from having one of our band teachers lose his classroom to a different section of the auditorium,” Sora shared. “And you might have guessed it, but it’s hard to practice singing when the only thing separating the singing and the trumpets are a few curtains.”
As the conversation unfolded, tensions ran high, and accusations flew back and forth between opposing viewpoints. Some residents expressed frustration at the lack of civility, urging for a more productive and respectful dialogue.
“In the email that went out yesterday, it says, ‘Some of our fellow residents will be sharing their concerns regarding the school and its future’ — I feel given the weight of what we’re discussing, more information would have been helpful to help prepare for this discussion,” resident and former Democratic congressional candidate Kyle Hill said. “Even so we complained about all the FOIA issues. It would be nice if we just included those documents as attachments that go out so we can have a better-informed discussion going forward.”
Despite the heated exchanges, many residents voiced their commitment to finding common ground and working together to address the challenges facing the school district. Several attendees suggested forming a task force or committee to explore potential solutions and gather input from various stakeholders.
“I just have to say that I think it’s great that this whole room full of folks took the time to come out tonight and express these different opinions. This is obviously something that’s been bubbling up in our community about what we need to do about this and the facts that we need to know about it,” Deputy Mayor Rebecca Kassay said.
“As someone who was inspired to run for local office, I wanted to share that the petition filing case for running for the school board here is on April 22 — that election will be May 21,” Kassay explained. “So, if there’s anyone who’s motivated, and I know that we all have different jobs, different life responsibilities, so this is not for everyone, should anyone feel that they are so compelled to run for the school board, that option is there too.”
As the meeting concluded, residents left with a sense of urgency and determination to continue the conversation and explore viable options for the school district’s future.
The debate surrounding the fate of the district remains ongoing, highlighting the complexities and passionate viewpoints within the community regarding education and community development.
The next Port Jefferson Civic Association meeting will be held April 8.
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