Officers Sworn in at School Board Meeting

The Port Washington Board of Education re-elected Karen Sloan as president and William Hohauser vice president at its reorganizational meeting on Wednesday at . The meeting marked return as school board member.

Nominated by Bob Ryan, Sloan was elected by a 7-0 vote. Hohauser was re-elected by a vote of 6-0 with board member Sandy Erhlich abstaining from the vote.

After her swearing-in ceremony, Sloan thanked her fellow board members for their support.

“This promises to be a challenging year,” she said. “But the way we work together, we can accomplish what we need to accomplish.”

Echoing that sentiment, Superintendent Dr. Geoffrey Gordon noted that with the passing of the 2 percent tax cap, the community would have to work together to keep “great programs for students, have jobs for staff” and control costs for taxpayers. Otherwise, he noted, the following year could see layoffs of as many as 35 to 40 employees.

Noting that Port Washington is a desirable community, Gordon said that the district was still growing, but slightly – a “pleasant problem” yet one that creates strains. Still, while there are slight enrollment increases at Schreiber and Weber Middle School, as of now it appears that there will be two fewer kindergarten classes than last year. That estimate could change, however, based on new enrollments in August.

Mindful of controlling costs, Sloan asked Business Superintendant Mary Callahan to look into any savings to be found from switching to a single polling place to multiple locations during school board elections and budget vote – a strategy adopted several years ago as an attempt to increase voter turnout. 

The next board meeting is slated for Tuesday, Aug. 2, at 7:30 p.m. at Schreiber.