By Laura Lane
The decision was made after John Rossi, the board vice president, said the district needed to bring the issue to a close. "For the past two years, we've been discussing a major overhaul of the infrastructure, including new phones, voice mail, etc.," Rossi said. "We need to upgrade our network."
Trustees had met with the Board of Cooperative Educational Services on several occasions and received different suggestions, the final being that the district not upgrade now but instead put the issue out for bid to various vendors. Rossi explained that following the BOCES recommendation would start the two-year decision-making process again.
This past spring, Verizon made a presentation before the Board of Education. "New York state has two vendors for this purpose, AT&T and Verizon," said Rossi in a telephone interview. "We decided to go with Verizon. This means that work will start immediately after the board reaches closure on the contract, which should be by July 3. Work should begin on July 5."
External auditor hired
Trustees also decided to hire an external auditor to help clarify just how much of the $2.8 million that the district holds in an accrued liability reserve account could be used for other purposes. A request for proposals has been processed, and by July 3 residents should find out who will be hired.
The reserve fund, which was created in 2003, was to be used to pay teachers and other district employees for the unused sick days they were owed when they left the district. But North Merrick officials, unclear of the fund's purpose, had included health-care benefits in it as well.
"We were not the only school district that misinterpreted the guidelines," said Rossi in a telephone interview. "We now realize that you can't use that money for medical. We're trying to release it for capital programs."
Comments about this story? Llane@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
