By Andrew Coen
However, school board President Dr. Asher Mansdorf would still like to see the public vote on the propositions in the near future, as well as on two other referendums requiring further study.
During a special school board meeting on Dec. 22, trustees decided to postpone the vote so they could study the feasibility of including other propositions on the ballot. They would include transferring control of the Peninsula Public Library (PPL) property on Central Avenue from the school district to the library, and using remaining funds available from an EXCEL grant from State Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) to upgrade technology in the Lawrence Public Schools.
The postponement of the election came a day after a petition bearing the signatures of 250 District 15 residents was filed with the State Department of Education seeking to halt the pre-K busing and building use referendums. Once the school board voted to postpone the election, the petition was withdrawn.
The EXCEL grant that Mansdorf would like the public to vote on would allow the district to spend between $500,000 and $600,000 to upgrade classroom technology. He explained that the district received the grant money from Skelos in May, and used some of it for emergency repairs to the Lawrence High School auditorium ceiling and the middle school elevator, but must have voter approval before the funds are earmarked for the technology upgrade.
Mansdorf said district officials have estimated they need $750,000 to bring the district buildings up to speed with other school systems in terms of technology. As a result, he hopes the referendum for the EXCEL grant is immediately put before voters and approved so improvements could be implemented in the beginning of the 2007-08 school year.
"I want to use that money, and the only way to use that money is to get voter approval," Mansdorf said. "I want to get that EXCEL money into the district as quickly as possible."
As for the proposed referendum to grant the PPL independence from the school district, Mansdorf said he feels such a move would be in the best interest of both parties as library officials seek ways to construct a new facility. Since May 2005, officials at the library, next to the former Number One School property at 280 Central Ave. in Lawrence, have been exploring the concept of constructing a new facility in Zion Park, adjacent to the Lawrence train station.
PPL board Co-President Joan Lepelstat said that if the library - whose property the school board received control of for $1 in 1959 - is granted jurisdiction over the property, it would give the library the opportunity to sell the land (following a request for proposals process) and use the funds from the sale to offset the costs of constructing a new facility. But Lepelstat cautioned that the trustees have not voted on whether to put the referendum up and need to further study the issue.
During a work session scheduled for Jan. 9 at Lawrence Middle School, the school board will discuss whether to include the library and EXCEL grant propositions on the same ballot as the pre-K busing and building use referendums. Mansdorf said that voting on the referendums could be scheduled the same day as the budget vote - May 15 - but he would prefer to do it sooner so the money for the EXCEL grant could be in place to allow technology upgrades to be implemented over the summer. He also said he would like the budget proposal to stand on its own, and not have voters distracted by other propositions.
Library officials have offered to allocate funds for a special election if the referendum does not occur on May 15, according to Mansdorf. Lawrence Public Schools District Clerk Alice Laino has said it generally costs between $15,000 and $20,000 to hold an election, because the district has to rent voting machines and pay poll workers.
During the school board's regular meeting on Dec. 19, many residents lashed out at the pre-K busing and building use policy referendums, saying they were fiscally irresponsible. "If that money comes from other programs, it seems it will come at the detriment of the students," said Atlantic Beach resident Brian Knoff.
Atlantic Beach Deputy Mayor Janice Goorland, a former longtime Lawrence PTA member, asked the school board whether the pre-K busing would be only for 4-year-olds, or if any 2- or 3-year-olds would also be transported if the referendum passes, because it would be costly to provide matrons for all pre-K students. "Our taxes will run extremely high," she said.
Mansdorf said he was not sure if 2- and 3-year olds would also be bused if the referendum were approved.
Atlantic Beach resident Linda Kohan also criticized the referendums, and asked where the money would come from. She said a complete analysis should be done to determine the costs of both propositions.
Mansdorf said that if a pre-K busing referendum were approved, the program would not be in place until the 2007-08 school year and that there should be plenty of funds available, whether or not the district is on an austerity budget. He pointed out that the district had roughly $6 million in unexpended funds last year, and the cost of providing pre-K busing for all public and private school students in the district would be about $200,000.
