12/18/12 Byram Has Got Heart: New Lebanon School Sends Sandy Aid To Queens Chiildren

PHOTO: New Lebanon School Principal Barbara Rucci listens as second-grader Lucas Del Pezo, 7, speaks Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012, at the school about Hurricane Sandy and how it motivated the school to help a hard-hit school in Rockaway, Queens, N.Y. New Lebanon School welcomed the principal and some staff from PS 104 in Rockaway Queens, N.Y., to whom they gave gifts, gift cards, school items like T-shirts for students and staff.

Students and staff at a Far Rockaway, Queens, N.Y., school still struggling with the effects of Superstorm Sandy received a boost from Byram Students.

In a 2 p.m. ceremony in the New Lebanon School gym, two staff members from Public School 104 were given gifts, books and gift cards donated by the Byram school's students, parents and staff.

Deirdre McShane, P.S. 104's assistant principal, and Mary Bermudez, a teacher at the Queens school, were thankful. "It's been an overwhelming response that people want to help," Bermudez said. "We have been adopted by six schools from around the country, and New Lebanon was the first one."

The link between the schools is through a New Lebanon parent, Clare Kilgallen, whose cousin is Katie Grady, P.S. 104's principal.

New Lebanon PTA President Michael Bocchino said the school decided to concentrate on items such as gift cards that the P.S. 104 families and staff could use to purchase what they need. The school also donated $500 worth of books, along with gifts and items for three hard-hit families.

The school wasn't flooded as other were, but did have an outdoor play area was damaged by a downed tree. It was without power for two weeks, however, and about 75 of its 650 students had to move to other schools because their homes were too badly damaged, McShane said.

McShane and Bermudez toured New Lebanon School before the assembly.

Bermudez said everyone at the school survived, but some students and their families had to swim out of their homes when the storm hit.

Bermudez and McShane promised they would return to update New Lebanon School on their progress.

Tab For Replacing The Municipal Marina In Byram Is Being Calculated By Roberge Associates Coastal Engineers In Stamford - Sandy Damage Costs Continue To Mount For Greenwich

The economic toll of Superstorm Sandy is coming into focus for Byram and the town of Greenwich, which estimates it will cost $2.5 million to $3.5 million to repair the damage to its public beaches and marinas alone.

The town is paying Roberge Associates Coastal Engineers LLC of Stratford $12,000 to assess the storm damage at Greenwich Point Park, Island Beach and the municipal marina in Byram.

The so-called jewels of Greenwich's park system sustained widespread beach erosion, mangled docks and tree damage during the Oct. 29 storm.

The marine consultant, which has done prior work for the town, is expected to release its report early next week on the damage.

The goal for me would be to use this report to not only present to the towns insurance company, but to also present it to FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency)."

Connecticut's wealthiest municipality is also expected to put in a $1 million claim for town-owned trees lost during the storm.

The town hopes to recover $800,000 of the $1 million from insurance, with FEMA covering a $200,000 deductible.

By comparison, the town received $244,000 for tree damage during a March 2010 nor'easter, when the values of individual trees were capped at $2,500 for insurance purposes.

Comprehensive overtime totals for the public sector employees who were part of the response to the storm and the ensuing recovery were not yet available from  Peter Mynarski Jr., the town comptroller. 

Town officials characterized the claims process as lengthy and complex, noting that Greenwich is just now being reimbursed for damages sustained during a freak October snowstorm in 2011.

The first town department to publicly report its overtime from Superstorm Sandy was parks, which parks director Joseph Siciliano said accrued $103,061 through Dec. 7, spanning the state of emergency to the ongoing recovery.

The parks department spent an additional $240,273 to cover costs such as equipment rental, outsourcing of tree work and a small road repaving project at Greenwich Point that were all storm-related,

During the 11-day state of emergency, which was lifted Nov. 9, the town incurred approximately  $155,000 in police overtime. 

Fire Chief Peter Siecienski has that overtime costs for his department and equipment damage will be around $200,000.

That figure does not include $40,000 it will take to repair a rescue vehicle based at the Sound Beach fire station, which was damaged by a fallen tree limb.

Greenwich Board Of Education Board Member Peter Sherot Not Sure Theme School Would Address Racial Imbalance In Byram Schools

QUOTE: Peter Sherr Says: "This whole subject tore open the board before, badly, It tore open the community before. I was so disappointed because I was interested in the comment that it helps kids perform better. I got this long report that was like a sales job on IB again."

The district needs to take a closer look at its current magnet programs before launching another themed school as a way to address racial imbalance, the Board of Education has concluded.

The school board recently decided to explore creating a science, technology, engineering and math program to help racially balance Hamilton Avenue School and New Lebanon school.

During an evening work session, the board discussed the district's magnet programs and how the success of the International Baccalaureate program at the International School at Dundee could be replicated to affect the racial imbalances.

During the discussion, Superintendent of Schools William McKersie presented an overview of the IB magnet programs at the International School at Dundee, New Lebanon School and Western Middle School, as well as student achievement data for ISD.

Board member Peter Sherr took issue with McKersie's presentation of data about ISD students, which included high scores on standardized tests. Sherr noted that ISD students still don't perform as well on tests as students at Old Greenwich, Riverside and North Mianus schools, and said the data doesn't show that the IB method helps students more than teaching methods at the town's other high-performing schools.

"This whole subject tore open the board before, badly," Sherr said, referring to last year's debate about expanding IB to Western Middle School. "It tore open the community before. I was so disappointed because I was interested in the comment that (IB) helps kids perform better. I got this long report that was like a sales job on IB again."