The following is a letter written by the Mineola Library director to the Friends of the Mineola Library:

It is with great joy that, on behalf of the Mineola Library, I accept your gracious gift of a new baby grand piano.

This generous and outstanding gift is unprecedented in the history of the Mineola Library. This could not have occurred without the incredible fundraising efforts led by past president Dottie Campbell. Each key player and piano lover should be commended for their contribution to the library and the community.

But, most of all, the purchase and gift of the new piano is a tribute to an outstanding organization, the Friends of the Mineola Memorial Library. Within the past decade, this group has grown and is now on par with the top friends of libraries groups of Long Island. All of your members should be congratulated, especially the executive board of Bernadette Vaskas, Ann Hurley, Carolyn Orlick and Diane Hammond. The Mineola Memorial Library, and the community as a whole, is indeed fortunate to have a group that is comprised of such stellar citizens.

The new piano will add so much to programs and events at the Mineola Library. On that note, I am happy to announce the scheduling of two outstanding musical events at the library this summer. This first public program to feature the new piano will be on Thursday, July 31 at 7 p.m. On that evening, we will feature Dr. Mark Birnbaum and his program Hot Piano! Ragtime, Blues and Jazz. This program will feature the music of Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington and the Gershwins.

Then, on Wednesday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m., the library is proud to welcome pianist Ren Zhang. This highly-acclaimed pianist will perform romantic and classical selections during this special recital. I hope the Friends and all the members of the community can join us at the library for these and future events.

Charles Sleefe

Mineola Library Director

By this time, the residents and taxpayers of the Mineola School District have had time to examine the contents of the much-heralded "Grade Reconfiguration Study" and have made their choices. On the surface, the study does make sense. They keep schools or any physical plant open when there simply is not economic justification to do so. With overall utilization low, the closing of schools is justifiable. Yet, there is also a strong reason to keep the concept of "neighborhood schools" alive, particularly for the younger students for whom neighborhood schools within walking distance foster a sense of local school community and offer children a place to learn and not be immersed into a huge "mega-school."

But as usual, the leaders of our school system are reluctant to take the lead in reducing costs based on a logical system of priorities. The real effort here is to reduce costs, not reduce educational programs. One is supposed to led by example. That is the way leadership is supposed to be but it is sadly lacking here in Mineola. The first cost-cutting should begin at the top.

The leadership of our school district has managed over the years to make the Mineola School District the sixth highest cost school district in the United States of America (U.S. Census Department figures for the 2004-2005 school year for district with over 500 students) and that was before the infamous bond issue. Yet, is Mineola the sixth highest achieving school district in the United States? Far from it. In fact, we are not even close to being the sixth highest achieving school district in Nassau County.

The question that needs to be asked is where is the money going? Even with a huge increase of New York State money for the upcoming school year, the district has the nerve to again raise school taxes and then takes credit for only a small (less than 2 percent) increase. I am sure there are residents in the district whose total income is less than what it costs to send one child to school for one year in this district (now over $28,000 per year).

Where is the money going? Labor costs account for almost 80 percent of the budget and that's where budget cuts must be made first and that's where leadership comes in. We have a superintendent with a salary of close to a third of a million dollars per year plus benefits with only 2,800 students (as compared to the Chancellor of the New York City Schools making $249,000 with over 1.1 million students). We have a top heavy administrative organization, which accounts for much of the high annual costs. These positions must be reduced from the top down. We cannot afford the large number of highly paid administrative positions in this district. Major salary cuts, job reclassifications and consolidations are required. Consolidations of various functions with adjoining districts should also be looked into. Well over $1 million a year could be achieved without any impact on services to the children of Mineola.

If the closing of schools is needed, then the first to go should be the Willis Avenue School, which was built not so much as a school but as the well-endowed seat of the school district hierarchy. Strange, but I can still remember the justification for building the school was because studies showed there was an increasing need for school space as the school age population was increasing. Now we are closing schools because of underutilization. Something doesn't quite add up.

All the citizens of the district need to voice their dissatisfaction with the way the district has and continues to be managed. With the exception of only one school board member, not one of the members is willing to say "costs must come down and we'll start at the top."

We need to vote down the upcoming budget (even if it is a very minor difference from contingency) and we need to vote out any incumbent board member until we get some members who really know how to manage money and resources and lower our taxes.

In the meantime, we can all proudly proclaim to our friends across the country that "I live in Mineola, the sixth most expensive school district in the country...and we won't stop until we're No. 1."

John F. Ciesla