By ANTHONY RIFILATO
The spending plan has school officials working hard to reach out to the community in the hope of getting voters to pass it, especially after the current budget passed by only five votes last year.
Two challengers - residents Ralph Rose and Stanley Gittleman - have thrown their hats into the ring against incumbents James Scannell and Mary Clark, longstanding members of the board who have pledged to continue to serve in the best interests of the schools and community.
The school board race comes as the board is proposing a nearly $105.8 million budget for the 2007-08 school year, a 5.97 percent increase over the current spending plan that maintains current programs and services with few additions. The board has pledged to use additional state education aid to reduce the proposed 5.97 percent tax levy increase.
The challengers have both pledged to lower taxes, improve school safety and find ways to generate more revenue for the district, though they would take radically different approaches to reach those goals. Voters will decide on the candidates as well as the budget on May 15 at Baldwin High. The following are profiles of the four contenders.
Mary Clark
Clark, who has served on the board since 2001, says she believes that the reputation of the town and its property values are directly related to the schools. "It is all in our best interest to invest in our schools while keeping in mind how expensive it is to live in Nassau County," Clark said.
She explained that one of her main priorities is to get the federal and state governments to provide more money to help the district educate students, since the cost of living on Long Island is so high. "The budget has always been a concern for me, because I realize how high taxes are getting," she said.
Clark, who works as a registered nurse, said that the budget-to-budget increase has steadily declined over the past five years, something she attributed in part to the work of the board. "I realized we were doing a very good job of keeping costs low," she said. "We're trying the best we can. We're still - out of 41 school districts - ranked 35 when it comes to per-pupil spending."
Clark said that she and other board members work hard to secure additional state aid each year, and that state representatives such as Sen. Dean Skelos came through this year: Baldwin will get $23.6 million in aid.
Clark added that she is proud of her accomplishments on the board, which range from working to get more special education services for students to involving parents in the hiring process of principals and staff. "As a whole, this board is very receptive to the community," she said. "Since a lot us have kids in the schools, we hear about what's going on."
As a parent of four children, three of whom graduated from Baldwin High, Clark said that she, like many parents, was concerned about the fights at the high school in March, which included a large brawl in the school's commons and resulted in injuries among some students and staff. "I was very upset," she said.
Clark said that she and other board members insisted that the high school hold a community forum shortly after the fights to address the situation, not to mention the concerns that she and other parents had. "A lot of what parents said, I totally agreed with," she said. "Speaking as a parent, I also wanted to see what was being done, and what could be done to prevent [future fights]. That meeting was insisted upon by the board. Otherwise I don't think it would have happened."
Clark said she feels that the steps being taken at the high school to address the issue are working, and that, overall, Baldwin High is a safe school. "I think the changes that they have in place are good changes," she said. "I think it was something that needed to be done. I don't think people understand that we have very good kids in the school. Are the kids who were involved being disciplined properly? So far, I think they are."
Stanley Gittleman
Gittleman says he is running for the board to address issues such as teen violence and rising property taxes, and that by introducing new initiatives, the board can see results in both areas.
Gittleman, who was a New York City social studies teacher for 34 years before he retired, said that the number of violent and disruptive incidents in the district has tripled since the 2003-04 school year, a claim he based on statistics obtained from the district after he made a Freedom of Information request. "I don't know their criteria for violent behavior, but a lot of these resulted in student suspensions," said Gittleman, who ran unsuccessfully for the board last year.
He said he would like to implement research-based programs to reduce violent student behavior and substance abuse, noting that one program in particular - social and emotional learning - has proved to be effective in nearby school districts like Uniondale, teaching students to calm themselves and be aware of their emotions. Such a program - which he estimates would cost $50,000 to implement - could stave off such incidents as the melee at the high school, Gittleman said.
"The calming skill is important," he said. "When people are upset, they often violate their moral beliefs, because they can't use their thinking skills and do the right thing."
A Baldwin resident since 1971, Gittleman said he would like to create a community-based plan to reduce school property taxes. For instance, he said, he would like to see state lawmakers reinstitute a stock-transfer tax and reinstate the income tax on the 1 one percent of wage earners, which, he claimed, would generate more state revenue.
