Swearing in of Adam Smith as president of the board of education for Port Washington
Amit Ben-Bassat
The Port Washington Board of Education has reinstated its slate of leadership, and on its first day back, it is already facing troublesome news from Washington.
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At Tuesday’s meeting, the board reelected Adam Smith as president and Julie Epstein as vice president, installed Deborah Brooks and Jessica Melwani as board members, Ruth Smith as district clerk, and Kailyn Costello as the new ex-officio student board member.
Swearing in of Port Washington Board of Education member Jessica Melwani. Amit Ben-Bassat
The celebrations were cut short as, during the remaining part of the meeting, the board discussed several time-sensitive issues. The elephant in the room was the more than $6 billion for education programming, specifically designed for after-school and summer learning, adult literacy, and English instruction, being withheld by the Trump Administration.
The decision, coming via a July 2 memo, has not been fully decided. But board members said that if it does, New York’s Department of Education would be one of the most heavily hit in the country, with a potential $25 million loss.
“It definitely impacts our students,” said Brooks. “And I was just wondering what the impact is in terms of how we would prepare for any shortfall? It’s impossible to know what will happen, but if that money remains frozen, are we feeling that now? Would we feel that impact? How would we solve that impact?”
The board discussed what possible impacts this freeze could have on the Port Washington schools, with Assistant Superintendent for Business Katherine Manuel joining the board at the table to explain that the freeze is not guaranteed. However, if implemented, the board would have to roll back or lessen various “extra support” services it has for the district.
According to Manuel, one of the likely targets to be cut is free food for all students.
The topic of pulling from the district’s reserves was discussed. Manuel said pulling from reserves is for specific emergencies, and this scenario does not fit the criteria at the current moment.
The current freeze will not affect ongoing summer classes, and Manuel explained she has found no major difference in the budget at the current moment.
The next board meeting is slated for Aug. 5, with a location still to be set.
