Open warfare?

Discussions between Rockville Centre village and school district representatives have so far failed to produce progress on the renewal of a longstanding agreement to share expenses and avoid duplication of services, and school officials expressed their frustration and disappointment at the Dec. 9 Board of Education meeting.

Parking at Fireman’s Field, adjacent to South Side High School, is one of two contentious issues for the village and schools that have surfaced in recent conversations among Mayor Mary Bossart, Village Administrator Frank Quigley, school board President Mark Masin and Superintendent Dr. William Johnson.

The crux of the dispute is the fact that the village is seeking revenue from the school district. Several times during the meeting, school officials said it was incomprehensible to them that the village, a taxing authority, would seek revenue from the school district, another taxing authority. Board members said the village seems to have classified the school district as a nonprofit organization, which does not make sense to them.

During the school board meeting, Johnson said that the village has informed the school district that sometime in March, Fireman’s Field could be turned into a municipal parking field, and village parking permits would be required to park there.

Another, more immediate disagreement between the village and schools focuses on sanitation services. As of Jan. 1, the village will no longer provide free garbage collection for the schools — a service it has provided for as long as anyone can remember.

Trash talk spills over

The battle: The village seeks to charge the school district $40k to cover the village’s cost of providing garbage pickup from RVC schools. The school district has chosen a private carter to service its sanitation needs, for significantly less money.

The village was planning to charge the school district approximately $40,000 a year to pick up solid waste. But to lower costs, the district accepted a bid from Jamaica Ash for $7,740 for six months, carrying it through the school term but leaving the door open for further negotiations with the village.