Coalition for Glen Cove

Coalition for Glen Cove Minutes

Monday, September 20, 2004

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church 7:30 PM

Dr. Jerry Cicchelli, the Superintendent of Schools for Glen Cove, was at this meeting to discuss this year’s budget and next year’s budget. This year’s austerity budget has forced increases in class size for the high school.

How do we get the community to vote YES for next year’s budget?  The community needs to trust both the administration and the board. One option is to get in touch with the community now, rather than sending out leaflets in April.  Make class size a budget issue starting now.  Dr. Cicchelli has said that he will reach out to the community -- having meetings and distributing pamphlets at different venues around Glen Cove.

Cablevision can provide a cable channel for the Glen Cove School District. The district will try to set this up soon. The District will create a video about next year’s budget that Chris Barry will send to Cablevision and have it broadcast before the budget vote.

The coalition will go to voting places to determine whether people did not vote.  Then, we can phone people and get them out to vote for the budget. The PTA can also endorse the budget and has done so last year.

Some students who are in middle school do not go to Glen Cove High School.  Some of these parents could make an impact on the school district and the district should reach out to these parents. Parochial school children also benefit from the school budget -- transportation, special education, textbooks, nurses, etc. Maria Reyes suggested that rather than promoting a School Budget we promote an Education Budget

 In past years, freshmen from college came back to the high school before Thanksgiving vacation.  These students, some from Ivy League schools, some from New York State Schools, some from Nassau Community College, could meet with on the high school students and have an influence. If a newspaper reporter was in this meeting, then the community would know how the Glen Cove School District has made an impression on our students. It would be good to keep and publish a record of where Glen Cove graduates are now.

An adult education program can bring parents into the schools.  For some school districts, popular adult education courses like tennis and English as a second language help to support the whole program so there are no costs to taxpayers for adult education.

Dr. Cicchelli said that sports are very important to our students.  He has also sent to the board of education an program for an alternative high school of the kind several neighboring districts have.