Blog post #4

Board of Education Meeting

To better understand the implications of local school policy, I attended an official Board of Education meeting of the Massapequa Highschool. I attended this meeting on Thursday, October 10th. Being that this is the district I graduated from when I arrived, I did see some familiar faces in the board room. Also, when I walked in, I noticed that the members of the Board of Education were sitting at one table, and the Superintendent Cabinet was sitting at another table right next to the Board members. The members of the board of education consist of Kerry Wachter- President, Jeanine Caramore- Vice President, Gary Baldinger- Secretary, Cher Lepre- Trustee, and Allison Steakin- Trustee. The Superintendent Cabinet consists of Lucielle F. Iconis- Superintendent of schools, Alan C. Adcock- Deputy Superintendent, Dr. Thomas J. Fasano- Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction, Diana Haanraadts- Assistant to the Superintendent for Instructional Support & General Administration, Robert Schilling- Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources & General Administration, Dr. Jordan McCaw- Executive Director for Pupil Personnel Services, Bryan R. Piotrowski- Executive Director for Technology & General Administration, and Lisa Silveri- Administrative Associate General Administration.

With that said, this meeting started off immediately by saying the pledge of allegiance and then officially began by addressing a few brief follow up questions. One question was, "If there is money left over when a class graduates, what is done with it?" The response was, the class decides what to do with this money. Then, Lisa Silveri stated her recommendation to take the entire policy manual, from cover to cover and go through each policy to make sure it is in compliance. This would be completed by a service called complaints review service, and if something were to be flagged, Silveri would be notified by the company. After she is notified, it would be brought to the Board of Education, and they could either revise it, adopt it, or if it's not in compliance, they could remove it permanently. This service would cost 3,500 dollars and is highly recommended because full reviews should be done every five to seven years. One of the board members added that a comprehensive review hasn't been done since between the year of 2000 and 2004. Another member agreed that this would be essential because $3,500 is not a bad price in a two million dollar school district. After Silveri stated her recommendation, and it was thoroughly discussed, everyone agreed on it. Then a letter was signed at the end of the night to move the process onward. I think that this was a good suggestion on Silveri's part because it will thoroughly sift through each of the policies making sure they're satisfactory.

A capital improvement status update was the next topic in the meeting, which discussed the updates of the capital work that happened over this past summer. In Massapequa School District, there are nine schools in total, and most of them were under construction this past summer. The first school spoken about was East Lake. There were sixteen classrooms renovated, sixteen airconditioning units were installed in classrooms, and student toilets were renovated. Some of the classroom renovations included new smart boards that look more like a smart television, modern wall finishes, new tiles, and new cabinets. I really liked how, during the presentation of these renovations, all the information was displayed on a screen, including before and after pictures. I thought it was interesting to see the changes that were made and to see the significant improvements that were completed for the students and staff. There was also work done at Berner Middle School, where ten classrooms were renovated, twelve airconditioning units were installed, electronic service was upgraded, and student toilets were renovated. The board also said that work will continue during many evenings throughout the school year to stay ahead of schedule. Some other things that were improved were the cabinets in the consumer science rooms, countertops, and the new smartboards were recentered with whiteboards on both sides. Next, the Massapequa Highschool had renovations done to student toilets, and upgrading of service is still ongoing. Then the Ames high school was discussed where students' toilet renovations took place, electronic service is being upgraded, and upgraded air conditioners. Lastly, for the schools is Lockhart Elementry school, where there is just a new electric service upgrade. For the financial aspect of this, there is a fifteen-year loan or bond in place at 1.78%, which is an incredibly low-interest rate. The bond counsel and financial advisors were extremely pleased with the percentage of 1.78.

Due to all of this work, the board decided that it would be wise to receive quarterly reports because there is so much activity and work going on during this time. I personally think this was a wise judgment to keep up to date with this massive undertaking in the district. The board also made it clear that when looking ahead to the summer of 2020, work will still be going on. Therefore, they recommended that summer recreation should not be held in the district for the upcoming summer. The Superintendent, Lucielle Iconis, supported this recommendation with valid reasons. She said that with the tremendous amount of work being done in these buildings, the safety of the campers is at risk. She continued to say how there is going to be a lot of heavy equipment moving in and out. Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable either knowing that kids are roaming around the school ranging from kindergarten to sixth grade, while there is construction going on. Although these children are being supervised by their counselors, freak accidents can happen. I agree on this point and feel that it is just not a safe place for children to play where there is a significant amount of construction going on. For me personally, when I was at the Massapequa High School, there was construction taking place on the field, and I understand how the students might feel. I remember during gym class, sometimes units were meant to take place outside, such as tennis. We would have to walk on the side of the main field through a whole lot of dirt. Also, we were limited to the activities that were available to play because the entire area was blocked off due to ongoing construction. In the end, the new field ended up looking amazing, so all the hard work paid off!

Furthermore, Iconis even looked at alternative options to keep summer recreation going by possibly consolidating down to two programs only, but this would only prolong the construction process. By extending the means to continue summer rec, it would also make the cost rise and more money will be spent. Fortunately, all the other programs can still be run out of Massapequa High School, Ames, and Berner. Even though there will still be work going on, it won't be to the extent of the elementary school construction. When looking back in time, this same event transpired in the summer of 2000. In this event, about twenty years ago, the summer school program was suspended because of roofing and technology work. Some of the programs mentioned in the meeting that can still continue over the summer are the fine arts program, summer school, marching band, all sports camps, and driver education. As of 2021, the Board predicts that elementary summer recreation can be run again in some locations. 

