Letter: From The EWSD Schools Superintendent

Friday, 08 February 2013 00:00

2013-14 School Calendar

We finally received the last piece of information we were waiting for from New York State in order to finalize the 2013 -14 East Williston School District calendar!  The 2013-14 school calendar was approved by the Board of Education at their Jan. 22 monthly business meeting and is now posted on our website at www.ewsdonline.org on the homepage (click on the calendar tab or news box item to view the calendar).  Due to the Regents exam calendar, school will end later next year, June 26.   Students will also start later next year.  While staff will be back on Tuesday (Sep. 3) and Wednesday (Sept. 4) for two Superintendent’s Conference Days, and schools will be closed for both staff and students on Sept. 5 and 6 for Rosh Hashana, students will return on the first day of school, Sept. 9.   A third Superintendent’s Conference Day is planned for Nov. 5, Election Day, when school will be closed for students.  Superintendent’s Conference Days are used for staff training.  We are certainly hopeful that in 2013-14 we will not experience weather conditions like we did this year with Hurricane Sandy and the follow-up snowstorm. However, if we were to experience more than five days of closings next year, we would need to “take back” some vacation days from the calendar, as we did this year. In order to help you with your planning, we have identified the days to be used as make-ups, in the order we would use them. The order of the make-up days are as follows: Dec. 23, 2013, Feb. 21, 2014, Feb. 20, 2014, Feb. 19, 2014, Feb. 18, 2014, April 22, 2014 and April 21, 2014. These dates are also posted with the 2013-14 calendar on the website.

Board of Education Work Session Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m.

At the upcoming Feb. 6 work session, Mary Harrison, Director of Guidance, will share information and analysis of Wheatley college admissions over the past three years.  Dave Casamento, director of science and technology, along with middle school staff, will also provide an update on the implementation of this year’s 6th grade iPad Initiative. The Work Session will be held at Wheatley in Room 450.  

Budget 2013-14

Mark your calendars. The first budget workshop will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. at Wheatley in Room 450.  It is important for everyone to understand that due to the second year of the implementation of the property tax cap levy and increases in mandated requirements and costs, we face additional financial challenges this year.  With the goals of maintaining a wide array of opportunities for students and sustaining and growing academic excellence, the budget process will certainly require us to look at the budget through an integrated lens, drawing on creative and flexible thinking, as we work with more limited resources to support our programs.  Your input and participation in the budget process is important.

Elaine Kanas

East Williston Superintendent