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Countdown to Bond Vote Begins With Public Hearing

By Amy Edel

The Board of Education and district administration opened its Nov. 6 Public Hearing on the bond with a slide show with graphs and charts illustrating the predicted growth in student population, the school's current capacity, and what the capacity will be if the bond is approved and the construction takes place. Also included in the slide presentation were photos highlighting the needs for improvements such as broken pavement in front of the schools, lockers installed in what was originally a shower area as a result of insufficient space, rusty slides on the playgrounds, broken tennis courts, and grungy, cramped, and outdated science labs. Photos of the Garden City schools' libraries were followed by photos of new library/media centers at schools in the NY area that were equipped with countless computers, clear story to allow natural light to flow in through the ceiling, and a layout that would allow small children to access books themselves in the primaries. The United Nations International High School in NYC was featured as an example of a newly designed school with a state-of-the-art science lab that had centrally located water and gas sources with space for the students to work together and the teacher to oversee the labs. Images of Garden City's students, Senior Connections groups, and Continuing Education Classes were all used to remind the public who would benefit from the refurbished school buildings.

Before the floor was opened to public comments, Trustee Linda Leone asked that everyone try and keep their comments as civilized as possible and to limit their time to three minutes per person. She also emphasized that citizen involvement would continue after the bond is (if in fact it is) approved through the Capital Projects Review Committee which will be established by the Board of Education. This committee will oversee the implementation of the Master Plan. Also, Leone commented that the board is not prepared to quantify what future annual budgets will be.

Jim Kearney expressed concern that weekend work would become a significant figure in the construction costs, since to avoid disturbing the students much of the work will be conducted on weekends. Thomas Bowles, the district's attorney who drafted the contracts and subsequent riders for the construction management firm and the architectural firm stated that additional pay for weekends would only be applicable if the workers had put in a complete 40 hour work week. J. Michael Orifici, of the Orifici construction management firm stated that if the workers were working on a weekend it would probably be because they did not work during the week and thus they would only receive their base salary rather than overtime.

Thomas Lamberti spoke about the demographics used by the district to determine the need for additional classroom space. Lamberti pointed to NY State's recently released figures which show that the population decreased by 2 percent, whereas the district's figures show a 2 percent increase. Lamberti argued that this 4 percent difference "right at the outset" of the district's figures was a clear indicator of the flaws he believes are evident throughout. He also referred to BOCES' demographics which he argued show that the Garden City School District's predictions are too high. According to his figures similar districts such as Rockville Centre and Jericho are predicting increases in population of a smaller percentage than Garden City. He reminded everyone about the closing of Hemlock School because the population had declined in the district and he warned of "another school remaining closed for 15 years" if the district "overbuilds" now. He recommended the use of modular classrooms rather than constructing what "can't be taken down." "By being conservative you can protect the community."

Trustee Leone and Superintendent Dr. Wilson both responded that Garden City is different than Rockville Centre and the other districts mentioned by Lamberti. They suggested that the Western Suffolk BOCES figures were for Nassau County as a whole and do not reflect the specific variables faced by Garden City. Trustee Ryan stated that he was on the Long Range Planning and Facilities Committee and said that he believes that using what he termed the "provisional data" from the State before the "actual data" is provided would be "jumping to conclusions." Dr. Wilson argued that while other areas have seen declines in the last few years, Garden City has actually seen an increase. Ryan pointed out that the district's predictions for this year's kindergarten class were under by 35-40 children because of the migration ratio.

Many urged the district to call in a professional demographer to recalculate the figures. It was argued by the district that Dr. Bishop, whose formula is implemented by the district, is a professional demographer and that the district regularly updates its figures. Residents such as John Maulk argued that the figures were the district's "best guesstimate" and argued that the fact that the district is discussing a 40 percent population increase, while other districts are only predicting half that percentage, leaves the voters without confidence in the district's numbers.

Pat Barry stated that she was at the CPOA meeting where Lamberti first handed out his own set of demographics and reiterated the Board's position that they are actually building for his numbers and not the district's figures, so they hope Lamberti is right because then they'd be right on-the-mark. Barry said, "I don't know why he's bringing up these numbers again. We've used Bishop's formula and he's a professional demographer and we're not building to the highest predictions." She also stated that she hopes the voters will see the need to abandon the "band aid approach" and finally repair the schools and equip them with the technology students need to function in the internet, fax, and e-mail age. She concluded, "our buildings don't even have the electricity to provide these things. It's time to get our heads out of the sand."

Residents like Steve Dooley congratulated the board on all of their hard work and expressed hope that the board would use the mayor's committee of experts who investigated the St. Paul's issue as a model in establishing their Capital Projects Review Committee. Dooley expressed the opinion clearly shared, evidenced by the round of applause that followed, that it was "too bad" that this kind of committee was not established prior to this stage in the plan development.

References were made to a statement made by School Board President Morano at the CPOA meeting. What she had said, in response to similar criticisms that there was no public committee involved in the development of the Master Plan, was, "We, the School Board are the committee" and she explained that they have spent considerable time on the issue. One gentleman in the audience supported this point by stating that he believes in the process and the Gentleman's Agreement which elects volunteers in the Village to represent the people on the school board. He stated that the board members put hundreds of hours of their time in after having had their resumés grilled by the POAs and having been elected by the people and he felt that it was inappropriate for "snipers" in the audience to attack the board members.

William Haynes pointed out that "snipers" are the ones who consistently got the annual budgets talked down and that's why things weren't fixed all along. He said the bond "should be passed and passed now." He commended the board in getting the riders put on the contracts with its hired firms. He compared the situation to the mayor's committee on St. Paul's and argued that they spent four years researching the issue and when they finally made their report people still thought they were somehow working for selfish purposes.

Leo Driscoll suggested that the board provide the figures specifically allotted for work to accommodate population growth as opposed to program changes or renovations so that it might disspel the notion that too much of the bond is based on controversial demographics. The board and Dr. Wilson said they would try to make those figures available.

Ron Rudy implored the voters to consider that their taxes would amount to "$1.25 a day -- a large cup of coffee" and asked that they give his children the opportunity to succeed academically. He said that he is part of the migration ratio Trustee Ryan had spoken of because he had moved into the district with his small children three years ago because of the reputation of the Garden City Public Schools.

John Maulk stated that he believes "we're light years from where we were four weeks ago" although he's not certain "we're there yet" and asked that the board revisit some of the issues raised by the residents. He did say that he believes the district needs to go forward with the bond and expressed in terms of the often hostile debates that "what has transpired over the last four weeks has been unfortunate" and he thnked the board for their response to the concerns of the residents and for all of their work.

Trustee Leone thanked the citizens for their support and urged everyone to vote on Nov. 18. Copies of the Master Plan are still available at Garden City Copy Center for purchase and in the schools and public library for viewing. (Anyone interested in prior issues of Garden City Life discussing the bond can call or come by our office for back copies.)