EAST WINDSOR: School officials pleased with hurricane response

By Amy Batista, Special Writer
   EAST WINDSOR — School board members and district officials took time at the board’s Monday night meeting to reflect on the impact of Hurricane Sandy on local schools and how the district responded.
   ”All and all, I think the district handled itself quite well during both of these issues and we came out of it relatively unscathed,” schools Superintendent Edward Forsthoffer said. He reported “very little damage to the buildings,” although there was water in the annex gym.
   ”When I came in that Tuesday, they were all in there with mops and the squidgy brooms pushing it all out so they were right on top of it,” Dr. Forsthoffer said of the custodial and facilities staff.
   ”Our people performed well above and beyond the call of duty,” Dr. Forsthoffer said. He mentioned the director of facilities received a ticket while driving in the middle of the night in the hurricane while responding to one of the schools around 1 a.m. to check on an alarm..
   Dr. Forsthoffer reported that the School Messenger Alert system received a lot of “lot of positive feedback” for the messages that went out throughout the storm. Parents sent emails of appreciation to the superintendent thanking him for keeping them up-to-date and informed on what was happening with their children’s school when for many it was a difficult time to access information.
   Dr. Forsthoffer also received commendations for his actions during the storm period.
   ”In my experience, it is unprecedented to close down a district for this length of time in response to a major event,” said Kurt Stumbaugh, the district’s business administrator and board secretary. “During that time, Ed showed an incredible capacity to lead and it was much more than communication which is hugely important element, it is very visible, but it was much deeper than that.”
   ”He was very much involved in all aspects in my areas of responsibility,” he added. “ He assisted me greatly on facilities related issues, transportation, food service, and payroll during this difficult time.”
   Dr. Forsthoffer also thanked the board members.
   ” Throughout that time you were all available to me whether I had to call you or email you to run different ideas by you and many of you quite frankly were in worse condition than our schools. You helped us come up with hopefully what ended up being creative decisions that move the district forward,” Dr. Forsthoffer said.
   The superintendent also said that he was able to stay in contact with police departments in Hightstown and East Windsor during the storm and that “we had very a good relationship” with both municipalities. He said he was in contact with both mayors as well as the police.
   ”The road crews for each of the towns stayed in contact with our director of facilities and that really helped us,” he said.
   Dr. Forsthoffer also recognized the contribution of the custodial, maintenance, building and grounds and mechanical crews who “made sure our buildings were safe and sound and dry.”
   Board member Bonnie Fayer thanked Dr. Forsthoffer for his communication with board members during the storm and also recognized the guidance department.
   ”This storm could not have happened at a worse time for high school seniors because many of these seniors were putting in their applications to colleges and needing to get their transcripts and recommendations sent out,” she said. “During a very trying time, our guidance department was able to do everything that was needed to be done for our high school seniors. I think that speaks well of this department.”
   ”I also wanted to thank the district for being one of the very few sites that could hold the SATs Nov. 3,” said Board member Lisa Abel, who noted that as a SAT Site Coordinator in New Brunswick, her site was closed and had to relocate over 200 students.