Concerns About Half Days Addressed by Little Silver Superintendent

Little Silver Superintendent of Schools Dr. Carolyn Kossack says that like you, she wants to see kids back in school.

"I am the first person lobbying to get these kids back to school," she told the group of about 30 parents gathered at the Markham Place Media Center Monday night for the monthly PTO meeting.

Kossack also says that families have had to deal with enough changes in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, so when the decision needed to be made whether to reschedule upcoming half days to accommodate conferences, she opted to leave plans in place.

"This was a complete Catch-22 for me," she says of choosing to stick with half days a the end of this week. "It's not an ideal schedule, I know that."

After hearing from a number of parents at the meeting that there was strong interest in rearranging conference scheduled for Thursday and Friday to allow for full days of instruction, Kossack said she would revisit the issue on Tuesday at an administrative meeting. "I can't say I will change my decision but I'll have another conversation," she said. "There's just layers of issues."

Kossack stressed to the group that the district's decisions following the storm were not made in a vacuum. "Not a single decision is made in isolation and without considerable thought."

But while a number of parents questioned the district's decisions and perceived slow response during the days following Hurricane Sandy, there was a productive give-and-take between parents and Kossack that ended with the group applauding the superintendent for her efforts.

"I wouldn't want your job," joked one mother.

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