I was happy to read that Rich Santer, in his May 26 opinion letter, still regards me as one of his favorite Levittown school board members. Richard and his mother, I seem to recall, attended nearly all Levittown School Board meetings while he was a district student.

Herman Sirois, I'm sure, and the entire Levittown School Board were probably delighted to learn, from Richard, that 99 percent of last year's 4th graders had achieved mastery of their English language arts and mathematics curriculum. Unfortunately, it's not true! Richard, in my opinion, is equally guilty of the same biased statistical analysis of which he accuses me. I'm equally shocked that Richard, an elementary school teacher, would rely on Levittown's mediocre English Language Arts (Level 2) results to shore up his argument. It's also obvious, from the tone of his letter, that Richard accepts mediocrity as "quality" education in Levittown schools. I don't!

During the 1998-1999 school year, 639 Levittown 4th graders were tested, in a statewide examination, on their mastery of English language arts skills This test, along with several others, is designed to determine how well students meet New York State's higher academic standards. Results are divided into four (4) broad categories: Level 1 (serious academic deficiencies); Level 2 (need extra help to meet the standards); Level 3 (mastery of the standards); and Level 4 (exceed the standards). Two hundred and thirteen Levittown youngsters, nearly one-third of those tested, were ranked in Levels 1 and 2. Three hundred and ninety-one youngsters, 61 percent of their class, were ranked in Level 3 and only 35 youngsters, or five percent of their class, achieved Level 4. Hardly anything for the Levittown School District to be proud of when compared to results in neighboring Nassau County School Districts.

I hope that Richard can explain why the Levittown School District, with its alleged 99 percent mastery level, achieved an overall mean score of 654.66 (on a scale of 455-800) which placed it in the lowest one-fifth of all Nassau County school districts.

I'm sorry that Richard was denied two months of his education in 1978, because, as he wrote "...he refused to negotiate a teachers contract and forced the LUT (Levittown United Teachers) into a two month strike." My children also lost two months of their education during this unwarranted strike. Shame on you, Richard, for not re-directing your venom at the Levittown United Teachers Union which engaged in this illegal strike! There are ample newspaper and court records available to document the fact that the LUT, in spite of two court injunctions and the school board's willingness to negotiate in good faith, continued their illegal strike.

Nassau County Supreme Court Justice J. Burke, in his scholarly Memorandum of Law, dated 10/27/78 (Index 13693/78 and 12741/78), wrote: "...The conduct of the striking teachers is reprehensible and is to be condemned because of the trust which they occupy in the community. When educated people of whom so much is expected and for whom so high a standard has properly been set put their own self-interest ahead of the interest of children and openly and notoriously defy the statutes of this state and the orders of its courts, they must accept the consequences.

Levittown United Teacher's officers and building representatives were fined and found guilty of criminal contempt. Each of them could also have been jailed for up to 30 days. Martin J. Cullinan, president, was jailed for 20 days and released, during an election year, upon the intervention of Governor Hugh Carey. LUT, for its part, was fined $170,000 and lost its dues check-off privileges. Levittown's striking teachers, penalized under Section 210 - Civil Service Law (Taylor Law), were probably the biggest loser since they each lost over two-thirds of their annual salary.

I hope that Richard, as he matures, remembers an old axiom: "The Price of Integrity is Eternal Vigilance." Unfortunately, his letter, while interesting, lacks any evidence of integrity or scholarly analysis!