Richard Sheridan wrote the School for Scandal to define his era, the early 20th century. I prefer to define the episodes of moral and ethical breaches of the 21st century as "Scandals of Everyday Living." The greater Roslyn community is neither immune nor inured to such escapades. Sadly, "scandal" has repeatedly knocked at our front doors over the past several months.

On March 26 and April 16, the Roslyn School District residents received two carefully measured letters releasing tidbits of information in the form of "ongoing communications" from the board concerning the embezzlement of funds.

Embezzlement is a crime. This is grand larceny. Two letters, a year and a half after the crime does not constitute an "ongoing" communication. The crime went unpunished. The guilty party has in all probability fled the jurisdiction.

The primary function of a school board is to serve as overseers of the expenditure of public moneys. By their "belief" that it was in the best interest of the community not to disclose the theft at the time of discovery they have failed to adequately represent this community or to exercise their charge of fiduciary responsibility. The issues have been obfuscated behind the claim that they made an error in judgment.

In "hindsight" they recognize that perhaps they should have been more open with the community. However, effective leaders do not lead by "hindsight," they lead by "foresight and vision." It is apparent that the present board is incapable of performing their duties. Someone needs to be made accountable for this gross failure.

Now and only now, this miscalculation is going to cost this school system much more, since it was improperly deemed a personnel issue rather than a financial issue. Since the board made the decision not to disclose its findings in the fall of 2003, how can we be assured that they will make a FULL disclosure now? It is apparent that the board's credibility has been compromised and thusly, bodes the issues of integrity, morality and ethics. The board has the obligation to be role models for our students.

In a civic association presidents meeting with Dr. Tassone on March 3, I was told point blank several times that:

* The amount was exactly $250,000. (Think about the last time you made purchases at Home Depot, or bought gasoline or paid a phone bill...did your receipts end in $.00? How did the board arrive at an exact figure of $250,000? From what line in the budget were the funds depleted? It was sheer folly to be so blind sighted as to believe that the funds were returned in full.)

* We were informed that since the individual made restitution, no further actions would be taken. This is contrary to the April 16 letter in which the board maintains that they deliberately made no agreements with the criminal. It was clear that she would be let off with nothing more than the proverbial slap on the hand.

* Dr. Tassone repeatedly stated that both he and the board's singular interest were in "protecting" the community and making it "whole." I ask, which community? Were we ever not "whole? " A very unusual term at best. Are we talking about the academic reputation of our students? Are we talking about the high level of teaching expertise? Are we talking about the supervision by the individual building administrators? Are we talking about the value of our homes, which is linked to the reputation of our schools? No, we are not. The administrative misconduct, malfeasance and fraud of one or more individuals in the administration office will not have repercussions upon the reputation of our school system. But the failure of the board to notify the insurance carriers at the time of original disclosure has potentially jeopardized any and all future claims.

* Dr. Tassone has indicated that some 18,000 entries had been reviewed. Why didn't the second set of auditors discover the increased transactions with certain businesses? Were they certified auditors? Aren't the independent auditors now responsible for any defalcations after examination of the books?

And finally most tellingly, that:

* The only reason we were being informed of these events was due to several "anonymous letters" sent to the DA's of both Nassau and Suffolk counties, the local Mayors and the State Education Department and State Comptroller. We the residents would have never heard of the loss. Why because the Board in all of its infinite wisdom invoked the "sunshine law" and deemed this event as a "personnel" issue and not a "financial" issue. This determination, as I understand it, was made under advice from outside counsel in an opinion letter. I have made a request for a copy of this letter under the Freedom of Information Law. If the consulting attorney apparently gave wrong legal advice, then doesn't this board have the obligation to file suit against counsel on behalf of residents?

According to the above assertions, the board had the right to both discuss and vote in private session. Although, Dr. Tassone attempted to answer many of the basic questions that I had posed; such as when was it first discovered, what has been done, how much, what safeguards have now been instituted, up until the point of discovery this school district's policy was that only one individual sign checks (amazing in this day and age of corruption)? With such a savvy and long-term board how did all known procedural safeguards go unnoticed for years?

I left the meeting with a very unsettled feeling. The educational stewardship of the school system is the Superintendent's; the financial steerage is clearly the board's main priority. It was sheer folly to believe that this well-educated community was not going to learn of this crime.

Due to this folly it has become necessary to hire the outside public relations firm of CJ2 to handle the press? For whom? For damage control? This action is blatantly revealing. Don't we have an in-house public relations and community liaison? The board has been spending an inordinate amount of time over the course of the past few weeks addressing the continually erupting flash fires and landmines each time a new segment of the community learns of these wrongdoings. Unfortunately, the board has been, over the past two years, and is presently being distracted from attending to its proscribed agenda and that is to address the educational needs of our children.

Following my instincts that the board could not hide behind the "sunshine clause," as an excuse for non-compliance with their charged responsibilities, I e-mailed the executive director of the New York State Open Meetings Law. Subsequently, I had a phone conversation with him regarding this matter and expect a written confirmation within the next few days. School boards in New York State are subject to a different set of rules, regulations and laws. They cannot hide behind "executive sessions" to obscure their failure to disclose any and all information regarding this theft when it was initially brought to their attention in the fall of 2002.

The community now demands the following:

* Appoint Independent Task Force of community leaders to review any and all documents and to conduct an impartial investigation separate and apart from the criminal investigation being conducted by the Nassau County District Attorney's office.

* Open Meeting Forum held at the high school as an information and question and answers session so that the issues, concerns and questions to peers, neighbors and friends can be conducted en masse.

* A Forensic (in depth) audit by an independent auditor.

* Legally: Attachment proceedings to be immediately instituted, over and beyond that which has begun, to secure her assets, preventing all liens, sales of homes, equity loans, bank accounts and home valuables. Only through proper legal action can the character and reputation of this community be restored. As well as put on notice any individual that may have any future intentions of defrauding us. It will not be tolerated.

* Reinstate the Budget Advisory Committee and create and disseminate an understandable and readable budget.

And finally the general consensus (after speaking to 200 or more community members in the past two weeks) is that:

* The entire board should resign.

As an educator and strong supporter of public education, I want to issue a caveat to this board. Do not use the possible defeat of the Budget to raise false fears of increased class sizes, personnel and special service cuts. Cut the fat from the budget, now! Exceptional educators can transmit profound and powerful ideas through words alone without ever writing on a blackboard, putting pencil to paper or opening a book. Last year we were subjected to a nearly 18 percent tax increase. It is obvious that the increase in taxes reflected this terrible loss. I am deeply, deeply disappointed and will make my disappointment heard at the polling booth.

The May 18 Budget vote must be a community wide consensus. I have heard some rumblings from newer members of the community that the more senior members are going to come out and defeat the budget. This is not an issue of the great divide. Do not cause a rift in this community. Do the right thing!

We are one community and as such must recognize that there is economic diversity. But there is one unifying factor and that is the pride we all take in our school system and a common desire to give our children the best possible education. We annually approve the budget unchallenged. We expect a superior level of performance from our children, our staff and our leaders. We cannot condone profligacy, the failure of oversight and bad judgment.

This community wants nothing less than to find the underlying cause preventing repetition; to resolve all of the above, concerns, issues and questions. The ends do not always justify the means, and perhaps, just perhaps we can put an end to the schools for scandals.

Judi Winters