By MIKE CAPUTO
But once the microphone was handed to district residents for the public comment session, the celebratory atmosphere was quickly overtaken by tension.
Exchanges between trustees and residents became so heated that police officers and additional security personnel were called midway through the meeting, and stood watch over the remainder of the proceedings, which eventually included the six-member board's unanimous adoption of the proposed $175 million budget for next year.
Before the police arrived, Clarke PTA member Donna LaScala spoke of her disdain for the school board's failure to agree on a new, permanent superintendent and what she said has become a cloud of negativity hanging over the community and the district.
"Who in their right mind would come into this three-ring circus?" LaScala said.
Almost to prove her point, two of the evening's most heated exchanges followed soon afterward.
David Kaplan, who is married to Trustee Abby Rothschild-Kaplan, said he felt compelled to speak publicly at a session for the first time since he stepped down from his own term on the school board in 2003. Kaplan criticized Trustee Walter Skinner for a recent comment, quoted in the Herald, that some school board members had "political agendas."
Kaplan said that such agendas did not exist, and he warned Skinner that he had information that could jeopardize his re-election. [See editorial on school board elections, page 24].
"I finally reached the point this week where I couldn't take any more of the inaccurate put-downs of the elected officials that are sitting on the board," Kaplan said afterward. "It was time for me to respond to what was being said week after week by the same people."
Skinner's response at the meeting was to question the reason for Kaplan's decision to resign in 2003. Skinner waved piece of paper alleging that it was a court document, implying that Kaplan resigned because of legal matters. Kaplan explained afterward that he chose to resign because he needed to attend to his wife, who at the time was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He apologized for his tone with Skinner at the
meeting.
"He got to the loving husband in me, and I made a mistake getting angry, but my wife is what matters the most, not Walter Skinner," Kaplan said.
Skinner said after the meeting that he had felt threatened by some of Kaplan's comments, and that he had filed a complaint with the district attorney's office. What Skinner was not intimidated by, he insisted, was the information Kaplan said he had on him. Skinner said that all prospective and sitting board members, such as himself, should reveal any potentially damaging information, and that he had nothing to hide.
"There is nothing in my life that my wife doesn't know about and is not OK with," Skinner said. "If there is something that embarrasses you, you should step down and go away."
Meanwhile . . .
Helen Meittinis, a longtime PTA leader and president of the Community Association of Stewart Avenue, followed Kaplan's comment with a presentation directed at at least two board members. Meittinis posted an enlarged photo, taken last June, that she said showed a connection among Trustees Diana DeVito and Al Semonella and civic association President Robert Zafonte. Zafonte was arrested on March 18 on several charges related to falsely accusing rivals.
"My intention was to show that some board members and other residents have personal agendas," Meittinis said in a later interview. "Those of us who have been sitting in Board of Education meetings for over 25 years consistently know what is needed and not needed, and when someone comes in with a personal agenda, it sticks out like a sore thumb."
Her presentation led to an argument with Semonella and other school board members, which quieted down as two police officers made their way into the room.
Semonella and DeVito did not return requests for interviews as of press time.
Venting session
Those two confrontations were not the only heated exchanges during the meeting. Marcee Rubinstein, a longtime advocate for special education, along with SEPTA presidents Helen Katzman and JoAnn Celetano, questioned Trustee Steven Jacobs for voting against two special education resolutions at a February work session.
Jacobs apologized, and said he did so because he was upset over unrelated matters. "It was impulsive and childish and it was wrong," Jacobs said. "I have since apologized."
Later, Jacobs addressed a resident's inquiry about a legal notice published in a recent issue of the Herald that he was late on his tax payments. Jacobs said he had paid the taxes in full that week.
Rubinstein also criticized Semonella for leaving a March 12 work session early to attend a meeting of an outside organization. Semonella responded that the school board was and will be his first priority.
Board President Brian O'Flaherty, who was also subjected to criticism, explained in a phone interview his reasoning behind allowing the antics to continue. "I think the last couple of months, people's emotions were bottled up," O'Flaherty said. "I think they wanted to get it out, and I think they finally had the courage to do it."
O'Flaherty said it was important for his colleagues - he specifically mentioned Jacobs and Semonella - to address concerns raised by residents. "How many times can they beat us up on this?" O'Flaherty said of residents' inquiries about allegations. "And [the trustees] did clear the air."
For O'Flaherty, the most important part of the evening came after the public comment session, when the school board unanimously adopted the district's proposed $175 million budget. Unlike many other school spending plans on Long Island, East Meadow's does not include any program cuts or layoffs.
"That was the highlight ... adopting the budget," O'Flaherty said.
The next board meeting, a work session, was scheduled for Thursday at 6:30 at the Campo Salisbury Center, 718 The Plain Road, Salisbury.
Comments about this story? MCaputo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
