The Dec. 8 Levittown Board of Education meeting began with a performance by the Division Avenue High School Orchestra lead by orchestra director Mark Martuffi. The group performed The Little Fuge in G Minor by Bach, and Polladio.

"Performing for the community, school board, and administration is a real delight. It's nice to perform for the people who support us the most," said Martufi.

The board and audience were then presented with an introduction to the Robotics Program offered at MacArthur High School by teacher Mr. Spainer, along with students involved with the program. Last year, the class participated in the F.I.R.S.T. robotics competition at Suffolk Community College, in which groups of high school students compete annually to design, assemble and test a robot capable of performing certain tasks.

This program would not have been possible with out the assistance of Legislator Dennis Dunne, Sr. who presented the district with $1,000 to get the robotics program started. Dunne was presented with a certificate of appreciation. After accepting the certificate, Dunne told the audience about the $40,000 in scholarship money available through F.I.R.S.T. for students on Long Island alone, and the $4 million offered nationwide.

"Technology was something we didn't take advantage of," Dunne said, "and now we do and we see how good these kids are."

After the robotics presentation, Doug Robins, baseball coach and physical education teacher at Division Avenue High school, was presented with the New York State Coach of the Year in Baseball Award. Robins has worked as a teacher and coach for 31 years in the Levittown School District. He has two state titles and 24 league championships. He has brought the Division Avenue team to the county finals 18 out of 21 years. Sixteen of his previous team members have signed professional baseball contracts. Teary-eyed Robins thanked everyone including the board for their support for all the programs.

Division Avenue High School PTA President Pat Brady took to the podium during the Public Be Heard portion of the meeting, raising concerns about an incident regarding four gang members entering the school, searching for a student who was also a member of an opposing gang. This student now in Division Avenue School was originally from MacArthur High School.

Brady inquired, "Why was a problem passed from one school to clean out another?"

Superintendent Dr. Herman Sirois assured Brady, "We are in the process of evaluating what the schools need regarding security," and added, "the issue of security in schools is something becoming more serious not only in Levittown, but all over Long Island."

Assistant Superintendent for Administration Victor Longaro said that the student in question was transferred to Division Avenue because he is enrolled in a program that was not offered at MacArthur. Regarding school security, board trustee John Garvey added, "This is something the board has been looking at for a while."

The following issues were not voted on as, Dr. Sirois wanted to address these items to the board so they can begin to think about them before the next meeting. The first issue referred to inter-district transfers.

"Situations have arisen where students should be transferred but policy wouldn't allow us [to transfer the student]," Dr. Sirois said.

Dr. Sirois then brought up the issue of elementary clubs. He said, "In the past we never implemented clubs at the elementary school because of the cost of transportation."

There aren't any late busses at the elementary schools; therefore, transportation would be an extra expense to the school. Since there have been requests from several elementary schools to implement clubs, Sirois and the board would like to hear from outside elementary schools that do have clubs at the next meeting, and put this request in the budget process.

The issue regarding the traffic in front of Jonas E. Salk Middle school on Old Jerusalem Road also arose. Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Jeffrey Carlson recommended creating an entrance on Sprucewood Drive, which would then run parallel to where the bleachers are and circle around to the existing parking lot. In the morning the buses could enter from Sprucewood and exit on Old Jerusalem, and in the afternoon they could enter from Old Jerusalem and exit on Sprucewood. This would alleviate bus traffic on Old Jerusalem, and make it easier for parents dropping off and picking up their children.

"I think parents would appreciate that circle," Board President James Moran concluded.

The last two issues discussed were the possibility of district employees certified in CPR, such as nurses, training other district employees such as lunch monitors. Lastly, the regulations on harassment and sexual harassment have been reviewed and updated by Vincent Longaro. The board would like to investigate whether or not they would have the right to file a complaint upon hearing about a situation. All of these issues will be discussed further and voted upon in future planning sessions and board meetings.