On the night before students across the country were planning to walk out of their schools in a call for gun reform, the Port Washington Board of Education passed a resolution calling for action.
“We strongly denounce the policies that allowed the senseless shooting cutting short the lives of 14 students and three staff,” the resolution said. “Therefore, be it resolved that the Port Washington Board of Education calls on our federal, state and local officials to stand with our children and act immediately to protect all students here and throughout the United States.”
The resolution called for elected officials to enact gun reform, keep schools as gun-free zones, provide upgrades for school security and provide funding for security personnel. It also said the government should provide funds to schools and communities to help with mental health.
“The Board of Ed decided it was of the utmost importance to pass our own resolution regarding what occurred in Florida,” Karen Sloan, the board president, said. “Together as a group, through a very thorough process, we have put together the … resolution.”
The resolution was accepted unanimously.
During public comment, several parents raised concerns about the boy’s lacrosse team. Recent scrimmages had been canceled, the team was struggling to get field time and coach Issac Neal has not appeared at practice the last two days. Several parents vouched for Neal and said they hoped he had not been fired.
Sloan said she could not comment on the matter. Athletic Director Stephanie Joannon said the issue was being handled by the Board of Education and the school’s central office and that she had no further comment.
Much of the rest of the meeting was taken up with further discussion over the school budget. Assistant Superintendent Mary Callahan said additional money had been found since the last board meeting, mainly due to the fact that the pension requirement was only 10.63 percent of salaries, down from 11 percent.
Callahan said that though the change appeared minor, it freed up an additional $400,000, which would cover almost half of the proposed staffing changes in the budget. The district is looking to hire six teachers, one administrator and a ground maintenance worker at a the total cost of $881,106.
She said the budget must be adopted by April 20, although the district usually adopted it by the end of March in the past. The board has two meetings scheduled before that date.
