Mineola School District resident George Harte of Albertson took his children to the local playground at the nearby Meadow Drive School. Mr. Harte was surprised when a security enforcement turned him away from the school in what he said was an abrupt manner. The resident said he was made to feel like a trespasser instead of a taxpayer.

What happened to Mr. Harte is not likely to happen again since the board of education has approved guidelines for the appropriate use of school grounds. However, the guidelines, school community members hope, will deter the misuse of school grounds, something that has happened in the past.

The use of school grounds has been a frustrating subject for the district as it tries to institute and enforce a policy. In response to complaints about inappropriate use of school district fields, the Mineola Board of Education and the district decided it would enforce a set of guidelines with regard to the use of fields. According to the guidelines, it should be perfectly acceptable for parents like Mr. Harte to bring their kids to the playgrounds, but will make certain uses such as golfing, skateboarding and playing ball games prohibited.

According to the guidelines, all use of grounds are available between 7 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. Approved without a permit are the following activities:

* Jogging, walking, running

* Playing catch

* Use of basketball hoops

* Use of tennis courts

* Use of elementary playground equipment

Without prior approval by the district, the following activities are prohibited:

* All ball games, golfing

* Use of alcohol, tobacco, drugs

* Picnics - bringing coolers, food, etc.

* Skateboarding, rollerblading, roller skating

* Any type of hockey

* Stickball, handball - any games using a wall

* Motorized vehicles on fields

* Loitering

* Walking pets

These guidelines will be enforced seven days a week by an outside security firm and anyone found to be participating in the prohibited activities without prior approval will be asked to leave the grounds. "In Nassau County, the use of district-wide school security in terms of monitoring the facilities and grounds is not an uncommon thing," said Superintendent of Schools for the Mineola School District, Dr. Lorenzo Licopoli.

The superintendent said the guidelines were put in effect in response to complaints received about inappropriate activity taking place on school grounds and the fields not being monitored.

The district's action also comes after a period of time when it was unclear as to what was acceptable use of the school property. In some cases, the district had to invest money to repair fields. Dr. Licopoli pointed out that there have been cases in which drug and alcohol use has taken place on school grounds. Other complaints involved the use of skateboards on steps of the middle schools and empty beer bottles found on the grounds of the Meadow Drive School.

Dr. Licopoli said it is surprising the degree of inappropriate activity taking place on school grounds. However, setting guidelines and enforcing them should act as a deterrent to unacceptable behavior on school grounds as the superintendent reported the inappropriate, illegal activity has been reduced tremendously in the three weeks the school grounds have been monitored. "A lot of the misuse of the properties has been significantly corrected," the superintendent said.

The district may have to revisit the guidelines on a future date if any revisions need to be made, as what is appropriate on school grounds can still sometimes be open to debate. "Sometime when you try to fix one problem, you can generate another problem. When you're trying to implement the proper use of school public grounds, it's never a very clear-cut, simple thing to do. We're trying to find our way with this where the public can have the use of the grounds and the facilities to the extend that is appropriate and at the same time, we can protect our properties with the assurance that our properties are used appropriately," said Dr. Licopoli.

The appropriate use of fields isn't an uncommon problem. Mineola resident, Sal Cataldo, has been complaining to the Village of Mineola Board of Trustees about teams using the soccer field at Wilson Park without a permit.

The village is looking at ways of addressing the problem such as possibly using personnel to monitor the facilities.

Willis Avenue School Progressing

Dr. Licopoli reported that the Willis Avenue School is progressing very well. It is expected that the interior of the building will be completed by the end of July and the exterior by the middle of August. The district would then need to begin the process of moving into the facility.

Dr. Licopoli said that there would be a transportation practice run in August where parents may be able to come on the bus with their children.