The following is a message Seaford Superintendent of Schools Brian Conboy addressed to the district Friday.
- Hello Seaford Community. This is Superintendent Brian Conboy. First, it is our sincere hope that your family is safe. We know the American Red Cross is supplying meals out of Cedar Creek Park for those in need.
Technical issues suffered after the storm prevented us from keeping in regular contact with you. We believe these issues are now resolved so that you can get up to date information from the website. We will continue to update News 12 and the Wantagh-Seaford Patch as information becomes available.
The current status of the school district is as follows: The High School, Middle School and Manor School all have power. The Harbor School does not. All buildings are in good shape and did not suffer any discernable storm damage; however there are several impassable roads south of Merrick Road and traffic signals that are not functioning making safe transportation a serious issue. The availability of gasoline is also a great concern.
It is our hope that power will be restored at Harbor sometime this weekend. We will update you with additional messages this weekend about the opening of school and contingency plans for Harbor School children if power remains out for an extended period.
Thank you for spreading this news to Seaford residents that may be displaced or unable to communicate.
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Brian Conboy
Seaford Superintendent of Schools
The message should be on point to say, School will be up on Monday, life will be back to normal and we will get through this. Instead its full of hedges and concerns. Open the school, make it happen, kids who show up get an education. Teachers who travel great distances may have to consider a carpool like all of us in the private sector who have been finding a way to work since Tuesday. Sorry Brian, stop the hedges and get it open and keep it open and make up the days. Demonstrate the leadership and set an example of mental toughness and not excuses and self victimization. Lights and gas didn't prevent people from going to work or school for hundreds of years...Are you also going to look at us with a straight face and say you are off for election day too? Please tell us you are making up the days now. Or maybe its just easier to open on Wednesday and take another 2 days off the kids education at our expense. That's the spirit!
- Andrew Coen Local Editor Wantagh-Seaford Patch
While we ADULTs can bicker over what could have should have been done or not, we ALL have to remember this storm through a childs eyes could have been VERY scary and the AFTERMATH leaving them feeling VERY insecure and unsettled as they see their parents, their home and their neghborhood devastated. Parents are wrestling with many things emotional and tactile at one time. The SOONER these kids get back to a SAFE and DRY and WARM school, the better for them and one less thing for their parents need to be SO worried about. I THINK thats what Fred was alluding to. The "adventure " many younger ones are seeing this as is going to wear off real quick (if it hasnt already) .. We NEED to get them back into a routine they are familiar with.
What are your plans for those kids who are now homeless and living with out of town relatives or in hotels? Do you suggest they just fail because they can't make it to school? And how much "mental toughness" will people need when, God forbid, a school bus or teacher going to school gets t-boned at an intersection by one of the many idiots who have been treating blackened traffic lights as their own personal right-of-way? This isn't "hedging", this is a very reasonable "if conditions permit" attitude with the best interests and safety of our children in mind. Sorry if it offends your macho, chest-beating, damn the torpedos sensibilities.
With another storm right around the corner. and a large portion of homes south of merrick without heat these kids could atleast be safe and warm ofr a protion of the day. Where is the SEAFORD PRIDE and ORGANIZATIONAL EFFORT in THIS town when other towns are collecting all sorts of items & distributing them. We have MANY MANY people doing something giving and helping But EVEN MORE doing NOTHING .and Certianly NO SEAFORD ORGANIZED effort that i know of to help our own. You're Barking up the the wrong tree lady.
I have 5 children, 4 in school. My house is flooded, no electric, a lot of my belongings are on the street, my road is blocked with boats and I am staying 20 minutes away with relatives. I have no idea how to get my kids to and from school with no gas and homework done in a home of chaos. Education is not my number one priority right now!
I'm sorry to say that school is cancelled for the balance of 2012. We have determined that it places great stress on Parents and teachers alike. As you may know, teachers have on 2 occassions this year worked a full week, Monday to Friday. This is unacceptable to work them this hard. I have lobbied the State for months trying to add Arbor Day, National Cheese Week and St Florence Day as additional days off on their busy calendars. Surprisingly this request was denied as the State Assembly was not in session those weeks. As such, we are allowing teachers to take the rest of the year off and this will allow them to avoid the broken traffic light on Merrick Road near Cedar Creek Park. However, it should be noted that all Athletics will continue as scheduled. We know the high priority that sports plays in your lives, Seaford producing more Division I athletes than Yeshiva Montessori over the last 6 years. Our suggestion to parents at this time is to teach the kids at home. Khan Academy and other websites actually do a very good job and if you are lucky enough to have power, internet and a computer, this will serve as a great proxy for your childs education while we figure out how to circumvent the traffic light issue. Thank you and see you in January
Are these comments coming from a place of caring about the education and safety of children? It sounds more like anger and resentment towards teachers/adminstrators.
Dawn, I dare say I think you've hit the nail squarely on the head. There are people that post here that would complain or suspect an agenda if the BOE or school administration declared that the sky is blue, or that water flows downhill. I don't know whether it's paranoia, cynicism, ignorance, or just plain-old crankiness, but for these people nothing seems to be done right.
We will probably then need to hold an offsite meeting in Florida to sort our the plan for the balance of 2012. There are just too many distractions here and who knows if that traffic light will be fixed. I did receive some excellent ideas from you people. We will have the high school open for recharging for all citizens of Seaford. Despite the grave danger of citizens driving to Seaford HS to recharge, we are offering this service this weekend. Working parents -- we acknowledge that in the real world, people have to show up to work despite the circumstances. That is the PRIVATE sector. Please don't lump us in with your kind. We have Masters degrees! Just yesterday my lawn crew showed up and did a fantastic job. I wondered how they got the gas and managed to get all the way to Seaford to do their jobs. And then I stopped wondering about it and ate a sandwich. Some people just try too HARD!!!
There are many in the community who have lost everything and who's lives have been turned upside down. Some perspective on life and what's truly important would be nice. School will reopen and life will start to get back to normal. When that will happen is up to the BOE and the Superintendent who will make that decision with the best interest of the students and staff in mind. I am sure they could care less what some angry cranks in the community have to say when all they say is divisive, negative and unproductive.
Just--wow.