Residents to School Board: Name Committee

By Amy Edel

In a letter delivered on Dec. 7 to the Board of Education of the Garden City School District, dated Dec. 6, 11 residents of the Village (including former mayors, former school board members, planning commission members, and other community leaders) called upon the School Board to establish a Citizens Advisory Committee to review the defeated bond, study the current needs of the schools, research the much debated projected enrollment, and then draft a revised bond proposal to submit to the voters as early as possible in 1998. On Nov. 18 2,721 registered voters cast their votes against the School Board's proposed bond of $50,012,023 and 1,445 voters cast their votes in favor of the bond. With 65.3 percent of the votes defeating the bond, it was clear that the proposal did not completely represent the vision of the majority of Garden City residents.

On Nov. 19 numerous residents attended the School Board's work session hoping to hear the Board address their future plans for the bond issue. The bond was not an agenda item and therefore could not be addressed during the meeting. PTA President Maureen Cornacchia, however, used her time during an open public comments segment to congratulate the board on its hard work and to please address the concerns of the voters and form a Citizens Review Committee to re-examine the Capital Improvements Master Plan and draft a revised bond. Board President Morano thanked her for her comments and returned the meeting to discussions of strictly agenda items. The board has not publicly addressed the future of the Capital Improvements Master Plan at this time.

This new letter sent to the Board of Education asks for a committee comprised of "people experienced in planning and undertaking major construction projects, people who are knowledgeable about school system needs and operations and others whose background and skills would contribute to the responsible development of a revised proposal." The residents urge the board to appoint the presidents of each of the POAs along with PTA President Maureen Cornacchia to serve as a nominating committee for the Citizens Advisory Committee, the members of which will then be approved and appointed by the Board of Education.

Acknowledging that the knowledge gained in the preparation of the defeated bond would be valuable as a foundation for a revised proposal, the authors of this letter have recommended that a member of the school board "who fully understands the details of the past bond proposal and who is dedicated to implementing a revised program" serve as a liaison between the School Board and the committee, however, they stressed the need for the committee to "operate with an essential level of independence from the School Board."

The authors of the letter urged the School Board to discuss their proposal and take action toward its implementation at their next meeting which is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 15 at 8:15 in the Administration Building.

Please see this week's OPINION: Name Citizens Advisory Committeepage for the actual letter from School Board.