Prior to the Public Be Heard portion of the July 2 Levittown Board of Education meeting, Board President Gina Interdonato made an unusual announcement.

"We will not be taking any comments on personnel," she said.

With the crowd full of "Project: Save Mr. Nessler" T-shirts, the board surely knew what was coming. MacArthur Physical Education Teacher/Assistant Varsity Lacrosse Coach John Nessler was denied his tenure at the school, despite what many call an "unblemished teaching record" and "phenomenal rapport" with the student body. Reportedly, Nessler has been reassigned to Abbey Lane Elementary School, but according to the Levittown residents who attended this meeting, that is not good enough.

Dozens of students and parents alike, donning the aforementioned T-shirts approached the podium and ignored any instruction to refrain from speaking about personnel decisions. Diana Timpano was first to speak.

"Last month's board meeting was a disgrace," she said. She added that both Nassau County Legislator Dennis Dunne, Sr. and New York State Commissioner of Education Richard P. Mills have been contacted about this situation.

MacArthur Athletic Director Gerard McEneaney also addressed the board. McEneaney, who has been in his current position for 14 years, began his speech by letting the board know that he is not looking to rebel or start any trouble, but he is all for Nessler receiving tenure and remaining at MacArthur.

"As his immediate supervisor I feel responsible to put in a good word for him," McEneaney said.

While McEneaney did cite a couple of issues that both he and Principal John Bifolco resolved with Nessler back in September, he continued to state there have been no such problems since.

Several other parents made their way up to the podium, leading up to the final MacArthur student to speak, John Barber. A wheelchair-bound Barber enlightened the board with a story of how Nessler motivated him to get out of his chair and climb the rock-climbing wall in the MacArthur gymnasium.

"Motivation" was the key word most students use when referring to Nessler, as the back of their T-shirts described with the quote, "The power of MOTIVATION, is what makes us INFINITE."

Despite the board's policy of not commenting on personnel decisions, Board Vice President John Garvey had a lot to say to the speakers who wore a path to the podium.

"To the people who came up and asked us to give consideration to this, I am deeply offended that you think we wouldn't give every consideration to each employee," he said. "Personnel decisions go on in that back room. You have no idea what goes on in that back room. To come up here and attack the board and attack the administration is not right. If someone was not granted tenure, you better believe that the board of education had something to do with it."

Superintendent Dr. Herman Sirois added to that and said, "It's important to understand the process here. Teachers are hired by the school district, not by the school. We assign the teacher to where we think it will best suit our district."

Unsatisfied with the board's response, Timpano later told the Levittown Tribune, "The fact is that the board of education is voted in by the parents and basically what they've said is 'we don't care what you think.'"

The other main Public Be Heard topic came from several parents living in the "T" section of Wantagh, which is adjacent to the eastbound Southern State Parkway. There is reportedly no bus service for students coming from the "T' section, and the walk to and from school there is very dangerous. Tally Lane is the road flanking the ramp to the Southern State off the north-bound Wantagh Avenue, and many drivers drive on it as if it is part of the parkway, making it a very hazardous situation for pedestrians. This is a situation the board will look at prior to the school year.

More of a feel good portion of the meeting occurred when longtime Division Avenue Baseball Coach Doug Robins' family was presented with a plaque. Robins was honored on WABC-TV's show, Above & Beyond: Inspiring Students and Teachers, on June 16. Robins' wife, Kathleen, two sons and stepdaughter were on hand for the occasion.

June 22 marked the second bus pattern test in the parking lot between MacArthur and Salk.

"It was generally successful with a couple of problems," said Dr. Sirois. They are now prepared to go ahead with the rest of the implementations to make that pattern permanent.

Supervisor of Maintenance and Grounds Joseph Ewald suggested a few changes that still need to be worked on. They include widening the driveway for the bus turns off North Jerusalem Road, modifying the traffic light leaving the parking lot onto North Jerusalem as well as relocating the trash dumpsters in the lot.

The new tennis courts are currently in the process of being built parallel to Wantagh Avenue. There is no guarantee that will be done by the time school starts, but the old tennis courts won't be torn down until the new ones are ready to go.

Finally, the board did their annual internal elections. The positions of president and vice president remained the same with Gina Interdonato and John Garvey respectively, while Diane Shapiro regained her position as secretary after a year as trustee. Also, Mark Schissler will be the Interim Assistant Superintendent for Budget and Finance.

The next Levittown Board of Education meeting will take place Wednesday, Aug. 8 at 8pm at Levittown Memorial Education Center. For more information log on to www.csea830.org.