Electioneering dispute in North Merrick district soon to be resolved

A dust-up over school district electioneering in North Merrick that has caused acrimony in the community may have been resolved amicably, although district officials are still not commenting.

After an incident during the May 2016 school district election in which a student was allegedly made to feel uncomfortable when his mother, who was running for a Board of Education seat, was attacked politically by teachers who favored other candidates, the board adopted a new policy.

“Electioneering” — defined as communications or conduct supporting or opposing a candidate for Board of Education, incumbent, labor unit, political cause or public policy issue — would be prohibited while on school grounds.

Members of the North Merrick Faculty Association, a unit of New York State United Teachers, were unhappy with the new policy, however, and argued that it violated their freedom of speech. The union has often openly supported Board of Education candidates or policies.

According to a complaint that the faculty association filed with the state’s Public Employee Relations Board in December 2016, member activities “regularly involve conduct or communication that deals with political or social movements or philosophies, or other public policy issues that could be influenced or determined by a school board official.”

“It was a First Amendment issue,” according to the association’s NYSUT representative, Jason Lasky. “The original policy had some implications of limiting not just association members, but also members of the public … It was very limiting.”

Lasky added last week that both parties had reached an agreement, making the electioneering policy more palatable for members of the faculty association.

Cristina Schmohl, a spokeswoman for the school district declined on Monday to comment on the status of the negotiations. “The matter has not been fully resolved at this time,” she said. “Based on these circumstances, we cannot comment on pending litigation.”

Suzanne Winkel, president of the faculty association, however, said that to her knowledge, a Memorandum of Understanding just needs to be signed, and the only reason that the litigation is still “pending” is that the case has not yet officially been withdrawn from the PERB process.

But district resident Lori Spillabotte said that the issue goes deeper than the electioneering policy. Spillabotte has asked the district how much money was spent defending the PERB complaint, and said last week that the North Merrick community has become divided because of the faculty association’s actions.

“People feel like they’re being accosted, and they’re uncomfortable even coming out to vote,” she said. “Elections were moved to the library to protect the children.”

Spillabotte added that in the last school district election, members and supporters carried signs outside the library. In that election, newcomers Tracey Miller and Ed Corona had the support of the faculty association and were elected to the Board of Education.

“They had robo-calls and 200 signs,” Spillabotte said. “The community isn’t aware of what’s going on. We’re trying to make the community aware.”

According to Board of Education minutes, $20,000 was transferred in June from a health insurance account to a legal one, and that had several parents concerned, according to Spillabotte.

According to Winkel, the faculty association had “no real cost” in filing its PERB complaint, and it is unlikely that district officials spent that amount defending against the complaint or negotiating with the union.

Tom McDaid, who oversees business and operations for the district, said at a recent meeting that the $20,000 transfer was related to contract negotiations, as well as PERB matters.

“I think that there’s been a lot of misinformation in the community,” Winkel said. “The teachers got involved in the election, and some in the community were very upset with that, and it seemed to spark their anger with the unions.

“It’s a common thing,” she added. “I guess not just for North Merrick.”

McDaid could not be reached for comment at press time, and Superintendent Dr. Cynthia Seniuk was also unavailable.