Superstorm Sandy Will Not Affect NASD's Winter Calendar, Break

Superstorm Sandy and its aftermath may have closed school for a week, but Nazareth Area School District’s calendar will not change up to winter break.

Superintendent Dennis Riker made that announcement at Monday night’s school board meeting, in part as a response to lots of questions about how the destructive storm will affect the district’s calendar.

As for after winter break, Riker said the district will have to play things by ear.

Also at Monday night’s meeting:

• The board will get its first look at the proposed 2013-2014 budget at the Nov. 27 audit and finance committee meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m. The current school year budget included a .86-mill tax increase and did not call for any teacher layoffs, although 10 positions -- including seven teacher slots -- were to be eliminated through attrition.

• The board learned that Nazareth students raised $4,000 at the recent homecoming dance. The money will be divided between two local groups that help families with children battling cancer -- Angel 34 Foundation and Brenton’s Hope.
  
  The parents of Brenton Krouse, a Nazareth district student whose battle with leukemia inspired the founding of Brenton’s Hope, accepted an oversized check for $2,000 from several students involved in the homecoming dance.
  
  Brenton’s mother, Louise, pointed out that her son would have been in 10th grade this year (he died in 2009). She said Brenton’s Hope, founded in April 2011, is working on helping its 10th family.
  
  ”The school district has been amazing” with a 5K race and other fundraising events,” she said, fighting back tears.

• After the meeting, Riker said he had no update on the hot topic at last month’s board meeting -- how students are throwing away servings of fruit and vegetables they are required to take under new federal guidelines. At last month’s meeting, Riker called the situation “,” but said there wasn’t much the district could do about it.

• The board formally accepted the resignation of assistant superintendent Michael Roth, who recently started his new job as superintendent of the Salisbury Township School District. Roth’s resignation was effective at the end of the day on Oct. 31. Riker said he had no update on a replacement for Roth.

• Board member Maurice Heller was reappointed to a three-year term as the district’s representative to the operating committee of Career Institute of Technology.

• The board heard about the Nov. 30 Diversity Fair, to be held from 7-9 p.m. at the middle school. High school senior Jordan DeMasi was congratulated for creating a poster called “Celebrating Holidays Around the World.”

• The board meeting also featured entertainment, courtesy of the Nazareth High School Theatre Troupe, which performed a number from its upcoming presentation of “Sleepy Hollow: A Musical Tale,” based on “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving. The troupe performed the song “What’s Become of Ichabod Crane.”
  
  The troupe’s performances will be at 2 p.m. Nov. 17 and 18 in the high school auditorium.