We have recently discovered, after reading a recent Massapequa Post article, that the Farmingdale School District had initiated a series of lawsuits against the architectural firm and contractors that designed and/or worked on the new Howitt sixth-grade addition and all other additions during the time span of early 2001 to early 2003. These lawsuits were initiated in early 2006; three years after the final construction of all work, districtwide, was completed.

We also would like to know where the Farmingdale School District is getting the monies for the legal fees being incurred as a result of initiating unjustified and unwarranted lawsuits.

We have lived in Farmingdale for close to 27 years and have three daughters; two of which have already passed through Howitt and are currently in the high school, with the youngest entering Howitt next fall. Being active in the community, we have never heard from either teachers or other parents that any classrooms or library were unusable in the sixth-grade addition. Furthermore, having spent a number of days walking the hallways and visiting sixth-grade classrooms on numerous occasions during the school year, we have never seen any damage or ongoing reconstruction being undertaken. On the contrary, we have heard nothing but praise for the well built and beautiful learning environment this new structure exudes. The interior of the building is elegantly designed and has numerous new classrooms, science rooms and a magnificent library. Other parents of our school district have commented that they wished all of our schools would look as good. I would like to find out what the costs amounted to, if any, for the ongoing reconstruction work that is cited in the lawsuit but never has been seen by teachers, students or parents. We would also like to be provided with a summary of all legal fees for these lawsuits over the past two years.

I also request that this letter be read out loud at the next board meeting and be included in the minutes/records.

Sally and John Messina