Herald Community Newspapers
Coonan for Malverne trustee
In Board of Education politics across Long Island, there are two schools of thought. According to one, board members should be hands-on, walking the halls, visiting teachers' classrooms, sitting in on extracurricular meetings. Others, however, believe trustees should set the agenda, hire administrators to carry it out and then step back and trust those administrators to do their jobs.
In practice, both of these strategies have succeeded, and both have failed. So which direction should the Malverne School District lean in 2007-08? We believe a more hands-off approach would be a refreshing change, and so the Herald is endorsing Patrick Coonan for school board trustee.
Coonan has vast experience in education administration. He serves as the dean of nursing at Adelphi University, and has been on the Malverne Board of Education in the past. He is aware of the challenge the district faces in filling major positions at the administrative level. But he has also vowed that once these positions are filled, he will avoid micromanaging, and interfere only when it's absolutely necessary.
The current climate in the Malverne schools is stale and unstable. Deputy Superintendent Diane Scricca was in position to replace Superintendent Mary Ellen Freeley when Freeley announced her retirement last month, but the board dragged its heels in granting Scricca tenure. Last week Scricca accepted the superintendent's job in Riverhead.
While incumbent Trustee Phyllis Wright can't be blamed entirely for the administrative turmoil, we believe a change is in order.
Make no mistake: Wright is a dedicated professional, having spent her entire adult life educating Malverne's youth. She cares deeply about students' well-being and the educational direction of the school. But we feel it's time for a fresh perspective on the board, with administrators allowed to stabilize the district without being second-guessed or overruled to the point where they fear making changes or taking risks. Both candidates are more than qualified, but we believe Coonan deserves a chance to make a difference, and endorse his election.
Stanislaus for Malverne trustee
The Herald endorses Lori Stanislaus for Malverne Board of Education trustee. Stanislaus has a strong background in financial management, education and psychology. She is also a passionate resident of District 12, and has vowed to focus on some of the key issues affecting the district.
Stanislaus seems to be exactly what the Malverne School District needs right now: a smart leader who can be a role model to students while unifying all three communities in the district. She is a straight talker, and we believe she will level with folks whenever she possibly can. Residents have expressed their frustration with what they perceive as a secretive school board that doesn't share information with them even when the law doesn't prohibit it from doing so. Stanislaus will bring more transparency to board meetings, and involve the community in board decisions.
She also has a balanced sense of the school board's role in the educational system. She firmly believes that board members should be in tune with what goes on in the classroom, but should not micromanage matters that administrators are capable of handling. She has said that she wants to focus on raising the graduation rate among high school students and encouraging more of them to pursue higher education.
Both Gina Gentilella and Andrea Cheatham are worthwhile candidates. Cheatham is president of the middle school PTA and works in education. Gentilella is an expert in financial matters. But Stanislaus is a strong combination of both, and will be an asset to the board as Malverne heads into a period of serious decision-
making.
Vote yes on Malverne School budget
The Malverne Board of Education, led by Superintendent Mary Ellen Freeley and Interim Business Administrator Larry Blake, has assembled a budget for the 2007-08 school year that is fiscally responsible without cutting any resources for students, and the Herald is proud to endorse it.
While the proposed budget calls for a 5.28 percent increase in the tax levy, district leaders have added projects and initiatives that will pay big dividends in quality of education, pride in the district and a solid foundation for the future. Among other things, the spending plan provides for added staff at the elementary, middle and high schools, continued summer programs and new playgrounds at Davison and Downing Elementary Schools. The playgrounds are not only long overdue, but will benefit all Malverne residents, who can use the facilities even if they don't have children in school.
The Howard T. Herber Middle School is a New York Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in large part because the staff and administration continue to raise educational standards. The proposed budget will maintain the staff training programs that sustain that academic excellence, and keep the schools moving forward. We urge residents to vote in favor of it.
The Herald also endorses Proposition 2, which will appear on the ballot just below the budget. This proposition would allow the school district to transfer more than $1.3 million to the Capital Project Fund and use the money for much-needed improvements. More than $500,000 of the total would come from the state, and would disappear if residents don't approve the proposition. The remaining $800,000 would be taken from funds that already exist and must be used, according to state law.
Proposition 2 would not interfere with the district's plan to apply its $1.2 million fund balance to the tax levy. The Capital Project Fund would come at no cost to taxpayers, and would pay for four major projects: a partial roof replacement at the high school, a replacement of the high school track, the installation of rubber surfacing at the two elementary school playgrounds and an upgrade of the school's technology systems.
These are sound improvements, and if taxpayers don't pass Proposition 2, the money will be lost and residents will pay higher taxes in the future to get these projects done. What better time to take them on than when they're cost-free?
