The first community focus group was held last week in the process of the grade configuration study for the Mineola School District and some members of the school community made their thoughts known that they like the Willis Avenue School and having neighborhood elementary schools. However, the reality is that unless the district is willing to give up a school or reconfigure its grades, its high cost per pupil will continue to rise.

The grade configuration study, which is currently under way and being conducted by the firm School Leadership LLC, came as a result of a recommendation from a school-community finance committee, which was asked to research what drives Mineola's high cost per pupil, which is among the highest in the county.

Mineola Board of Education President John McGrath believes the purpose of the grade configuration study is to explore whether the district can utilize its resources to develop a better educational program and save money. "We need input from the public before we make any substantial changes in how the school system is configured at this point," he said. "It's in response to the fact that we've had a couple of failed budgets the past five years and the major source of those failures have been the expense of running the school system, specifically the $28,000 plus cost per student."

The purpose of the focus group was to get community input on the current grade configuration of the school district. According to Dr. Charles Fowler and Dr. Vincent Beni of School Leadership, LLC, the board of education did not give the firm any preconceived notions about any direction the board may want to take in configuring the grades of the district. The study, when completed, should, however, give the board options as far as how much money can be saved by closing one or two school buildings or perhaps moving seventh and eighth grades to the high school.

With approximately 78 to 80 percent of the school district's budget going to contractual salaries and benefits, the community is left to figure out how to save money when it comes to the other 20 percent of the budget. While the school community values its sports and music programs as well as its after-school activities, there doesn't appear to be much room to cut the budget and stem the tide of increasing taxes that are putting an increasing burden on residents who are struggling to keep their homes.

During public comment, some district residents said they favored the current system of having neighborhood schools. One parent said she came to Mineola because of the neighborhood school system. The district currently has two elementary schools in Mineola, one in Albertson and one in Williston Park with another school housing pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and central administration offices in Mineola. In addition, the district has a middle school in Mineola and a high school in Garden City Park.

Some said that they loved having the Willis Avenue School, which houses pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes, because of the unique educational experience the school offers.

Others said they are in favor of cluster schools, which are the schools such as Willis, the middle school and the high school, where all district students attend. Others said they wouldn't want to see the seventh and eighth grade classes go to the high school and mix with the older grades.

But the question that arises with the grade configuration study is with seven school buildings open, is the district delivering the best educational program it possibly can and the most cost effective price? Some don't believe that to be the case.

"Everybody's spoiled," said one district resident alluding to the desire to keep neighborhood schools and an early childhood center. "What are you truly willing to give up?"

That seems to be the question that the board of education will ultimately have to decide. What is the community willing to accept as a cost saving measure in a district that spends over $28,000 per pupil?

"I have not heard anything this evening that is honestly saving money," said one district resident.

The committee finance committee recommended a grade configuration study to find out ways the district can deliver a quality education at a more cost-effective price.

Will Hornberger, a member of that committee, gave the communicated a sobering thought when he said that if the district does nothing, taxpayers would be paying $35,000 per student by 2010. Since approximately 78 to 80 percent of school budget is tied up in salaries and benefits, the finance committee felt that Mineola's number of school buildings is one of the factors that drives its cost per pupil. The grade configuration is one of the areas the district can look at to see if it can use its resources more effectively. "We all pay taxes. We all want a valuable education, but at what cost?" he said.

Another district resident believes that building the Willis Avenue School was a waste of money since now, six years after the school was opened, there are talks centered around closing a school or two schools.

The resident believes that reconfiguring the grades represents an opportunity to save money. "Imagine going five years without raising taxes. We can do that easily. This [current system] is not working," he said.

One point that was brought up was the need for equity in the schools. There are some Mineola School District buildings that have larger class sizes than others, according to some of the parents at the focus group meeting. One parent said her daughter has never had more than 20 students in her class at the Cross Street School while some Jackson Avenue School parents say that over 20 students in a class is the norm. Class size figures would certainly back up that claim.

According to numbers reported to the state education department, in 2005-2006, the Cross Street School had an average class size of 17 students while the Jackson Avenue School had an average class size of 23 students.

Some believe that redrawing the district lines that determine which school students attend based on their residence. Cluster schools would certainly solve the problem of equity in the schools.

There is expected to be another meeting concerning the grade configuration study early in 2008. The community may prefer to have options on the table to comment on so that it is more apparent what are realistic options the board of education may be considering in terms of closing a school or two schools or redrawing district lines.

This last focus group also received some criticism in terms of how it was publicized. Some questioned whether letters announcing the meeting were sent to every district resident. This last focus group only attracted approximately 100 people. While the board is seeking public input, it will ultimately be the board of education's decision if any changes are to be made.

In addition to another focus group, McGrath said that when School Leadership presents options on reconfiguring the grades, there would also be public meetings.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Mineola Board of Education will be a work session meeting on Thursday, Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Willis Avenue School.