Glen Cove Board of Education President Richard Tortorici opened the board meeting of Monday, Feb. 25 by announcing the resignation of board member Robert Lupinskie. In a letter to Mr. Tortorici, Mr. Lupinskie stated that, "As you and my colleagues understand, my physical condition no longer permits me to attend board meetings. I have, however, continued to be engaged with the activities before the board." Mr. Lupinskie expressed his appreciation to the community "for the opportunity to serve them these past 12 years" and iterated his strong commitment to the community, his belief that the school district is at the heart of its future and his confidence in his board colleagues and the district administration. "It is my hope," said Mr. Lupinskie, "that I was able to contribute so that the future is brighter."

Mr. Tortorici validated his colleague's hope, remarking that he and Mr. Lupinskie served "two go-rounds" on the school board together, and said that at all times, "Bob's intelligence and caring were obvious. He's the man who made sure we dotted our "I"s and crossed our "T"s and said that no one knows more about regulations and procedures than Mr. Lupinskie. Anyone who has attended board meetings during Mr. Lupinskie's tenures would heartily agree. More than merely fulfilling his duties to perfection, however, Mr. Lupinskie has always done so with respect and an open mind, "even when we disagreed," said one resident, "and boy, could we disagree!"

Mr. Tortorici then turned his attention to the allegations of legal improprieties surrounding the law firm of Ingerman Smith, the firm which represents the Glen Cove School District, and Jaspan Schlesinger Hoffman, the district's former legal counsel. He noted that among the many school districts cited in the news these past few weeks, Glen Cove has never been mentioned. The reason, he said, is that Glen Cove "has never, would never and probably will never" hire an attorney as a school district employee, calling the practice "an inappropriate use of taxpayer funds" and added that Ingerman Smith has severed its relationship with Lawrence Reich, the attorney at the core of the scandal. He noted that the Copiague School District, former employers of Superintendent of Schools Dr. Larry Aronstein, has been implicated in the alleged scandal, but in his role as assistant superintendent for curriculum and development, Dr. Aronstein had no involvement with the legal counsel.

Mr. Tortorici expressed disappointment that these issues have come to light in proximity to the upcoming school budget vote, and concern that taxpayers might "tend to lump things together" and said it would be terrible for a school budget to be voted down in an uninvolved district because of the situation.

Guy Forman, head of buildings and grounds, gave a presentation of ongoing improvements in projects, equipment and personnel using a new, interactive SMARTBoard with slides to visually display improvements that have been made districtwide. Running the gamut from outdoor painting and stair, parking lot, roof and fencing replacement to indoor flooring, ceiling and kitchen improvements, student furniture, windows and blinds, something is always being done in one or another of the district's six school buildings as well as at Thayer House and the maintenance garage. The specs on the proposed high school track have been sent to the State Education Department and it is anticipated that the track will be ready for runners in September. The long-awaited modulars at Landing and Connolly schools, as well as the Connolly School elevator, should be functional by the end of April. Major renovations are also being done at the Wunsch Auditorium at the Robert M. Finley Middle School.

New equipment includes utility vehicles, floor scrubbers, air conditioners, vacuums, pallet jacks, hand trucks and backpack blowers.

As for personnel, the district has hired three new groundsmen, two maintenance workers and seven custodial workers. Mr. Forman concluded by stating that a number of people have commented to him on the improvements, and that he is very proud of his crew. "We still have a lot to do," he said, "and I look forward to the challenges."

Dr. Aronstein then took to the SMARTBoard to present the first draft of the 2008-2009 school budget, following his presentation of the preliminary first budget draft at the last board meeting. "It's a continuing story...a work in progress," he emphasized. The numbers, he said, have not changed much since his former presentation. Currently, the proposed year-to-year budget increase stands at 3.38 percent with a projected tax levy increase of 5.43 percent. He announced cost savings totaling $1,030,000, due to retirements and/or resignations, reserve funds to cover workman's compensation costs, a reduction in the student workbook budget, and a reduction in special education/BOCES tuition. The district continues to work to bring special needs students who attend out-of-district schools back to the Glen Cove schools, which should result in a savings of $270,000.

Budget controls include continued cost avoidance, mainly in electricity and heating, due to the performance contract undertaken during the 2005-2006 school year. The district now purchases fuel for school buses through a state contract at a much lower price than Hendrickson Bus Company would charge and payments to the teachers retirement system have dropped from 8.73 to 8 percent of the gross payroll, the first time in many years that the number is down, said Dr. Aronstein.

New costs have been amassed by a mandated 10 percent increase in health insurance premiums, lower Medicaid reimbursement, a drop in interest rates to the district's investments and the addition of an ESL teacher, a part-time music and health teacher and an athletic trainer at the high school. Another item unique to the Glen Cove School District that factors into the budget is the district's requirement to pay tax certioraris. This amount has been approximately $1.7 million per year for the past few years.

The budget as proposed would ensure that the district has enough money to pay for present and future labor contracts, sustain current student programs, maintain financial solvency, continue improvements to the district's facilities, maintain reasonable class size, provide all students with the necessary materials for learning and run an effective and efficient operation.

The lack of financial assistance from the government, said Dr. Aronstein, is "particularly bad on Long Island." He said he is considering inviting State Senator Carl Marcellino, a former educator and a strong critic of Governor Eliot Spitzer's executive budget, to attend a meeting and explain "what's going on in Albany."

Dr. Aronstein stated that the formula used to ascertain a contingency, or austerity, budget should the school budget fail, would result in a higher tax increase with a failed than with a passed budget. The projected tax levy under a contingency budget is 5.91 percent.

The superintendent said that administration will continue to explore cost savings for the district. At the next board meeting, he said, he and Assistant to the Superintendent for Business Kevin Wurtz will present "more graphs and numbers...hopefully lower numbers." Dr. Aronstein also said that within the next week or two, the entire line-by-line (1,200 lines in total) budget will be posted on the district website for "anyone with the fortitude to go through it." He said that a study of the budget would serve to make the public "more knowledgeable and appreciative of the work that goes into it."

The school budget and trustee election is May 20. With the resignation of Mr. Lupinskie, three seats on the school board will be open.

The next meeting of the Glen Cove Board of Education will be held on Monday, March 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the high school.