When Caryn Calabrese wrote a letter attacking me last week, I was deeply concerned that she signed her letter with the initials "BOE" after her name. Is she speaking on behalf of the entire board of education? Did she receive board approval to sign her letter as such? Mrs. Calabrese states that my June 23 letter was "anything but positive" and "paints a very bleak picture of the future of our district."

Perhaps she should read my letter again. I am very pleased with the upward direction our district has taken. Our test scores are on the incline and facilities improvements are visible at every turn. I took my position as a board of education member very seriously; I diligently prepared my weekly homework, my attendance record speaks for itself and I rarely missed a committee meeting. Can Mrs. Calabrese say the same? I am proud to say that when I served on the board of education, the board's direction was to move forward with some much-needed improvements in our community and we worked very hard preparing a wish list for the needs of the district.

Prior to our present bond, Hicksville hadn't floated a bond in 40 years. The board spent innumerable hours refining the needs for the entire school district, dividing those needs into several categories and bringing them back to the community. Yes, the bond issue did fall the first time so we spent countless hours fine-tuning those needs and gave the taxpayers a second opportunity. The bond is finally coming to fruition and I am delighted to see Superintendent Maureen Bright and her staff executing that bond and making those improvements a reality. Mrs. Calabrese reiterated the very thing I said in my letter, unlike many surrounding districts, our budget did pass the first time around and that's because community members are pleased with the vast improvements they are seeing in the district!

It is my right as a taxpayer to voice my concerns when I feel that something can aversely affect my community. Before Mrs. Calabrese threatened me with "legal ramifications," she should have also re-read the May 14 issue of this very newspaper, where a full-page advertisement on page seven reads "Vote Row 1B Susan Powell for Board of Education Trustee." It is signed by the Hicksville Congress of Teachers, complete with their address, phone, fax and e-mail address and then, in teeny-weeny letters (which may well be the reason for all of this confusion) are the words "Paid Advertisement." Gus Costa received the same benefits in last year's newspaper ad.)

I also want to add that I was shocked and offended when I read Mrs. Calabrese's statement that the board has a need to address "seeing that the new mixture of ethnicities in our community learn to interact and cooperate in a positive environment." This insulting and degrading remark shows a complete lack of sensitivity and appreciation for diversity! It is most disconcerting that a member of the board of education can make such a statement and sign it with the initials "BOE," stating, in effect, that she was writing in the capacity of a board of education member. This would lead people to believe that Mrs. Calabrese was not only speaking for herself, but for the entire board of education as well! I would expect the board to denounce such a remark and state that it does not reflect the feeling of the entire board of education.

It's pretty clear from the tone of her letter (accusing me of "espionage and paranoia") that I've made Mrs. Calabrese nervous and uncomfortable. And when I say, "We're watching," I'm referring to the taxpayers. I would hope that an elected official would never make the mistake of thinking that no one was.

Diana D'Antuono DePalma