Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy held a roundtable breakfast recently in which she discussed local issues with members of the press. One issue that she discussed was the need for schools and local businesses to work together to the benefit of both.

This issue is one that the Levittown Chamber of Commerce and the Levittown Board of Education has already addressed. One solution that they have come up with is a directory in which all members of the chamber will be listed so that when the school district needs something they will look toward local businesses first. This partnership has three major goals; to promote more local purchasing by the school district, to involve businesses in the education process (guest speakers, internships, and school-to-work projects) and to encourage more school-business cooperation on local projects. The businesses that will be listed in the directory offer a wide range of services that can benefit the school district in numerous ways. Phyllis Capriola, president of the Levittown Chamber of Commerce feels that this will benefit the schools because they will get lower prices from local businesses, which are more concerned with the community. This program will benefit members of the chamber of commerce because it will bring in additional business from the schools that might have gone to outside businesses under ordinary circumstances. Capriola feels that this is a good idea for both the schools and the businesses because it will keep the money in the same community.

McCarthy believes that kids, especially in younger grades, want to learn and that getting the businesses involved with the schools is one way to aid in this process, before the children lose hope. Since being elected to Congress McCarthy has done what she could to help in this endeavor, especially in districts which cannot afford the supplies that they may need. She feels that it is not just the schools that could benefit from help from local businesses but other organizations as well. One group that she mentioned was local community centers which could benefit from computers and supplies that businesses might be able to supply. She says that each community really doesn't realize what businesses are out there that might help them.

Another concern of McCarthy's is the government's role in education. One problem that she discussed regarding this was that the federal government puts mandates on the schools that will cost the schools money and then does not fund these mandates. Often, even when there is funding for a mandate, it is not enough and the school must cut back on something else or put the additional costs in the budget. This is a problem that local districts have been facing recently with the change in the Regents standards and the money that is needed to implement these changes, as well as the STAR program which will cost more than the state will fund. McCarthy would also like to know, like many concerned citizens, where the money from the Lottery has gone. She wants to be sure that money that is supposed to go to the schools actually gets to the school.

McCarthy also discussed different ideas which may help the schools. One thing that she mentioned was the idea of a mentoring program for teachers, where older teachers in a district help out new teachers, almost like a "big brother" or "big sister." According to McCarthy, for the first two years new teachers are basically left floating by themselves with no one to show them what to do in an actual classroom setting. She also says that universities need to take education more seriously and monitor who goes into teaching. She adds that many of the college professors who teach teaching have not been in the classroom for 20 years and a lot has changed in that amount of time.

McCarthy was often criticized during her campaign as having only one issue, that being gun control, but she points out that no woman has only one issue. That particular issue was not one that she focused very much attention on during this meeting. A large portion of the meeting focused on education and she also discussed many other issues such as healthcare and affordable housing. All in all it was a beneficial meeting to inform the public about some of the concerns that she has for her constituents.