All around, Merrick and North Merrick students and school staff members are pulling together to help earthquake victims in Haiti. Below, find out what is being done to help. more

North Merrick Board of Education Trustee John Pinto called on board members to rescind money from the district's accrued liability reserve fund for employee benefits at a Jan. 12 public meeting, a move that the district's legal counsel warned could land board members in jail. The accrued liability reserve fund for employee benefits is used more

The North Merrick School District Board of Education voted four to two, with one abstention, to ratify a new four-year teachers' contract at a Jan. 13. public meeting. Prior to the meeting, contracts in the district were expired since 2008. more

North Merrick School District attorney Albert D'Agostino is fighting back. After recently finding out that the state comptroller plans to revoke is annual $108,088 public pension again, D'Agostino filed a federal lawsuit on Dec. 10 alleging that his civil rights were violated. The suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court, says Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and three of his attorneys denied D'Agostino his right to due process when they revoked his pension after determining that he was working as a private contractor. The lawsuit claims D'Agostino's 5th and 14th amendment rights were violated, and that he should have been given a hearing as well as adequate notice of the claims against him before his public pension could be revoked. more

Unresolved teacher contracts remained at the forefront of community concerns at the Nov. 10 North Merrick Board of Education meeting. Contract negotiations were not on the meeting agenda, but several residents and one teacher used the public comment period to urge the Board of Education to resolve the dispute surrounding contracts that expired in June 2008. more

It's a safe bet that any dust settling on the blackboard in Lisa Drewes's classroom at Fayette Elementary School in North Merrick is a byproduct of abandonment rather than chalk. The fourth-grade room is outfitted with one of 15 SMART Boards in the North Merrick School District, a new tool that teachers are crediting with revolutionizing teaching methods and making conventional blackboards obsolete. "I put my schedule on it every day, aside from that I don't write on my blackboard at all," Drewes said. more

The New York State Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the attorney who represents the Lawrence School District, reversing the state comptroller's determination that he should be removed from its pension system. Following the Aug. 20 decision, the state must repay the lawyer’s missed pension payments within 30 days and reinstate him in the state retirement system. more