By Laura Lane
"We use the library," said Christine Mack, president of the North Merrick Community Association. "It's going to be a blind vote because what will happen after this vote isn't clear. I don't want to live in a library-less community."
The proposition, which originated from a community petition signed by 100 residents, will request that the Meadowbrook Road School, which houses the North Merrick Library, be returned to the "use and control of the North Merrick U.F.S.D. for educational and school related purposes (i.e. as an elementary school) no later than July 1, 2008."
North Merrick resident Lori Falbo worries about what kind of message the proposition would send if it were to pass. She's concerned about overcrowding in the schools, but she believes dissolving the library isn't an option.
"The people in our community are bright and resourceful, and we can definitely find a solution," said Falbo. "This [proposition would] cause a delay in finding an appropriate solution, and this sends a negative message about our community."
Nadine Scharman-Decolator said that she never attended Board of Education meetings in past years because she was always happy with the district. She attended her first meeting when she found out about the resident-driven petition that got the proposition on the ballot.
"This tells me people don't value education," said Scharman-Decolator. "My son, who is 9 now, is one of the best readers in his class, and that's because of the library. This makes me really consider why I'm living here."
Subhed: Legal ramifications
Legally speaking, it's questionable whether the library could be forced to leave the Meadowbrook Road School building, regardless of the vote outcome, according to a knowledgeable source.
In a 1986 referendum, the community voted to make the Meadowbrook Road School a permanent home for the North Merrick Public Library. The North Merrick School District approved the outcome in 1986.
Yet, the language in the community petition appears to refer to a 1978 agreement that gave the library permission to use the building, as long as it agreed to vacate if the district needed the building in the future for educational purposes. The 1978 agreement gave the library two years to vacate after receiving notice.
The board's recent decision to validate the petition may imply that it's disregarding the 1986 referendum and giving the 1978 agreement more weight, some are speculating.
"There will be lawyers involved here if the petition wins," said Jackie Thresher, director of Nassau Library System. "I'm not a lawyer, but there were two distinct things that happened, and it would seem that a subsequent referendum from 1986 may be the binding one."
Subhed: The petition
The Herald recently obtained a copy of the community petition. Signatures included relatives of Board of Education trustees, as well as a candidate in the upcoming school board election.
Board of Education President John Pinto's mother signed the petition, as did Trustee Dr. Matthew Kuschner's wife. Michael Kavanagh, who is running for school board in May, signed the petition, as well.
"The taxpayers don't want their taxes raised so they can blow out the sides of the schools and add on," said Kavanagh. "If the library went out to see if there's other space in the community, they could be relocated. There are places on Merrick Avenue or real estate available, and maybe they could buy or rent somewhere else."
William Pezzulo, who recently won a seat on the North Merrick Library Board, also signed the petition. "I wanted to see how people in the community feel about the library," said Pezzulo. "People are scared. Obviously, there are people in the community that want to take an easy way out in solving the school's space problem, and they're leaping before they've leapt."
The Herald was unable to find the residents responsible for introducing the petition, but was able to interview others who had signed the petition.
"We're going to need more room for classrooms," said Bernard Grecco. "I don't want to see the library close, but I don't want to see the library budget go up. If we need to build something, why not build at the library? There's a back lot nobody's using where the kids play stickball."
The need for more classroom space has been discussed at school board meetings in the past. David Feller, superintendent for North Merrick schools, said recently that the Fayette School would need another classroom next year. He added that the other two schools are at capacity.
"I think the school administration should relocate into the library," said Margaret Mathison, who signed the petition. "I think we should all be able to use the new Merrick Library and not think of ourselves as north and south Merrick. We are paying taxes for the North Merrick Library. If it were to close, why not use that money for the Merrick Library?"
Subhead: What the community
can and cannot do
If the North Merrick Library were to close, residents would no longer be members of the Nassau Library System, thereby making their library cards invalid. They wouldn't receive full privileges to the Merrick Library or any library, unless the community reached an agreement with another library.
"People say we're from the same community with the same zip code; this isn't the case," said Thresher. "The libraries are chartered not to serve a zip code but to serve a school district area. North Merrick can't send their children to a Merrick school where they don't pay taxes, but they think they can go to the Merrick Library."
To give the community the right to use a library, the district could contract for service. The school district would continue to collect library taxes and would use them to contract for service at another library. But the contract members couldn't be library board members or vote in library budget elections.
And the other library couldn't be forced to accept the contract.
"The question is, could the Merrick Library, which serves 18,500 people, serve another 13,900 from North Merrick?" wondered Thresher. "The Merrick Library would have to ask, is our parking lot big enough? Do we have enough staff and programs for this amount of people?"
Ellen Firer, the Merrick Library director, said she doesn't endorse any community voting against library services. "Merging the two library districts is a complicated issue, with legal implications, as well as implications for both library and school boards," said Firer. "Studies have not been made as to what these implications are, and the state has not yet responded as to what is involved in doing so."
Comments about this story? Llane@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
