School District Challenged By Post-Sandy Circumstances

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Long Beach resident Jerrel Snow has stayed with his family in Freeport, from where his daughter is bussed to the Middle School. His main concern is what will happen to her he can’t find housing in the city and must live elsewhere before the start of the next school year.  

“My home has a big red sign on the door, the landlord does not know how long it will take to be fixed and affordable rentals in Long Beach are scarce,” Snow told the Long Beach Board of Education at a regular meeting at the high school Tuesday.

“Will she have to change schools?”  

Snow raised this topic because it impacts his family and other families who have children in the city’s public schools. The board trustees and Superintendent David Weiss were unsure of the legalities of the situation and told Snow they would look into it.  

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It is one of many unusual circumstances the school district faces as storm-ravaged Long Beach starts to recover and residents try to adjust to the new normal in their city. Many families remain displaced and may not be able to return to their homes for weeks or many months.   

Weiss thanked teachers, parents and the community for stepping up in circumstances unlike any the district has seen before. He said the district is overwhelmed by the many donations made by other districts, vendors and individuals.  

“A lot of the choices we are making right now are choices between things which all have negative consequences,” Weiss said. “So, we are trying to choose those things that are least painful in order to get to the point where we are in the position to offer the best educational program for our children.”  

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However, there is positive news for students. The eighth grade students will move back to the Middle School on Monday, two days ahead of schedule.  With that, all of the middle school’s 900 students will be out of the high school, where they attended classes after the storm. The high school students will return to their regularly scheduled classes and classrooms, except for the gym and the locker rooms. The sixth and seventh grade students returned to the middle school on Dec. 3. The eight graders return after more classrooms have been restored since then.   

“School has been good, but just very crowded since after the storm,” LBHS sophomore Casey Roesch said.    

Lido Elementary School will open January 2. Students from West Elementary School, who are currently at East Elementary School, will move to Lindell Elementary School in the second week of January. West Elementary School will not open until March of 2013. 

“At that point it will relieve most of the pressure on the crowding of classrooms, which will allow us to be able to accelerate where we are with learning,” Weiss said.

“School has been good, but just very crowded since after the storm,” LBHS sophomore Casey Roesch said.    

Joy McCarthy, a West End resident, said that she thought the district was doing a good job with students under the circumstances.  

“One of my sons is a sixth-grader and was stressed being in the high school,” she said. “He is happy to be back in the middle school.”    

 This story was corrected and updated at 3:49 on 12.13.12.