The September 12th meeting of the Coalition for Glen Cove was held at City Hall. It was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Donald Scarl. The meeting was attended by 35 concerned community and Coalition members.
I. Guest Speaker:
Vito Abbondandolo, president of the Glen Cove Board of Education, presented the major roles and responsibilities of the Board of Education and the Superintendent of Schools. This was aided by a very thorough handout which addressed these roles and responsibilities in relationship to general functions, policy, meetings, collective bargaining and the expectations and relationship of the Board and the Superintendent.
Following this brief explanation, Mr. Abbondandolo answered questions and responded to concerns of community and Coalition members. The following questions and concerns were discussed:
VOTING AT BOARD MEETINGS AND PUBLIC OPINION AT MEETINGS:
Q. Why doesn’t the Board vote on issues at the time of discussion?
A. First time discussions are held at special meetings. Research is often needed before the Board can take a vote.
Q. Why does the Board at times vote on issues that the public is not informed about?
A. The Board of Education meetings are “meetings in public” as opposed to “public meetings”. Policies have been distributed at meetings when a second reading is held.
Q. Why can’t the public speak at special meetings? (A 15 minute time frame was then suggested.)
A. The Board needs time to work at meetings. If someone does want to address the Board regarding a specific agenda issue, that person can call the Superintendent on Monday to request to speak at that evening’s meeting.
A concern was heard as to the frustration the public often feels when public opinion cannot be heard at the time an issue is brought up on the agenda.
COMMUNICATION WITH THE PUBLIC:
Q. Are policies published for the public to read?
A. Yes, in the Glen Cove Library.
Q. Will there be a column in one of the local papers where Board members can comment to the public?
A. The Superintendent will likely have a column in the local paper to communicate with the public. Additionally, a new pamphlet has been developed to be available at Board meetings. The pamphlet will define the Board’s role and procedures to the public.
REQUIREMENTS OF BOARD MEMBERS OR BOARD CANDIDATES:
Q. Are persons elected to the school board required by law to follow specific guidelines or protocol or to participate in a training session?
A. New Board members can go to workshops but are not bound by law to do so. They simply must be willing to go.
Statement: Some districts have training before a Board member is elected.
A. The Superintendent offers candidates running for the Board an explanation of responsibilities; however, a candidate is not required to participate in this activity.
NUMBER OF BOARD MEMBERS:
Q. How can the number of Board members be changed? In the past the number has changed from five to seven members. Who is able to enter such a change?
A. The number can be changed via voter approval in the May elections. The Board or the public can bring such a change.
II. Coalition Reports:
A. Glen Cove Craft Fair Voter Registration Booth:
Janet Bates-Wilkins reported that the booth was successful. Many Coalition members volunteered to work. 60 Glen Cove residents and 20 non-Glen Cove residents were registered to vote. Bi-partisan voter information was made available. Coalition flyers were handed out which helped to raise our profile in the community. Janet did report that there was some confusion as to the name and purpose of our Coalition and the Coalition Against Charter Schools, which occupied a space directly across from ours.
B. Coalition visit to the Rotary Club:
Don Ranieri and Don Scarl visited the Rotary Club to speak positively about the Glen Cove Schools. They asked members of the Rotary why they thought people voted against the budget. They reported that the Rotary members offered good ideas to carry out. Don and Don will visit other clubs, and invite other interested Coalition members to join them.
III. Old Business:
A. A press release appeared in the Glen Cove Record Pilot on Friday, August 25th which reported Dr. Mary Ellen Freeley’s visit to the August meeting of the Coalition.
C. Bruce Shor will call the editors of the Glen Cove Record Pilot and the Gold Coast Gazette to request that articles highlighting the accomplishments of and awards to young adults in Glen Cove also mention that these people graduated from Glen Cove High School.
D. Hope Director will begin a clipping file of articles relating to the above, as well as accomplishments of our teachers for use on the Coalition website.
