Schools
With Jay Lewis Gone, School Board Moves On
Board holds moment of silence for Peter Wezenaar, pays tribute to Principal Jay Lewis, then gets down to business, targeting Albany.
Tuesday's Port Washington School Board meeting began on a somber note, with a moment of silence for former board member and active community member, Peter Wezenaar, who was tragically killed in an accident on Saturday, July 31.
"I can't sit here and say that Peter and I ever saw eye–to–eye," President Karen Sloan said. "But when he was on the board and I wasn't and when I was on the board and he wasn't, we always engaged in healthy debate. He was never derogatory, always professional, and I hope everyone can learn from him."
In addition to recognizing Wezenaar's service to Port Washington, the school board addressed the resignation of Jay Lewis, the principal of Paul D. Schreiber High School. Other matters included the budget committee as well as school board member Larry Greenberg's proposal to help control school spending and engage in a dialogue with an ominously silent Albany.
President Sloan thanked Principal Lewis for his years of service. Dr. Gordon echoed the sentiments, noting that former Schreiber principal Dr. Frank Banta will serve as interim principal until the district a full-time replacement for Lewis.
"Jay Lewis has helped Schreiber excel for the past six years, and I thank him for his work. I also want to welcome Dr. Frank Banta back as he is helping us during the transition," Dr. Gordon said.
"I also want to recognize the contributions of Mr. Lewis for his service and inspiring speeches he has made to the students of Schreiber, and I want to wish him good luck," school board member Robert Seiden said.
"It has been a pleasure to serve as principal of Schreiber High School," Lewis said. "When Dr. Gordon was looking for someone, he wanted a person to come in and make a 'fine school' even better and I think we did a great job. It is not without a lump in my throat that I leave."
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Among the many business items covered were the 2010-2011 committees. Karen Sloan, Sandy Ehrlich, and Bob Ryan will serve on the 2010–2011 budget committee, with Mary Callahan acting as superintendent liaison. During the meeting, school board member Bob Ryan, the new budget chair, spoke briefly about the beginning of next year's budget planning.
"There is a state mandate that we walk through facilities and see what is needed as begin to plan our proposed budget," Ryan said.
The rest of the meeting involved Larry Greenstein's proposal.
"We should pass this resolution around to other school districts and get Albany talking," William Hohauser said.
""We have our budget down to [under] 2 percent," Gordon said, referring to the 1.97 percent increase in the budget for the 2010-2011 academic year, as well as the estimated 1.94 percent tax levy increase. He continued, saying, "It's August, we open schools in September, and we still don't know what, if any kind of aid the state will give us," Gordon said.
Gordon's comments were made on the same evening that New York lawmakers announced they had finalized the state budget. Port Washington Patch is following up on how this newly passed budget will affect the school district.
Find out what's happening in Port Washingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Greenstein's resolution, which includes ending all unfunded mandates, can be read in full here.