By Andrew Coen
We will interview them and end up endorsing candidates just like we do in the village trustee and mayoral races, said Saffra. I think it's going to [create] another watchdog for the school board. The Lawrence Association is going to be involved in all governmental affairs of the village as well as all the various agencies that serve it. The Lawrence Association is no longer a paper organization.
The decision was made by the board of governors at the association's monthly meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at the Lawrence Village Country Club.
Elections of school board candidates in the Lawrence district have been particularly contentious over the past few years, with private-school parents challenging public-school parents for positions on the board.
Dr. David Sussman, a Lawrence school board member who has been a longtime member of the Lawrence Association, said the increased involvement of the group in school issues is a positive. I think it's a step in the right direction, he said. The more involved the community gets in the school system, the better. I welcome any group that wants to get involved.
Lawrence school board president Frank Parise also welcomed the association's decision to begin endorsing candidates. I'm always interested in working with any group in the community, and [Lawrence Association members] are certainly a very integral part of this community, said Parise. Maybe the more they get involved, they can understand some of our needs and concerns and we can understand their concerns, and we can all work together.
According to Saffra, the Lawrence Association may also begin taking stands on whether the school budgets should be approved by the voters. They seem like a great group of people, and if I can gain their support for the budget it would be great, said Lawrence superintendent Dr. John Fitzsimons.
The Lawrence Association also agreed to move forward with plans to get a new driveway built for the Peninsula Public Library on Central Avenue as well as a park behind the Lawrence Middle School. Both requests would need to be approved by the Board of Education, since the school system owns both properties.
The issue with the library has been there for a long time, and nothing has been done about it, said Saffra. Now the Lawrence Association is going to get involved in the matter.
The library has long sought to have another driveway at the library, since cars currently enter and exit through the same narrow, single-lane driveway. It's a very dangerous situation, said Saffra. We want another driveway for safety access.
According to Dr. Fitzsimons, the district is strapped for space, and many administrators do not want to give up the land which is next to the Number One School play area for the library, but he is open to exploring the matter. I will have to take a look at it to see what should be done, he said.
The Lawrence Association also unanimously voted to subscribe to the Ident-A-Kid program with the Lawrence public and private-school systems, in partnership with the Nassau County Police Department. Ident-A-Kid provides children's ID cards so that if a child is kidnapped, information on the child can be reported.
The next Lawrence Association meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 8 p.m. at the Lawrence Village Country Club. For further information on the Lawrence Association, call 569-9081.
