By LARRY MAIER
Board President Dr. Matthew Kuschner tried to assure residents that the board had done just that by directing district counsel to look into the legal ramifications and options available to the North Merrick district should Roosevelt schools be disbanded.
"The community should rest assured that our school district is fully prepared to pursue whatever legal remedies are necessary to ensure that the eventual resolution to the financial and governance problems in Roosevelt does not adversely impact on the education of North Merrick students," said Kuschner, reading from a prepared statement.
Many residents, however, still said they believed the school board was, in effect, doing nothing and that it was naive if it was counting on the state Legislature to prevent the breakup of Roosevelt schools with a state takeover.
In recent months, two separate takeover bills, sponsored by state Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr. (R-Merrick), have passed the Senate, but have not been introduced in the Assembly, primarily because the Assembly wants more state money for the Roosevelt School District.
Last month, the state Board of Regents gave approval to Education Commissioner Richard Mills to begin dissolution proceedings if a review panels reports at the Regents' December meetings that Roosevelt still had not made satisfactory progress toward solving its financial and governance problems.
At their Dec. 17 meeting, The Roosevelt School District's Board of Education unanimously rejected budget cuts that would have excised over 70 staff members, including 36 teachers, and eliminated the district's athletics and occupational education programs as well as various social services provided by the district.
Further clouding the picture, the state Assembly was tentatively scheduled to meet Monday, Dec. 17, but as of press time on Tuesday, Dec. 18 the legislative body had not been called into session. Many wonder how that will affect legislative negotiations and what actions, if any, the Department of Education will take in the meantime. The Board of Regents is scheduled to meet on Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 19-20.
Regent Robert Johnson, Long Island's representative on the Board of Regents, said last week that the fact that the Assembly had not been called to session did not bode well for those hoping for a Legislative bailout.
"It's not a good thing for people who were placing all of their bets on that particular outcome," Johnson said.
Johnson added that a legislative solution is "not a dead issue," but that the Regents might move forward with dissolution proceedings in the meantime.
"We're not going to let this thing continue to languish," said Johnson. "And if the Legislature and governor don't step in, then we're going to have to do what we have to do."
If the commissioner decides to begin the dissolution process, said Johnson, it would have to be started soon so that Roosevelt students can be adequately provided for by September 2002.
Johnson said the commissioner has received the latest report from the review panel, and the Board of Regents will review it during their meetings scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 19-20.
SH: Comparisons to Buffalo
At last week's school-board meeting, Jim Dempsey of North Merrick warned the board that this year is like no other in state history because of Sept. 11. Dempsey's brother-in-law is a teacher in the Buffalo School District, which is now facing massive layoffs because of the lack of state aid.
A Dec. 5 New York Times report stated that the Buffalo District is expected to soon lay off 557 of its 7,000 employees, including 433 teachers. Buffalo, like many low-income school districts, relies heavily on state aid to fill budget gaps. This year, in large part because of Sept. 11, the state money is simply not available.
Good news for the Buffalo District came on Wednesday, Dec. 12, as the state Assembly announced it had made an additional $5.84 million available to the district for the 2001-2002 school year. The district, however, estimated the funds would result in only 120 jobs being saved.
Buffalo's woes, said Dempsey, show that this year worst-case scenarios can in fact happen. "This year is very different," Dempsey told the school board. "Don't depend on legislators."
Regent Johnson said that by cutting jobs, Buffalo "has done what Roosevelt needs to do in terms of getting their budget in order."
And, said Johnson, Buffalo has more options available to it in terms increasing its tax base, including dissolving city government and combining it with county government to avoid duplication of offices.
"There are political steps that can be taken within Buffalo that can help that situation by spreading the tax base that you don't have in Roosevelt. Buffalo is a city. Roosevelt is a one-square-mile community," said Johnson. "The problem in Roosevelt is that the only option is state funding."
SH: Petition drive continues
Mary Ramo of North Merrick renewed her request at the recent school-board meeting that the district allow her to circulate on school grounds a petition in support of the Fuschillo Senate-passed legislation. The petition will be sent to Gov. George Pataki.
In recent weeks, a council of local civic groups and the North Merrick School Board have discouraged letter writing and petition campaigns in order to, they said, allow state legislators to do their jobs without interference.
Last week, Ramo received permission from Superintendent David Feller to seek petition signatures on sidewalks in front of schools. North Merrick counsel Albert D'Agostino said the district did not want to set a precedent by allowing the petition on school grounds and called Feller's decision "a reasonable compromise."
Dr. Kuschner's prepared statement did not rule out the possibility of the district getting involved in a letter-writing campaign down the line.
"There may come a time in the near future when we will ask for community involvement, but we do not believe that now is that time," Kuschner said.
In the meantime, when pressed for more information about what counsel had learned about how it could protect North Merrick's interests if the Roosevelt School District is dissolved, district officials declined to share that information.
"No district knows what the ramifications will be, which makes a defense difficult to plan," D'Agostino said. The attorney also warned residents not to take as gospel everything they read or hear regarding the Roosevelt School District.
"Everything out there is speculation," he said.
