Senator Flanagan Works With Kings Park School District To Benefit Students

Senator John Flanagan( 2nd Senate District) recently announced that his office has secured funding for the Kings Park Central School District.  The funding, which is the result of Senator Flanagan’s ongoing efforts to provide additional opportunities to Kings Park students, will help enhance the overall educational experience at all of the schools in the district.

Over the past four years, Senator Flanagan has secured close to $300,000 in state funding, beyond traditional school aid, that the district has used to offset the cost of a number of projects. 

This year, the school will be using the funding secured by Senator Flanagan to help launch a robotics program that would place a programmable robot called a Nao Robot at both RJO Intermediate School and William T. Rogers Middle School.  According to the district, this will help generate interest in robotics and programming at a young age, while also potentially enabling the use of the robot in after school or summer programs. 

Additionally, the school is looking to use a portion of the funding to offset the cost of a state-of-the-art mobile device cart which would be equipped with Windows 8 devices, a printer, and a wireless access point.  This cart, to which the school is hoping to add a 3D printer, would be dedicated to the high school robotics program, while also having the ability to be wheeled into other classrooms when needed.

To put that program into action, the school is very pleased that the money Senator Flanagan secured through this year’s State budget will also offset the start-up cost of their Robotics Club to allow it to get up and running this year.

Finally, the district is looking to use a portion of the funding to create a school district app.  This app would allow parents to access information that is currently on the district web site such as important phone numbers, athletic schedules and lunch menus.  The app would allow parents to access their MySchoolBucks account and enable the school to send push notifications out to community members.

In recent years, funding secured by Senator Flanagan has enabled the school to purchase a new press box for the Kings Park High School, install computer labs at the elementary schools and replace electronic signs at both the high school and at William T. Rogers Middle School that were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.

Superintendent Timothy Eagen said, “The Kings Park Central School District is ecstatic to receive this funding from Senator Flanagan.   Thanks to Senator Flanagan's generosity, our district will be able to jump start a STEM initiative and better meet the needs of students. We are very appreciative of Senator Flanagan's support."

“Throughout the years, my office has worked closely with Kings Park school administration to support their efforts in providing the students with the best education possible.  The grants I have been able to secure have been used by former Superintendent Susan Agruso and current Superintendent Eagen to enhance the educational experience for all Kings Park children and it is something I look forward to continuing in the future,” stated Senator Flanagan.