Lake Shore School District Superintendent Kenneth J. Connolly was congratulated by Ron McPeek, Publisher of the Town Crier on his recent acceptance of the position of Superintendent of the Lakeland Central School District in Shrub Oak, NY. Connolly, who has been Superintendent at Lake Shore since 1996, has accepted the position at Lakeland and is scheduled to begin July 1, 2005. McPeek next inquired if the search for our new superintendent had begun. Board President William Connors responded that the official notice of Mr. Connolly’s acceptance had not been received but was expected to be the topic of discussion during the executive session portion of the evening’s meeting. The search will begin after that.

          The High School’s production of Okalahoma is being considered for this year’s Kenny Awards. Hosted at Shea’s Theatre in Buffalo, the Kenny Awards recognizes the talent, dedication and efforts of local high school theater. The prestigious award was created in memory of Kenneth Lipke. Dr. Lipke supported the arts in education and the KENNY AWARD Ceremony was designed to promote his ideals. As a result schools from across Western New York are invited to apply each year for consideration. After the applications are reviewed by a special committee, several schools are invited to participate in personal interviews where the director of each show explains the school’s philosophy of theatrical education. From these interviews, the finalists are chosen. Judges then view every performance of each musical, analyzing every aspect of the production. Not only is the performance of the cast evaluated, but set design, orchestra, costumes, publicity, props, and school involvement, to name a few are considered. After all the performances have been seen, the winners are chosen and announced at the Shea’s Center for the Performmg arts. This year’s award ceremony will be on May 21st at 4pm. Community support is important and everyone is invited to attend the performance/awards ceremony. There is a cost of $8 for tickets. More information will be in the paper as it is available.             

          Boardmember Rick Vogan reported that he had been to a Public Forum held at the Sweet Home School District. The meeting was an opportunity for district residents to discuss issues with the Board. Mr. Vogan stated that many of the issues they were discussing were the same issues that are a concern in our own district. Boardmember Cindy Latimore reported that she was looking at the amount of parent involvement in the Middle School and the amount of involvement in other districts compared to ours. Studies have shown that parent involvement is helpful to the overall education of the students. Suggestions are being taken to increase the parent involvement, to let parents know where they can fit in and help so that the increased involvement may improve student success.

          In other matters, the Board • Approved the Chairmen, Inspectors of Election and Assistant Clerks of Election for the May 17, 2005 Budget Vote and Election • Approved a Special District meeting to be held Wednesday, April 27, 2005 at 12 noon in the Central District Conference Room for election of BOCES Erie 2 Board Members. • Approved the continuation of an unpaid child care leave for Laura J. Kowal from her position as LOTE Education Teacher for the 2005-06 school year. • Approved the revised list of stipends for this year’s musical production of Oklahoma! • Approved the one-year probationary appointment of Sandra Wilson as half-time laborer for the District, effective 2/21/05. • Approved the Committee on Special Education reports as attested. • Accepted with regret the resignation, for the purpose of retirement, of Veronica Baldwin from her position as School Media Specialist, effective June 30, 2005. • Accepted with regret the resignation, for the purpose of retirement, of Sylvia Sobol from her position as Laborer for the District, effective December 31, 2004.

           In a close contest, the Village of Angola elected a new mayor on Tuesday, March 15, 2005. Howard “Hub” Frawley was elected over incumbent James Carlson by a vote of 316 to 288. John Wilson and Michael Stockman were elected to 4 year terms as Village Trustees with a vote count of 324 and 316 respectively. Also running for the trustee positions were Patty Snyder-Bonnes and Norbert “Norm” Drago who received 268 and 230 votes respectively.