From left, Margate Education Association President Kelly Crawford, and scholarship recipients Olivia Scherbin and Sydney Drexler.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
MARGATE – Following the massacre of 19 fourth grade students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, parents were reassured Wednesday that the Margate school district places the highest priority on the safety of its students.
Although district officials were reluctant to disclose too much information, Superintendent Audrey Becker said, “Nothing is more important than the safety of our children when they are in our care.”
School security is an ongoing process, both in planning and practice, she said.
Parent Lauren Beloff said a group of parents traumatized by the deaths of children due to gun violence had a conversation about school safety and agreed it would be prudent to question the board about what’s being done to keep their children safe in the district’s two schools.
“We were wondering when the last safety assessment was done and who it was done by,” Beloff asked during Wednesday’s board meeting.
Board attorney Eric Goldstein said details about such assessments and the district’s procedures and vulnerabilities are “confidential,” and that parents would be best to ask those questions privately, “not in a public meeting.”
“The results and details of the safety inspection are by their very nature not something we would give out,” he said.
“People aren’t looking for details…but how do we figure out where our comfort level is,” Beloff asked.
The district has a memorandum of agreement with the Margate City Police Department, which is informed about events held on school property that need extra police presence, and the police regularly patrol inside and outside of the schools, Becker said.
“And we are constantly holding monthly drills throughout the year,” she said.
Becker said the administration and staff hold regular meetings to update everyone on procedures and to identify any weaknesses.
“It’s really a constant ongoing process,” said Becker, who is the district’s certified Safety Specialist, which requires 10 hours of continuing education annually.
“Police are in our buildings daily and have been doing that for years here in Margate and they can respond within 90 seconds,” she said.
Becker said the district has found new technologies to keep everyone safe.
“I can’t talk specifics, but we regularly conduct an analysis of the human involvement and what can go wrong there and our facilities where there could be weaknesses,” she said.
Beloff said the discussion made her “feel better” and that she would relay the information to other parents.
“We just felt like we needed to hear this,” she said.
Becker also updated the board and public on the status of several bonded capital improvement projects that will take place over the summer, including upgrades to the fire alarm system in both schools.
Becker said the playground at the Ross School would be resurfaced in August. The city’s road project on Amherst Avenue has been completed and an underground sprinkler system and sod damaged during the project would be replaced. Additionally, the district is in the process of receiving estimates to replace the roof at the Tighe School.
The board appointed Melina Skwarek as business administrator and board secretary starting July 1 and promoted longtime employee Matthew Burton as director of facilities. Burton will replace Kurtis Woodrow, who is leaving to take a position in another school district. Skwarek is replacing former Business Administrator Jenn Jermana, who also left to work in the Egg Harbor Township schools. Former longtime business administrator Susan Palaia, who returned to the district on a temporary basis following Jermana’s resignation, will provide mentoring during Skwarek’s transition.
Margate schools Superintendent Audrey Becker honors retirees Charlotte Flynn and Mary McCracken, who ran the Lucky Kids Program,
The board also honored seven employees who are retiring this year: speech therapists Vicky Morreale and Kevin O’Hare, teachers Eileen Midori and Ron Pinter, Social Worker Christy Stack, and Charlotte Flynn and Mary McCracken, who ran the Lucky Kids program.
Social Worker Christy Stack is recognized upon her retirement from the Margate schools.
Margate Education Association President Kelly Crawford also presented $1,000 scholarships to high school graduates Sydney Drexler, who will pursue a nursing degree from Villanova University, and Olivia Scherbin, who will pursue a biology degree on the pre-med track at Drexel University. Crawford said five students applied for the scholarship by submitting an essay on how their experiences in the Margate schools shaped their future.
Teacher Eileen Midure receives a certificate of appreciation on her retirement from the Margate schools.
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