A long and varied public comment period was rendered at the North Shore school board meeting on Monday, Jan. 29. A long statement was read by Glen Head resident, and former school board member, Bill Mozer about the noise from the Glenwood Landing School bus depot. When in reverse, school buses have a loud warning beep and the noise from this as well as the bus engines themselves is a constant irritant for the homeowners who live near the Glenwood School. It seems that the problem has persisted over the last several months. Mr. Mozer cited times as early as 6:15 a.m. on school days and as late as 11:15 p.m. on weekends when the neighborhood is disturbed by the buses. He also noted that the beeps clock in at 110 per minute. A heated discussion developed between Mr. Mozer and School Board President Ernie DiVincenzo concerning letters and phone calls made about this problem over the past few months. During the escalating tension between the two men, Mr. DiVincenzo told Mr. Mozer to call whenever he had a problem with the noise. To illustrated what happened when he did call, Mr. Mozer then played a profanity-filled message left on the phone message tape by Mr. DiVincenzo after Mr. Mozer had called the DiVincenzo home late one night, yelling, when the beeping buses had disturbed him. The playing of the tape made matters worse and several board members had to calm down Mr. DiVincenzo as the audience sat aghast at the whole matter. Board members also tried to stop Mr. Mozer from continuing to play the tape. Mr. Mozer did had in a transcript of the tape.

A committee has been looking, for the past several years, into purchasing property in the district which could be used as a new bus depot. Attempts to move it to Glen Cove Road in Old Brookville two years ago was stopped because residents of the village were against it. The lack of open space within the school district has made the search a difficult one. Attempts will be made to minimize the noise of the buses according to the superintendent, and the committee will continue to look for appropriate space to move the depot permanently.

There was praise for the snow removal around the middle school but some parents complained about the insufficient job done at Sea Cliff and Glenwood Landing School which was making student drop-off difficult. Sea Cliff parent John Vogt read a list of observations made in the district which he felt the board should act upon. Among these were uncleared snow around fire hydrants, snowy sidewalks at the high school, unmarked school vehicles, a padlock on the new high school courtyard gate and propped open smoke barriers in the middle school.

Several parents voiced their concern over the lack of traditional honors classes in the 10th grade despite the availability of these classes in 9th, 11th and 12th grades. Discussion of the future form of the honors program at North Shore is ongoing, according to Superintendent Robert Root, but no changes have been made so far. Although debate over the honors program has been going on for many years at North Shore, the recent Honors By Achievement Report has fueled new discussion. The report cites some clear inequities and inconsistencies in the offering of both traditional honors classes and honors by achievement classes. Parents urged the board to act quickly toward making changes in the program that could be put in place for September 2001.

Representatives from the Village Preschool read a statement in favor of changing the North Shore cut-off date for incoming kindergarten students from Dec. 1 to Sept. 1. The benefits of this delay are an added maturity in the children which helps at all levels of education. Most parents who have voluntarily opted for the delayed start for their children have not regretted it and kindergarten teachers feel it may eliminate some of the behavior problems and special ed needs of some of their youngest students.

Superintendent Root answered some concerns raised in a letter from North Shore parents about the district's policy for handling threatening situations in light of the recent bomb scare at the middle school. Regulations set by NYS Department of Education and the NYS Police Department in February 1999, demand that all school districts in the state have an Emergency Management Plan in which bomb scares are one of many possible threats discussed. Extreme weather, hostage taking, kidnapping, the release of hazardous material and building failure are other "threats" addressed in the plan. A chain of command, emergency telephone numbers, and appropriate response addition are all part of the security policy used by the school in case of any emergency. Copies of the plan are available to the community through Central Office and on the Internet.

Action was taken by the board over the placement of the transformer at Sea Cliff School. Although there was some discussion to perhaps move the 6x6x6 foot cube to the rear of the building, the board voted five to two to keep it on Franklin Avenue, 35 feet from the corner of Carpenter Avenue and not spend an additional $45,000 to move it away from the front facade. It was hoped that landscaping and shrubs will help camouflage it somewhat.

The main part of the meeting was devoted to a demonstration of how computers are being used in the classrooms at North Shore. Computer teachers from all levels of education were on hand to explain how computers have been integrated into many aspects of school curriculum. Sue Ring and Mary Hill addressed the elementary uses, Angelo Grande and Derek Lief discussed changes at the middle school and Jennifer Imperiale showed examples of computer use in all subjects at the high school. Sixth graders Brian Stern and Lauren Silka demonstrated how their experiences during their trip to Greenkill became a computer exercise.

Head of Technology Robert Wihnyk praised the work of the entire North Shore staff in their continuing efforts to upgrade curriculum to keep up with new computer programs. With 550 computers and 80 printers, many scanners and digital cameras the students of North Shore are able to use computer technology throughout their years at North Shore. Over the summer, teachers from North Shore High School attended Project Lead The Way at R.I.T. and can now offer three courses in engineering to interested students. According to Mr. Wihnyk, the goal of a fully integrated technology program at all levels of curriculum at North Shore is in reach.

The next board of ed meeting at North Shore is Feb. 12 at 8 p.m.

Zefy Christopoulos contributed to this story.