The Port Washington Board of Education used much of its final meeting of the year to look back at 2017 and one program in particular.
“We go a long way in this school district to educate students about diversity,” she said, referring to the school’s art program that emphasized diversity.
Much of the meeting was dedicated to an overview of the arts program, called “Embracing Diversity by Cultivating Trust.”
In a powerpoint presentation, art projects by students from elementary school through high school were shown while comments from the respective art teachers were read. The projects encouraged students to create pieces of art in the style of foreign artists from countries like Mexico and Japan
The board circled back to the topic of diversity when Sloane mentioned the repeated requests from the public to add Diwali as a school holiday.
An audience member advocated for the change during the public comment section of the meeting, and Sloane responded by saying that the school was looking into adding the Hindu festival as a holiday.
“We are looking into that and hoping to be able to do it,” she said. “Unfortunately, there are sometimes things beyond our control that decide if we can do it. But our superintendent (Kathleen Mooney) is making every effort.”
It was not all reflection, though.
The board voted on a couple of policy items.
First was the vote to ban local students who did not attend the school district from participating in extracurriculars.
Before the vote, students who were homeschooled or attended a private school were allowed to participate in non-competitive extracurricular activities (which meant no sports). The motion passed, but not unanimously; trustees Dave Kerpen and Rachel Gilliar voted against the new policy.
The board voted unanimously to support the collection of money for unpaid meals. Board Vice President Nora Johnson said the district was going make a stronger effort to pursue these payments — to a point.
“The kids will still be able to have lunch,” she said.
