With the budget approved and the 2017-18 school year coming to a close, the Port Washington Board of Education spent much of its meeting on Tuesday honoring those who had helped the school district in the past year and beyond.
Chief among them was Port Washington Teachers Association President Christine J. Vasilev, who is retiring at the end of the school year. Her successor will be Regina McLean.
“She’s had a very pivotal role in our school district for a number of years, not only as a teacher but as the president of the Port Washington Teachers Association,” Superintendent Kathleen Mooney said. “As she would say, she has always been and will continue to be very proud to have represented 500 or so very dedicated, caring professionals and she couldn’t be more correct on that.”
Mooney said she had been working with Vasilev for a decade, and said their strong working relationship had been a tremendous benefit to the district’s staff and students.
“It’s hard for me to let you go,” Mooney said.
Board President Karen Sloan also said that she will miss working with Vasilev, who has served as PWTA head for as long as Sloan has been president of the board.
“I don’t know what I would do without you in the meetings,” she said. “Your facial expressions are my barometer of how well I’m doing up here.”
Following a standing ovation from the members of the board, the school district then went on to honor the co-presidents of Port Washington’s Home and School Association.
Those honored were Michell Duran of the Parent’s Council, Alexis Siegel of the Paul D. Schreiber High School HSA, Mathieu Lanfant of the Carrie Palmer Weber Middle School HSA, Sheryl Spring of the John J. Daly Elementary HSA, Annie Thornton of the Guggenheim Elementary HSA, Illana Engel of the Manorhaven Elementary PTA, Mara Sarchese of the John Philip Sousa Elementary HSA, Julie Epstein of the South Salem Elementary HSA, Dina Maiella-Marro of the AGATE HSA, and Danielle Tane of SEPTA.
After each was recognized, the board then addressed members of the community who had public comment. The American Heroes Club, a student organization dedicated to assisting and remembering veterans in the community, proposed the establishment of a 9/11 memorial.
The memorial would consist of 20 to 30 American flags flying along Port Washington Boulevard during the month of September to honor those who perished in the attacks and in the line of duty during the War on Terror. They said it would be similar to a memorial at Roslyn High School and would be funded by the community.
“We will get in contact with you if we have any questions,” Sloan said.
Two parents came forward with concern over their child’s teacher, who they said had been absent more than 30 days over the school year. They considered the amount of missed time to be excessive and wanted the district to keep track of teachers taking numerous days off.
“Students are not getting the same quality of education if the teacher is absent,” the father said.
Sloan said the board would look into the matter, but said after the meeting that she would not comment on it further.
Reach reporter Luke Torrance by email at ltorrance@theislandnow.com, by phone at 516-307-1045, ext. 214, or follow him on Twitter @LukeATorrance.
