The mood in the room was joyous as the Port Washington Board of Education gathered in the auditorium of the Paul D. Schreiber High School on Tuesday. That is because in attendance were 10 members of the district’s staff, seated with their families, who were awarded tenure by the board and Superintendent Kathleen Mooney.
“It is with great pleasure that I welcome you here tonight to celebrate the award of tenure to several of our administrators and teachers,” she said. “Tonight is a special opportunity to acknowledge our true mission of educational excellence.”
First was Christopher Shields, the principal of Carrie Palmer Weber Middle School. His tenure will be effective July 1.
Effective on Sept. 1 will be the tenures of Alicia Edgar, an art teacher at Weber; Ann Marie Hall, an elementary teacher at Weber; Michael Killoran, a physical education teacher at John J. Daly and Guggenheim elementary schools; Gregory Silak, a special education teacher at Weber; Jaime Sklar, a speech teacher at Weber; and Cassidy Wolfert, an ESL instructor at Guggenheim.
Ericka Bloomfield, a psychologist with the district, will have her tenure become effective on Sept. 2. South Salem Elementary teacher Nicole DiCarlo will receive tenure on Oct. 11, and Weber special education teacher Tara Lasky will receive tenure the following day.
Each tenure recipient came to the front of the auditorium to shake hands with Mooney and members of the board.
Mooney also announced the retirement of Hank Hardy, the district’s director of guidance, and Mehri Fryzel, executive director of pupil personnel services. They will leave their positions at the end of the school year.
“They have made a difference in the lives of so many children and their families, and we’re truly grateful to them for sharing their talents with the Port Washington school district for so many years,” she said.
The duo was also thanked by board President Karen Sloan.
“It’s hard to lose people from our district, but we’re grateful for everything you’ve done,” she said.
Before celebrating the teachers, the Board of Education took up a few other items on its agenda. Assistant Superintendent Mary Callahan ran over the details of the 2018-19 budget one final time: the total cost would be about $155 million and the tax levy increase would be 3.15 percent, or just over $4 million.
There was no comment on the budget from residents. The board approved the budget during its last meeting in April, and residents will vote on it on May 15.
Mooney announced that the district’s official Facebook page had finally been set up.
Members of varsity softball team also thanked the board for getting the team space on campus for practice.
