What’s the status of PCSD’s new website?

Near the end of 2021, the Port Chester School District sought out a company to manage its public relations and to design, then host, a new district website—a critical facet of public interface and communication that community members and administrators alike have recognized over the years could use some updating.

Responses rolled in, and Syntax rose to the top of the candidate pool. The Long Island-based marketing communication consulting service has a 23-year record of successful public relations, communication and website design, according to the company’s website.

At the Jan. 10, 2022, meeting of the Board of Education, the district awarded a competitive bid to Syntax, and on the meeting agenda, it specified that the company would begin work on the new website sometime that year.

For Syntax’s communication services, the district agreed to pay $73,500 during the 2022-2023 school year, and for creating its new website, the district will compensate Syntax with a lump sum of $7,500 for the design, then $6,300 to host it. The $73,500 and $6,300 were slated as yearly retainer amounts, meaning the district could pay Syntax that amount every school year for those services.

Superintendent Dr. Aurelia Henriquez said during the board’s Aug. 3, 2022, meeting she was hopeful that district officials would have a draft of the new website by the end of the month.

But while she later communicated in an email that they did receive a basic draft design early last fall, it “did not include much information.”

According to Henriquez, Syntax is still designing the website, and the district hasn’t seen a staging site draft yet. That draft “will show the full working website as it will appear during launch,” she said.

She said the district hopes to receive it by the end of January. Then, officials will review it and provide feedback to Syntax, and together, they’ll work out any design or operational flaws while also ensuring it meets all the district’s requirements.

Henriquez said there isn’t a definitive launch date for public use yet, but she’s hoping it will be “soon.”

More information on the specifics of the website and what capabilities it will have will become available as the launch date approaches, she said.