The Herricks Community Center cafeteria was crowded last week, from parents to students to board members, all ready to encourage the reorganization of "Citizens For Better Schools " originally organized in 1982 to help select qualified school board candidates.

Leading the meeting was former school board president Maureen Loughran Nappi, Jay Zimmerman and Viviane Kovacs who explained that the reason for the reorganization of the group was to give the residents a forum to be heard and to also help select school candidates.

It was explained, by founding member Dave Fenton, that CBS was originally started in 1982 to help select candidates and then became so much more.

He said basically that CBS was formed to help prevent anyone in the district from becoming a board member who did not have the same high standards of educational values as most of the residents of Herricks. He said that most people bought homes in Herricks district because of the outstanding school district and CBS helped to maintain that standard.

Basically, Nappi said that the group was asking for everyone present to join the organization and to start the membership ball rolling. She said that the membership fee is $10 which will be basically used for mailing informational fliers.

One of the first questions asked was how does a candidate qualify for endorsement by CBS.  Nappi said that each candidate who seeks endorsement is interviewed by the CBS board. She commented that there were years, in the past, when no one was supported by the organization.

At the next meeting on April 12, at 7:45 p.m. in the Herricks Community Center Cafeteria a Steering Committee will be formed and officers nominated and then the organization will proceed from there with its main aim to interview and select worthy school board candidates and to disseminate information to members regarding all the issues pertaining to the school.

Young adults were in the audience; one a student and one a graduate. Both felt that much has changed in the district. The student said he felt it was useless trying to give his opinion, but Nappi said not to stop trying and she commented, "Well, I can't direct CBS, but I would hope that they would be sensitive and embrace the students who wanted to be heard in some fashion. Herricks did something right by you, you are very articulate! "

Jay Zimmerman commented that the group was contemplating forming a youth section of CBS to give, especially the high school students, a forum where they could be heard.

Another young man said he was a 1976 graduate and moved back to Herricks, but he said it is very frustrating to see some of the things that have changed. He said, "There is no reason that Herricks shouldn't be the equal of Jericho or Syosset. It is frustrating to see my friends moving out of the district and we contemplate moving out for the same reasons. There is no reason why we can't have eight Intel scholars as Port Washington does and we should have a full day kindergarten, people are not moving into the area because of that. "I would like to know how you are going to advertise CBS so that people can join because I think it is an important voice. I have been trying to do word of mouth just over the past week and it was hard to get people to know what I was talking about."

Nappi responded, "I will tell you that this is a significant group here tonight and many have told us their neighbors were not able to come, but they will come to other meetings and if everyone just goes back and explains to their neighbors what we are hoping to achieve here, the word will get out."

A young woman said that she returned to the Herricks area, bought a house and wanted her children to attend the Herricks schools as she had. However, she said after having served on an Early Childhood Committee and being met with such opposition by the superintendent, after he said he was in favor of the project, but couldn't recommend funding it, she was so discouraged that she is thinking of moving out of the district.

Another woman said that she had grave problems with the Special Education Department in the high school and wrote many letters that were unanswered by the school board; wrote to Albany and spoke to people there. One of her concerns is that the new standards require that every student must pass an English regents to graduate and her point was that some Special Ed kids will take years to get out of high school with that criteria.

Nappi commented that with the reorganization of CBS just such issues will now have a forum.

After listening to parents complaints about low attendance at various sporting and cultural arts events to the quality of teachers, Nappi said that this is exactly what Herricks needs to "unify" Herricks again and to bring back that "old feeling" of working together as a unit with the parents and the school board all working for a common goal, the good of the student and quality education.

She then urged all to sign the sheet that was passed around and to attend the next meeting on April 12 at 7:45 p.m. and to spread the word about CBS.