Mt. Pleasant School Officials Mull Capital Projects Bond

The Mount Pleasant School District is in the preliminary stages of formulating a capital projects bond for Westlake High School and Westlake Middle School.

While some capital projects have been completed at the district’s elementary schools in recent years, that hasn’t been the case at the secondary schools, Board of Education President James Grieco said during the Sept. 18 meeting.

Making physical upgrades to the two school buildings would be in keeping with the district’s five-year strategic plan, Grieco said.

School officials are looking for residents to join various district committees to decide on the capital projects that would be included in a possible bond, which would have to be approved by district residents.

The vote could be held next year, Grieco said.

Westlake Earns Environmental Award

The district was presented with an Environmental Stewardship award from Cenergistic, an energy conservation company, at last week’s meeting.

Mount Pleasant undertook a series of conservation programs that was equivalent to planting more than 6,000 trees over 12 months, company representatives stated.

Charles Fasnacht III, president of the college and university division of Cenergistic, presented the award. The district’s conservation efforts were also equal to getting “43 cars off the road,” he said.

“This is quite a significant accomplishment,” Fasnacht said.

Spearheading the effort was Hawthorne Elementary School Principal Jerome Schulman, who in recent years has served as the district’s energy specialist. Schulman received training from Cenergistic and conducted regular energy audits in the district’s buildings. He also led the drive for the schools to consume energy only when needed.

“The most important thing is saving the environment for our children and our future,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Susan Guiney said.

By conserving energy, the district has also been cutting costs, Schulman said. He thanked the district staff, especially the custodians, and the trustees for their support.

High School Reaps Reward

Guiney also announced that Westlake High School was one of nine Westchester high schools in 2012-13 to be recognized as a Reward School by state Education Commissioner John King.

The state Education Department chose 249 elementary, middle and high schools throughout the state that earned Reward School commendations.

The new accountability designations — Reward, Focus and Priority — were approved by the federal Department of Education in May. The designations are based on the percentage of students demonstrating college and career readiness in English/Language Arts and math. Student growth in ELA and math in grades 4-8 are also measured to determine the designation of elementary and middle schools and districts.

“We are extremely proud of our students, staff and administrators,” Guiney said. “This achievement could not have been possible without the dedication of the student body, our K-12 staff and the community that supports them. All of us share in this success as we continue our mission of educating our students for their future.”

The Reward School designation enables Westlake High School to compete for one of five grants of up to $150,000 a year for two years to continue to broaden its educational opportunities.

Other Westchester high schools to receive Reward School status were Ardsley, Briarcliff, Croton, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings, Irvington, Pleasantville and Rye Neck.