E. The October meeting of the Coalition will take place at St. Pauls Church on Highland Road at 7:00 p.m. City Hall will be unavailable for the next several meetings.
IV. Current Issues:
A. Charter Schools: A lengthy discussion was held regarding the issue of a charter school in Glen Cove. The following summarizes that discussion:
Gloria Wagner and Maureen Tracy have collected over 600 signatures on a petition against a charter school in Glen Cove. This petition will be presented to the Board of Regents to state the position against the charter school in Glen Cove. After this petition is filed, the issue will be addressed to the Board at an open meeting.
The question was raised as to whether or not the Coalition should take a public stand against a charter school in Glen Cove. Opinions were quite mixed. Some members felt that a public stand would target the Coalition as a political entity, thereby diffusing our initial purposes; to bring information to the public, to encourage the community to provide the schools with the resources they need, and to help elect effective school board members. Taking a stand against charter schools might alienate some of our constituents. It was suggested that opposing charter schools would align the Coalition with the Glen Cove Teachers Union, further politicizing our place in the community. Other members felt that the Coalition should not be afraid to take a stand, and that the teachers should get involved in a stand against a charter school in Glen Cove. A retired teacher felt that teachers who would join the Coalition might take offense if we did not take a stand.
Mike Swirnoff presented a factual overview about the Edison Group, which has applied for the charter school in Glen Cove. He outlined the amount of money the district would lose to fund the charter school, the loss of State Aid and the services that our district would have to provide for such a school. He presented the loss of quality care in regards to students in such a school and the lower standards in regards to hiring staff.
One Coalition member felt that the stakes are very high in the next School Board vote, and that it is our responsibility to concentrate on endorsing and supporting two candidates who will best represent our schools. Taking a stand on the charter school issue would interfere with this focus. (It was also mentioned that the Coalition Against Charter Schools must only focus on its stand against such a school in Glen Cove; it should not, at this time, expend efforts on changing the law in regards to charter schools. Again, the stakes are too high in Glen Cove, and concerned citizens must attend to the highest priority issues.)
The final comments on this issue were that individuals should and must take a stand against charter schools by signing the petition now in circulation. Our Coalition should not make a decision that is divisive. We should, as individuals, help to make a better presence at the next meeting of the Coalition Against Charter Schools. Taking a Coalition for Glen Cove stand against the charter school would in fact be an “empty gesture”; the Coalition Against Charter Schools is taking a stand in this community. Don Scarl requested that we e-mail our opinions and that we will vote on this issue at our next meeting.
B. Coalition Name:
The Coalition for Glen Cove is now in its fourth month of operation. Many members wanted to revisit the issue of the name of our organization. Some members felt that our name does not mean anything to the public; that it must reflect our concern for education. Don suggested that we add a subtitle or tagline and e-mail suggestions to him.
C. Forum on Education:
Mayor Suozzi reported that he and Dr. Freeley are planning a public forum on education. The focus will be to stress:
l. the importance of public schools
2. the performance of our schools in comparison to other districts (why we are poorer or better and what we are doing to improve performance
3. cost of education in this district compared to other districts
Further information will be forthcoming.
D. Role of Coalition VS PTA Budget Committee:
Sue Goldberg voiced a concern as to whether the Coalition should have a presence at PTA Council meetings. The consensus was that the two groups work side by side. However the PTA Budget Committee works with restraints in that it cannot tell PTA members how to vote in the budget vote in May. The Coalition is partisan, but it cannot send information through the schools. Certainly, PTA members should know about our organization and should be invited to become members.
E. School Board Candidates:
The Coalition must now turn to its responsibility of helping to promote sound candidates for the school board election in May. Donald Scarl asked for e-mail opinions as to how to proceed.
F. Next meeting:
The next meeting of the Coalition for Glen Cove will be at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 10th at St. Pauls Church on Highland Road.
Respectfully submitted,
Ronnie Lavine,
Recording Secretary