From Long Island Wins - March 18, 2011

On Immigration, Mulvey Set a Precedent For Future Commissioners

Some federal immigration agents were wearing cowboy hats and carrying semi-automatic weapons that night in September 2007 when they stormed into private homes across Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Letter: Mill Neck Manor School for the Deaf Seeks Support Against Proposed Funding Cuts

Governor Cuomo has proposed to eliminate funding for 4201 Schools (for deaf/blind/physically challenged students) for the 2011-12 school year. As a result, Mill Neck Manor School for the Deaf students, and those from 10 other 4201 schools, are in jeopardy! A child who is deaf, blind or physically challenged did not cause the state’s $10 billion deficit. It is wrong to abandon the state’s more than 100-year commitment to these special schools through which these students become productive citizens. It is also wrong to shift these costs to the more than 45 school districts, which send students to Mill Neck Manor!

Letter: Planned Parenthood Calls on Senators to Reject Political Agenda of House Members

Last month’s vote by the House of Representatives to strip Planned Parenthood of all federal funding reflects the pursuit of an extreme political agenda by the Republican House leadership.

Letter: Copy of Feb. 22 NYSSBA Letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo

We are writing in response to your Feb. 16 letter to fellow New Yorkers on education reform. We agree that New Yorkers elected you to be their voice in Albany and to make tough decisions; it is also true that New Yorkers elected 5,000 school board members around the state to be the voice of their school districts.

Letter: Reforming Our Education System Is Critical

My Fellow New Yorkers,

You elected me to be your voice in Albany and to make tough decisions. Few issues are as critical to the future of our state as reforming our education system.

Right now, we rank number one in the nation in spending per student, and number 34 in student achievement. Worse still, these poor results are coming after a decade of record spending increases in education funding.

Letter: ‘CSEA Workers Are The Wrong Target’

Both before and after the enactment of a control period by the Nassau Interim Finance Authority on Jan. 26, budget reform and the renegotiation of union agreements with Nassau County have been the call of the day.

Governor’s Whopping 7.3 Percent Funding Cut to Schools

(Statement by NYSSBA Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer)

It will require a Herculean effort by school boards to absorb Governor Andrew Cuomo’s whopping 7.3 percent funding cut to schools without impacting student achievement. Now more than ever, school boards, employee bargaining units and administrators will have to work together to manage this fiscal crisis. But if cuts of this magnitude are enacted, districts will need more than creative thinking and a willingness to make even greater sacrifices. They will need significant help from state lawmakers in the form of serious reforms to state laws that drive up school district costs. School districts are working hard to help their students meet higher proficiency standards and become better citizens. While student learning may take place in the classroom, it also happens in the art studio, the science lab and on the soccer field. That is why our schools need strong support, including adequate funding, from Albany in order to raise all students to higher standards.

From Long Island Wins - February 18, 2011

With Terrorism Panel, King Needs to Put Safety First

This ought to be a point of pride for us: Hometown boy makes good.

With the new Congress, Long Island Congressman Peter King became the chair of the Homeland Security Committee in the House of Representatives.

From Sustainable Long Island - February 4, 2011

We Are the Voice of Long Island

It’s 2011 – by now you have had to figure out that when living on Long Island you have to be loud. Sometimes the loudness will come from yelling over the honking horns and traffic on the Long Island Expressway. Sometimes the loudness will come from singing along with the national anthem at a Long Island Ducks or New York Islanders game. Sometimes the loudness will come from shouting your order of fruit and vegetables at a local farmers market that’s bustling with hundreds of Long Islanders.

Parenthood Plus - January 28, 2011

Parade of Broken Hearts

There will be many reflections about the 2001 terrorist attack on America in the months to come. Following is my reflection on the memorial service at the World Trade Center on October 28, 2001. I attended the service in a group of mental health professionals who offered support for the bereaved.