By Laura Lane
Spector had tried calling the bus company, but a Courtesy spokesperson said the children's version was incorrect.
Merrick Schools Superintendent Dr. Ranier Melucci said, "We've been aggressive and hard on the bus company, and we call to complain, but often they say what proof do you have? We will continue to speak to them."
In a telephone interview after the meeting, Anthony Cedrone, the assistant superintendent for business and technology, said it would be difficult to change bus companies. "All three districts [Merrick, North Merrick and Central] share the bus company, and it's all coordinated through the Bellmore-Merrick High School District," said Cedrone. "But I have sheets of complaints that I'm combining into a formal complaint for the bus company."
Cedrone said the state mandates that a school district hire the lowest bidder when hiring a bus company. He said that if the district were to end its contract with Courtesy, it might be forced to hire the company again if its contract were rebid and Courtesy continued to be the lowest bidder.
"They'll raise their prices, charge more, and we'll end up keeping the same service but pay more," said Cedrone. "The law makes this a very difficult situation to navigate."
Cedrone said that short of not paying the bills, he could do little. "I got their attention when I didn't pay the whole bill in June, but it was at that meeting that Dr. Melucci and I realized that they know that they have all the cards."
The complaints log was sent to Courtesy recently, and Cedrone called to speak with a supervisor. He said he'd be speaking to the driver regarding the incident on Robins Lane. "If everyone is cooperative [at Courtesy], that's a step in the right direction."
Subhed: Phys.-ed. curriculum
A representative of MLC Staff Development, Inc., a consulting firm hired by the Merrick School District two years ago to help improve its phys.-ed. program, presented information at the Board of Education meeting.
Anthony Gulli of MLC worked closely last year with phys.-ed. teachers to ensure that the district "stay ahead of the trends and policies coming from the state Education Department and Board of Regents." The district's phys.-ed. program was evaluated, its curriculum was aligned with state learning standards, and a district-wide mission statement was written to unify the program.
Gulli will continue to work with the district's phys.-ed. department this year, with cardiovascular stress management being added to the curriculum.
"By graduation, students should be able to design their own fitness plan and make adjustments as they go forward," said Gulli.
In a telephone interview after the meeting, Terry Ganley, the district's new assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said that she believed the initiative was successful. "The focus of year one of this two-year initiative was skill development," said Ganley. "Evidence of positive outcome of this project was the attendance of some of the phys.-ed. staff at the board meeting."
This year the consulting firm will focus on the "fitness component defined by the New York state learning standards" and implement the Fitness-Gram, a tool to set goals for students.
Comments about this story? Llane@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 203.
