The Hicksville School Board took time off from its scheduled agenda at its regular meeting earlier this week to recognize and commend former board member Jay Schwartz.

He was presented a plaque by School Board President Nancy Callari for his 12 years of service to the district. Schwartz, who resigned from the board in December, was applauded for the leadership and knowledge he brought to the board during two separate stints as trustee.

"Jay is an outstanding contributor to the community. His leadership and handling of some very difficult issues and some wonderful issues for the community enabled good things to happen," said Dr. Edward J. Finn, superintendent, Hicksville School District. "The schools are in the fine shape they are because of his many years of service and leadership on the board."

Schwartz characterized his 12 years on the Hicksville School Board as being "very productive" and further stated the board and the district have come a long way since he first took a seat on the board in 1981. Schwartz, who served as president of the board in four of the seven years that he served as an officer on the board, explained that the unstable fiscal environment of his first six years prevented the board from formulating a cohesive plan or vision for the district. He said the board always seemed to be reacting to diminished funding with higher taxes or cuts to programs.

"In the early '80s through the late '80s we weren't thinking of the next generation or the next century at that point in time," said Schwartz. "We pretty much had to try to carry on with a lot of the programs during some tough budget times, especially when the state began to cut back."

When he returned to the board in 1993, after being appointed to the position following a board member's resignation, he indicated that the fiscal waters had calmed and the district was able to establish three-year and five-year plans. He claims this better prepared the district for any future financial dilemmas.

"The district was able to get a more focused and long-range vision on where the district had to be further down the road," said Schwartz. "You were not always looking over you shoulder on the next budget year, you started to look how things had to be three years hence and could then make a plan that...could move everyone forward."

He continued, "The three- and five-year plans have left the district better prepared to address fiscal situations as they arise without disrupting programs with budget cuts."

Schwartz, who is an administrator in the New York City Public Education system, has also been recognized for recreating the board's policy handbook. According to current board president Nancy Callari, in 1981 the handbook was only 1/4 inch thick, contained hand-written entries, and no two members possessed an exact copy. Today the handbook is over three inches thick and fully encompasses all procedures of the school board.

"He has laid a lot of the groundwork. Those policies were not in existence till he came. He took it upon himself to accomplish that," said Callari.

Callari continued, "The knowledge that he brought to the board as an professional educator gave us different perspectives on educational issues as well as policy, guidelines, and regulations.

Schwartz, who stated that he hopes he brought a sense of fairness and a continuity to the board through his 12 years of service, stated that he feels the current board is well equipped to handle the business of the district in the coming years.

"The administration has been here for several years now and I think they have locked on to how they want things to go. The board is very smooth running and has a group of individuals who all have the same focus."