I read with some concern a recent letter to the editor commenting with respect to the demolition of the remainder of the Hicksville Middle School overhang on Fourth Street. My daughter currently attends the school and my son will be entering HMS in September, 1998.

I don't quite understand the statement that only a few students presently use this entrance. True, the buses now drop the students that use them on Second Street, however, I can personally attest that a great number of parents use the Fourth Street drop. The double parked cars and requested STOP signs, (by parents of students), at the corner of 4th St. and Fifth Avenue are further evidence of the traffic at this intersection. The overhang also allowed students who were bringing projects to the school in inclement weather to be offered some degree of protection as well as keeping the adjacent parking lot from becoming overcrowded, resulting in traffic backing up into the street.

I would agree that installing another flat roof may be inviting potential vandalism, however, perhaps if a gable roof were installed this problem could be minimized or eliminated. I am not an engineer and do not know if this is feasible with the existing support structure or how much difference in cost and future maintenance there would be. What I do know is that my children are more protected with the overhang than without it and ask that the school board take all these matters into consideration before making a final decision.

Gerald O'Brien