Officers Sworn In At School Board Meeting

The Port Washington Board of Education re-elected Karen Sloan as president and elected William Hohauser vice president at its reorganizational meeting on Thursday at Schreiber High School. The meeting marked Bob Ryan's first as school board member.

After taking her oath of office, the unanimously elected Sloan thanked her colleagues on the board for their continued backing. "Thank you as well to the community for their support of this board," Sloan said.

Hohauser was elected vice president by a vote of six to zero, with outgoing Vice President Sandy Erlich abstaining from the vote. Superintendent Dr. Geoffrey Gordon commended Ehrlich "for her hard work and dedication."

He then welcomed "our newest board member, Bob Ryan, who I'm sure will bring a lot to the table," Gordon said.

Ryan offered a possible solution to repaying the board's $68 million bond. "If the bond is callable, and with interest rates being so low today, why don't we take out a bond to pay off this original bond?" Ryan asked.

Mary Callahan, the district's superintendent for business, said that she had discussed refinancing with bond council in June. "They had advised that the rates between now and 2001, when the bond was originally taken out, aren't marginal enough to make refinancing the bond worthwhile," she said. Callahan added that she would ask the bond council to revisit the issue.

The next Board of Education meeting is scheduled for August 3, 2010, at Schreiber High School.