Brewster Superintendent: Emergency Communications Will Improve

After a hectic last few weeks—from Hurricane Sandy to Election Day to the recent snowfall—Brewster Central School District officials felt the need to touch base with local folks. Here's what they sent Friday afternoon:

Dear Community,

It is an understatement to say it has been a very difficult time for families all over the New York area. The charity and outpouring of help and support shown by Brewster to families in need here and throughout the region as always is impressive. I hope you all have power back and are returning to normal.

I apologize for the difficulties in getting the students home Wednesday afternoon. Our weather services did not predict the severity or the time of onset of the storm. Fortunately, all students arrived home safely, but we could have done a better job in notifying you of the delays. We will use our communication systems more effectively and notify you of delays and problems, updates, etc. in the future.

Our Board of Education will pass a resolution at our meeting on Tuesday night requesting a waiver of the 180-day attendance requirement. Given that we have already lost four days (we made up one on Election Day) we anticipate that we might have to add days back to the calendar starting March 25. I do not know when the legislature will take action on this request, but we will keep you posted.

I am about to leave for our Brewster High School Salute to Veterans concert which promises to be a wonderful event and honors all of our veterans and their families. We thank the high school music department, students, faculty and community for their hard work in bringing this event to us.  

As a footnote, my power went out the Monday of the storm and has not yet been restored. Hopefully, it will be back in the next few days, especially since the friends I was staying with lost their power in Thursday’s storm. Let’s all anticipate calmer seas and lighter winds in the upcoming weeks.

Best,

Dr. Jane Sandbank 
Superintendent of Schools