By:Nick Buglione
Angela Celeste, an 11-year East Meadow resident, said she was shocked to see the layout of room 107 when escorting her son Domenick, a fifth-grader, to his first day of class in September.
Born with cerebral palsy, 10-year-old Domenick has to wear leg braces and has limited mobility. The first day, I usually take him to school to make sure his classroom is safe because of his disability, Celeste said, adding that her son-s classroom looked more like a storage closet. The 660-square-foot room, which accommodated 25 students, was really three rooms in one a general area where instruction took place and two separate offices.
Celeste claims the path to the exit was extremely narrow, owing to a long bookshelf that jutted out in front of the doorway. Computer stations set up near the exit posed another obstacle in the event of an emergency evacuation, she said.
The students- desks were situated close together in the far left corner, and Domenick-s aide, who helps him throughout the day, was forced to sit by the window instead of next to him, Celeste said.
During Domenick-s first day of class, he fell down while attempting to walk toward his aide, Celeste said. He can walk, but he needs help, she said. His balance is way off and it-s easy for him to fall.
Worried about her son-s safety, the mother approached McVey Principal Rita Meyerowitz, who she claims was unsympathetic at first. She said the classroom was appropriate for my son and the other kids, Celeste said.
The principal eventually agreed to move Domenick to another class, though Celeste continued to push that all of the children be moved into a regular-sized classroom. I couldn-t allow them to leave the rest of those children in there, she said.
Celeste and her husband considered hiring a lawyer, but hefty legal fees prompted them to call on East Meadow Civic Association President Robert Zafonte, who for years has been a vocal critic of the East Meadow School District on myriad issues.
When they told me about the situation, I was totally shocked, Zafonte said. He wrote letters to the Nassau County fire marshal-s office and the East Meadow Fire District, on behalf of Celeste and his civic association, asking them to intervene.
In December, both bodies sent inspectors to check out room 107. Both concurred with Celeste that potential hazards existed. There was nothing there that was illegal, said Carey Welt, East Meadow fire commissioner. But there were things there that could have been a potential problem.
Still, fire safety in New York state public schools falls under the jurisdiction of the state Education Department, not local fire officials. Not even the county fire marshal can make them do something, Welt said. All they can do, like us, is make recommendations to the state department.
Zafonte fired off several letters to the Education Department, which in turn asked the Nassau County BOCES Office of Health and Safety to contact the East Meadow School District about room 107.
In a Dec. 20 letter to Zafonte, Mary Lallier, an Education Department communication liaison, wrote that the school district already planned to modify the room over the holiday break, in accordance with recommendations from the county fire marshal and the East Meadow fire inspector. It-s an odd-shaped room, and we realized we could make things a little bit better, said Leon Campo, East Meadow School District deputy superintendent. We were not required to do anything. We were in total compliance.
Before school resumed after the holiday, one of the spare offices inside room 107 was dismantled and the walls taken down to free up space. Aisles were also cleared. The East Meadow fire inspector is planning a return visit to re-evaluate the room, Welt said.
Zafonte has slammed school officials, charging that they dragged their feet and took action only after the Nassau County fire marshal, the East Meadow fire inspector and the Education Department stepped in. This should have been done at the local level, Zafonte said.
Questioning Zafonte-s motives, Campo claims he only took up this issue to take potshots at the East Meadow School District. This is nothing more than a Robert Zafonte special, and everybody knows it, Campo said. This is another anti-school action.
Meanwhile, Zafonte has begun lobbying state legislators to place fire-code enforcement of public schools under the jurisdiction of local fire officials, as opposed to the state Education Department.
Campo said the East Meadow fire inspector examines all schools at the beginning of the year, and though the school district isn-t bound to follow his recommendations, it almost always does.
