Olivia Hull
For many, it was the season opener, a chance to reconnect with friends and “taste” all the flavors of the Island.
The school on Penikese island will reopen this summer under new leadership and a new name, the board of directors for the school confirmed this week.
The new school will be named Penikese.
The program will use the same facilities as the long-running Penikese Island School, and will begin admitting adolescents with substance abuse issues beginning between mid-July and mid-August.
The regional high school lunch program is projecting a year-end deficit of nearly $61,000, assistant principal Matthew Malowski told the high school committee Monday evening. Losses can tracked to lower reimbursement from the up-Island school district, which stopped using the high school for its lunch programs last year, as well as a decrease in daily revenues, which are down 14 per cent from fiscal year 2012.
“We are seeing a marked decrease in participation,” in the a la carte budget, Mr. Malowski said.
The 33 eighth graders at the West Tisbury School aren’t the only ones moving on to high school. Their principal, Michael Halt, an Island educator and administrator since 1997, is gearing up for a major transition of his own. Mr. Halt’s last day is June 28. Then he will pack up his truck and head for California, where, in the fall, he will start as principal of the San Clemente High School.
The Dukes County pest management program will be discontinued beginning July 1 due to lack of funding. County manager Martina Thornton notified selectmen and town administrators of the decision in a letter sent last Friday.
The program would have been funded by just two towns, Chilmark and Aquinnah, for the fiscal 2014 year.
Despite strong gusts of wind, and ominous clouds looming overhead, the West Tisbury Farmers' Market opened its season Saturday morning to an increa