Wantagh, Seaford and Levittown district officials announced Thursday that schools will be closed Friday for a fifth straight day following damage suffered by Superstorm Sandy.
The school closings Friday will mean students in the Wantagh, Seaford and Levittown districts will have been out of classes for an entire week. Both the Wantagh and Seaford superintendents expressed hope that schools will be able to reopen Monday if power is restored. As of mid Thursday afternoon, the Long Island Power Authority was reporting more than 12,000 outages in the Wantagh-Seaford area.
Seaford Superintendent of Schools Brian Conboy said that in addition to problems powering the school buildings, the district’s website has also been down making communication a challenge. He also emphasized that districts are concerned about running buses with few traffic signals working.
Goldberg said that in addition to school being closed Friday, all previously scheduled athletic games and practices this weekend have been cancelled. The SAT that was to be offered in Wantagh Saturday is also postponed pending notification from the College Board.
“It is my hope that within the next few days power will return, however, LIPA is still unable to predict when our electricity will be restored,” said Wantagh Acting Superintendent Maureen Goldberg in a message addressed to district parents. “Please know that I will regularly communicate with you as we all continue to deal with the aftermath of this unprecedented storm.”
Board meeting NOV 1st @ 6:30 pm Board will adjourn to executive session to assess the harbor school condition- Meeting will resume @ 7;30 pm in the Harbor All purpose room. Ok Manor = no lights but sign is still finctioning yet apparently no one knows to work the thing to inform people. Harbor several of us drive down in the pitch black- no cars in any lots, no meeting! drive to HS which is lite up like an xmas tree- no access in front, drive around to anita lane gate. gate locked SO will somebody explain: A)WHERE was the meeting? B) If cancelled why no notice posted C) WHAT would possess someone to assess the harbor school inthe pitch dark knowing full well there is NO ELECTRICTY ? There is definitely a total lack of communication. as and for the School districts website. PERHAPS a Battery back up or hosted off site mighte be prudent going forward as well investing in a generator for the communications hub where ever THAT is located to supply power for the Telecom system AND the SERVERS? Is that too much to ask a measley 10k would have taken care of all of this but i know they keep saying we have NO money.. YEAH RIGHT! - no money for an extra k teacher , no money no money.... until its either band or sports. PRIORITIES PEOPLE >>>>> and along with no money we have NO communication - and NO leadership!
But we had football practice!
So explain to ME and the REST of Community What would possess you to ALLOW teenagers to Drive or ask their parents to drive them to FOOTBALL PRACTICE. Where is YOUR COMMON SENSE and concern for THEIR SAFETY with the traffic lights? and if there is claim there was no FORMAL football practice EXPLAIN to me why kids were waiting to be picked up in full uniform, helmets & pads slung on shoulders as OTHER older car driving players picked them up? A Viking FOOTBALL HALLOWEEN PARTY? or a SECRET unsanctioned scrimmage/practice?
And having an off-site web interface doesn't change the fact that people without power and/or cable still can't access it.
I think in a crisis like this people are not in the least bit concerned as to how their BOE isn't responding in the proper manner. LIPA has responded accordingly, as well as local and state municipalities. And the community has each other. Who gives a damn about what the school is doing at the present?
There are also MANY generators that provide Whole house service and are powered by the same Natural GAS that is used in home heating it is a permanant installation and automatically switches when your power goes out MANY large and medium size business have something similiar - Did you know Mathew that places like Costco and BJ's by LAW are required to have generators to provide power for their food safety? Battery back up Mathew are a staple as are generators and going forward we need to invest in these vital pieces of equipment for the district. The COST would be WELL worth the investment and would allow for dissemination of information in a timely and current fashion.Something Mathew we DONT have ..and something we DO need ..
While NO plan is perfect when a crisis hits at the very least a clear and concise plan allows for mulitple contingencies so parts can be implemented as conditions improve. Winging it and LUCK will only get you so far.
If Facebook is up and running, if cell service is working , if some one knows how to WRITE on a peice of poster board and post a sign on the school the library, the banks, the local stores. if twitter works,last resort a BULL HORN WORKS. you get the word out. There are no excuses. NONE. We are BIG on EXCUSES and very lacking in solutions. Your a bright kid i can imagine you, if given the impetus, could come up with a myriad of ways to communicate effectively ...
"What do they need that for? After all, when was the last time the school had any kind of long-term power outage?" "What a waste of money for something they might need once in a generation. They must go looking for ways to waste money" Don't even try telling me I'm way off base.
I give you credit for staying after it, it seems like a pretty big machine to be fighting. I'm glad people like you have the patience and fortitude to keep up the fight.
TY- and your right many dont speak out because they are afraid and rightly so of retribution, others do not really grasp the concept that having a voice can make a difference. My problem with this district is one of COMMON SENSE & logic or lack there of. While we have MANY well educated people employed in this district we seem to suffer greatly from a LACK of people with common sense and logic. Which unfortunately effects not only our escalating taxes but our students education as well. Whats more troubling, it is NOT only in Seaford (although at times it seems we are at the top of the DUH list ) This is pandemic across all lines of public education. Highly educated but absolutely no knowledge(clue) on running as a friend says 'LEAN". which is broadly based on the very simple principals of common sense and logic. Fred one thing my husband says i do better then anyone else on this planet I am a relentless NAG and do not suffer fools lightly.