Then, the President, Kerry Wachter, went on to speak about how breaking the news to the kids, counselors, staff, and parents will indefinitely be a hardship. Wachter has reached out in many ways, including contacting the Town of Oyster Bay, hoping they could do something to speed the construction process up. Unfortunately, none of the alternatives worked in the district's favor, and the Board confirmed that summer recreation can not be held by giving their final consent. To avoid upsetting the district, Iconis said she will be reaching out to the community and staff this way they can plan ahead for their upcoming summer. Many years ago, I worked as a counselor at Mckenna, and if I were informed with the news of not having a job over the summer, I would absolutely be concerned. But, I certainly think its the right thing to do by informing the district well in advanced this way they can make arrangements earlier than later. Iconis said she will put the word out on as soon as October 15th through email, text messaging, and she will also inform the principals so they can post on the district website immediately. The entire board agreed to dispute this information as much as they can to avoid making the district upset and angry. The immediate notification the district will receive a great way to manage this hardship the district will face. 

Next, Kerry Wachter stated the six additional resolutions, and after each statement, the board members must agree or disagree. There were a few instances where board members added on information, and then this part of the meeting was completed. I felt this section of the meeting went very fast, and it was a little challenging to understand some of the statements.

After the six additional resolutions were stated, the focus went towards the Special Education department. Allison Steaken spoke briefly about how she attended a meeting that focused on the changes and improvements being made to special education in the district. She mentioned sensory pathways and new therapeutic classes that are currently taking place. Steaken said that these therapeutic classes have been hugely successful. A parent in the audience of the meeting that Steaken attended even shared her pleasure with how her child is doing in this therapeutic class. Then Dr. Jordan McCaw spoke about how these meetings extend parent outreach in special education. He also said there are about eight workshops, equaling out to one per each month in the school year. During the meeting, everyone is broken up into individual round tables categorized by different groups. Some examples of these different groups would be elementary or secondary. Overall he is very proud of how collaborative and constructive the results of these meetings are. Personally, I had never heard of these meetings before I heard Steaken and Dr. McCaw speak, and I think this is a wonderful idea that the special education department has thought of. I think it's excellent that our district has meetings and workshops dedicated to special education children, parents, and staff. 

To end the meeting, the President has thirty minutes, which she can choose to shorten, where the audience is opened to comment or ask questions. The comments had to be kept under three minutes long, and they should be said politely. Also, only school matters were to be discussed, and individuals should refrain from addressing topics related to personal issues or individual students.

Overall I absolutely appreciated the experience of getting to be a guest at a Board of Education meeting! My initial thoughts were that I would have difficulty following and grasping the discussion, but I was by far intrigued the entire time. I enjoyed getting to hear what is currently going on in my own district. I also felt very involved because this is where I grew up and went to school in my early years. I also thought it was reasonably easy to become engaged because many individuals are speaking throughout the whole time, and you get to hear all their different inputs.

References

25 things to stop wasting money on in 2019. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2019, from https://www.lovemoney.com/gallerylist/61712/25-things-to-stop-wasting-money-on-in-2019

Board of education / about the boe. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2019, from https://www.msd.k12.ny.us/Page/15#calendar993/20191022/month

Boyle. (2013, January 19). Massapequa schools gives update on special ed program. Retrieved October 22, 2019, from https://patch.com/new-york/massapequa/massapequa-schools-gives-update-on-special-ed-program

Costello, A. (2018, August 02). Massapequa named one OF LI's best school districts. Retrieved October 22, 2019, from https://patch.com/new-york/massapequa/massapequa-named-one-lis-best-school-districts

Iconis, L. F. (2019, October 11). Superintendent’s Letter - Summer Recreation. Retrieved October 22, 2019, from https://doc-04-54-apps-viewer.googleusercontent.com/viewer/secure/pdf/8depjdn445g4ng2fla2u7flhu4ajque3/onsqor6mt0jt81dgvoanr2bq4jmujd6o/1571792325000/drive/12881149422581878130/ACFrOgBK7dAV4DvHkYaqHzF8sy6xPizZ11GJa7YM761hYbOTv2yvP5bGelyCL4ikQVHWq1IQRdgZ7LWieu1vWSs9pB0Sjl40JUFOl9vMKqdq8OohPS8AVBosxUNfnJo=?print=true&nonce=o0aal4ds5tvpq&user=12881149422581878130&hash=3oa81v2g1jth89iiub12am7l60pm2tvj

Korb. (2017, February 28). Massapequa school District accepting applications for 2017 Summer Recreation staff. Retrieved October 22, 2019, from https://patch.com/new-york/massapequa/massapequa-school-district-accepting-applications-2017-summer-recreation-staff

Massapequa high school. (2019, September 23). Retrieved October 22, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massapequa_High_School

Students & parents / HOMEPAGE. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2019, from https://www.msd.k12.ny.us/domain/558

Superintendent's office / Superintendent's Office (l). (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2019, from https://www.msd.k12.ny.us/domain/10