BY NICOLE ROSENTHAL
School reopening plans were at the forefront of the Port Washington Board of Education candidates forum Thursday night, hosted virtually by the League of Women Voters of Port Washington-Manhasset.
All four candidates, including incumbent Rachel Gilliar, stressed the importance of in-person learning as Long Island begins to reopen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Candidate Dr. Adam Brock, an assistant professor of health policy and management at the New York Medical College’s School of Health Science and Practice, expressed dissatisfaction with the amount of class time Port students are offered during remote learning sessions.
“I’m running because the current board has given our kids 45 minutes a week of online class time for the last three months. That is nine minutes a day,” Dr. Brock said to a Facebook Live audience of approximately 115. “The district has just not kept up with the other districts on Long Island, with private schools, with religious schools, even with preschools. They are providing more online teaching than Port is.”
Candidate Christina Nadolne supported Brock on the issue, highlighting the fact that while online learning can be a powerful teaching resource, it is ultimately not the schooling program that Port taxpayers signed up for.
“People don’t move to Port Washington so that their kid can sit in front of a computer,” Nadolne said. “This is a public school. We are not looking to turn into a completely online school.”
The candidates also discussed the decision to swiftly shift to remote learning in March, with Port Washington schools closing days before New York shut all schools. Other candidates were more critical of the district’s response, with Brock pointing out that other schools were preparing for closures “weeks before.”
But while the format of instruction for the fall term remains to be seen, the candidates appeared to be in agreement with the implementation of a districtwide hybrid-learning plan once appropriate Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines are met.
According to candidate Julie Epstein, the current Board of Education has measures in the budget to ensure that learning can continue remotely if CDC guidelines are not immediately met.
Epstein, a co-president of the Port Washington Parents Council who has also worked with the district’s Home School Associations, also addressed several changes that were necessary for a successful in-person return in the fall, including the introduction of additional mental health resources for both students and teachers.
“I think that school in the fall needs to have a serious mental health component,” Epstein said. “It cannot just be about masks, temperatures and technology. It has to include mental health education as part of the curriculum, or as part of the check-in. Not just for the students, but also for our teachers.”
Gilliar expressed support for the initiative, saying the pandemic “exacerbated an issue that was already there.”
Gilliar also observed that the budget allows for the hiring of additional guidance counselors, due to a growing need for counselors preceding the pandemic. In fact, on Thursday night, there was a relative consensus among candidates for a “yes” vote on the budget.
“The things that are going on the chopping block if we do go to contingency are all the things that round out our education,” Gilliar said. “I would be very hesitant to say anything negative about our budget administrator, who has prepared about 14 budgets this year so that we could look at all the alternatives once coronavirus hit and do our absolute best for the community. This is the lowest tax levy increase in several decades and the leanest it could be.”
Voting for candidates and the school budget will be by mail-in ballot, and ballots must be received by June 9. The two candidates who receive the most votes will be elected to the board.
