By Brian Zanzonico
Most parents learned from a local newspaper report in late December that a Level 2 sex offender (defined as having a moderate risk of re-offending) moved to 3rd Avenue in Franklin Square, and they wondered why the Franklin Square School District failed to notify the community about it, which is common practice among neighboring districts.
The school district's policy, last updated in 1997, states that once the local police department informs the district that a registered sex offender lives or moves into it, the principal, administrators, school board members, district officials and custodians are told but are instructed not to disclose anything to teachers or parents. Last year the board voted to include PTA presidents in the group that is informed, with the condition that they also keep the information private. But now, in light of the presence of a fourth sex offender in Franklin Square, according to the Parents for Megan's Law Web site, parents want to be part of the circle.
"The whole policy needs change," said Deborah Lucito, one of about 75 parents from the district's three schools - Polk Street, John Street and Washington Street - and St. Catherine of Sienna Roman Catholic School in Franklin Square who attended a school board meeting at Washington Street School on Jan. 18. "Current policy eliminates parents from the situation."
Franklin Square schools attorney Bill Cullen said that school districts are not bound by law to release the information to the public, and that the reason why the district has been reluctant to change policy is twofold: The district could be held liable if someone harms the sex offender, and the school is not bound by law to protect children off school grounds.
But the rights of the offender are the least of the parents' concerns. "Even if it is a legal issue, we need to cross the liability line," Lucito said.
But Laura Ahearn, executive director of the victims' rights organization Parents for Megan's Law, told the Herald that the law provides immunity from liability, and that the school district's current policy could do more harm than good. "When a district limits information, they create an environment of hostility, which can lend itself to vigilantism," Ahearn said.
Change coming
School Superintendent Dr. Tim Lafferty said sex offender notification policy hasn't been changed because it was written in concert nearly a decade ago with attorneys for the Sewanhaka, Elmont, New Hyde Park-Garden City Park and Floral Park districts. But after parents approached him about the newspaper article, Lafferty said, he learned that some of the districts had altered their policies. The school board agreed to renew the policy, and will discuss it at its Feb. 8 meeting.
"The board is aware of the concern brought to me a week ago, and the board's policy needs review and change, and we're looking ... to do it," Lafferty said.
But that wasn't good enough for one parent at the meeting, who the Herald learned lives on the same block as the registered sex offender. After calling for a policy overhaul on the spot, which the board dismissed, he stormed out of the room, directing an insult at Lafferty on the way out.
One parent suggested forming a committee to oversee the process, but Lafferty said, "I'm hearing time is of the essence," and that a committee would only delay a resolution.
While school board members agreed that change is in order, they defended the current policy. Lafferty said that sex offender information is available on Web sites such as parentsformeganslaw.com. Trustee Jean Fichtl said by the time the school district is informed by police of a sex offender - usually via fax with the subject's grainy photo and the words "Franklin Square" printed beneath - the news is six months old. Ahearn said, however, that school districts are typically notified within 48 hours of a sex offender's registration.
Robyn Surico, a Washington Street School parent, said she learned of the sex offender not by way of a newspaper, but from mothers at her other child's preschool. She did a little digging, and found that many surrounding school districts disseminate registered sex offender information. "It's very strange that out of all those schools, you're the one that gets the information and the ball is dropped," she said to the board.
Mode of dissemination
The school board plans to sort out how to disseminate the information. Board President Joe Armocida said he did not like the idea of sending young children home with a note about a sex offender, saying it could cause a panic among students if they read it. He suggested setting up an e-mail list so that when the school district learns of a registered sex offender, parents or concerned community members could be told what Web site to visit for information. But parents argued that not enough people, including the elderly, have access to e-mail, and that a large-cross section of residents would be excluded from the loop.
Parent Steven DiCrescento told the Herald that a phone chain similar to the one used to convey school closings would be the quickest way to spread the word.
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