Gittleman is currently a member of the executive board of the Baldwin Educational Assembly, but, like Rose, he was criticized for not attending recent budget hearings. He said he had good reason not to attend: He was recovering from heart surgery.
He said he believes the board needs to do more to inform residents about the budget, and that students should be taught about the plan in class so they can share the information with their parents.
With the teachers' contract set to expire this summer, he said he believes that any salary increases must be approved by residents, and that the board falls short when it comes to working with the community. "The board is making great efforts to do this," he said. "But these things are not working, and attendance is low."
Ralph Rose
Rose, a resident of Baldwin, said he is running because he feels the board needs to rein in spending and address issues such as school safety. A retired Town of Hempstead employee who belongs to numerous community organizations - including the Baldwin Kiwanis and Chamber of Commerce - Rose said he doesn't think the board is doing its job, and spends money too liberally.
He said he noticed that the district had installed lawn sprinklers at Steele School, which he said is an unnecessary expense. "I don't think the board realizes the tax burden that's put upon us," he said. "I won't make negative comments, but as a group, they put their heads in the sand and don't know what's going on."
Rose, who worked for the town's sanitation department and is president of the Kiwanis Club, said that he would work to lower taxes, and that he believes the proposed budget includes wasteful spending. "There has got to be waste someplace," he said. "I can't believe it costs over $100 million."
Rose said that he is voting against the budget - though some members of the board criticized him for not attending recent budget hearings. For his part, Rose said he felt the meetings were pointless. "They give me their figures - I don't know the figures," he said. "How do I know that we're getting the best rate when it comes to fuel oil? There might be a more efficient way."
As a board member, Rose said, he would urge state representatives to send more education money to Baldwin. When it comes to controlling costs, Rose proposes a flat rate increase every third year in district staff salaries, saying that Baldwin simply cannot afford to give raises each year.
"People should get the same rate when it comes to raises," he said. "The money employees are getting now is all right, but maybe we should have raise freezes. We have to give the taxpayers a break."
He said he, too, is concerned about the fights at the high school. If elected, he said, he would push for a limited dress code for students. He also said he feels that the board should consider making the high school a closed campus in order to prevent further incidents, and added that teachers and staff should be subject to drug tests to encourage responsibility. "I'm generally concerned with too much freedom in the schools," Rose said. "I think the fight was an over-exaggeration, but we have to watch it."
James Scannell
Scannell is currently vice president of the board, and is seeking a third term as a trustee. Having completed four years as board president in 2006, he said he feels that he continues to make a positive contribution to the board. "What keeps me going is my commitment to the community," said Scannell.
Scannell, who has served on the board since 1998 and is a curriculum associate for science and health in the East Williston School District, said that in recent years, test scores have improved in the district. He noted a recent study that tracked Baldwin's fourth- and eighth-graders, and found that there were substantial leaps in the number of students passing standardized math and English tests over five years.
"I think it's due to the hard work of our teachers, the commitment of our community and the patient, deliberate approach that the Board of Education has taken to working on this issue," Scannell said. "We enriched the curriculum, rather than throwing it out and searching for a magic bullet."
Scannell also said he has worked to reduce the district's budget increases over the years. He explained that four years ago, the budget increased 8.16 percent, and the increase has dropped each year since, to the current proposal of 5.97 percent.
"I would say less than 1 percent of that is discretionary," said Scannell, explaining that many of the increases this year are either contractual obligations or uncontrollable costs such as Social Security and retirement. "I think it's a reasonable increase, that has us moving in the right direction," he said. "The increase allows us to maintain the types of programs that the community clearly indicated that they want in their schools, everything from full-day kindergarten and music to robust academic programs."
Scannell said he is hopeful the budget will pass this month, explaining that the board took many steps to address some voter discontent last year. "Many people who voted no don't use our facilities or have kids in the schools, so they don't see a direct benefit," he said. "The quality of the school system in a community is so closely tied to property values and community pride that it deserves support." The board is "doing a lot more community outreach," Scannell contended, and has not only been discussing the budget with PTAs, but with senior citizen groups as well. "I think the Baldwin board is very cooperative, collegial and open to dialogue."
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