For those who missed the January 8, 2019 meeting, the agenda can be viewed by clicking the link below:
https://www.nmerrickschools.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashxmoduleinstanceid=9517&dataid=15853&FileName=Agenda%20January%202019.pdf
To view the video of the Board meeting, click below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z76ukgEXfZI
Main highlights from the Board meeting include (in order of meeting timeline):
1) Videotaping the meetings by the District and Approval of Minutes
At the October meeting there were several Residents’ who expressed support (and importance) for CRONM videotaping and posting the Board meetings. Thank you to all the residents for the positive feedback and continued support! As we reported, during the December BOE meeting, the Board announced that they are looking into videotaping the meetings and posting the videos on District Website. During the January meeting, the Board reiterated that this was in the works and further details about implementation will be provided in the future. CRONM will continue to volunteer to provide this valuable service to our community. However, we encourage the Board and Superintendent to finalize the logistics surrounding videotaping and posting of Board meetings.
At the January meeting, the accuracy of the Board minutes posted on the District website was discussed amongst Board members. Wendy Gargiulo wanted something she said during the last meeting corrected because it was omitted from the minutes. The BOE spent the first 10 minutes objecting to Ms. Gargiulo's request and debating the need for the correction. During the debate, BOE members recommended that the video of the meeting that CRONM posted be viewed to settle an argument. In the end the Board added the omitted information requested by Ms. Gargiulo.
2) Safety
The Superintendent’s report on drop-off/pick-up safety at school was alarming. Security guards and school personnel are there to keep the process orderly and there are rules in place so that no one gets hurt during drop off and pick up. Shockingly, the guards and personnel have been cursed and given “the finger” by individuals being asked to follow the rules! Please follow the rules in place to ensure everyone's, especially our children's safety!!!!
3) Summer Programs
Emails and information about Summer program registration will be sent out soon. Scope and Camp Invention will be opened to Merrick residents (Birch, Chatterton, Lakeside) this year. Merrick schools will be under construction this summer and cannot offer their usual summer camp program. There will be an additional fee for non-residents.
4) Comment Cards
The BOE continued to use comment cards for Public Comments. CRONM does not support this practice. It allows the BOE President and Superintendent to choose the order that questions are asked. It also discourages follow-up questions to be asked by Residents that may occur to them as someone else speaks (have to go run and get a card, write down the question, and somehow get it up to the BOE). We don’t see how this is necessary at a meeting that typically has less than 30 people in attendance with just a few that ask questions?
5) EID UPDATE
There were thoughtful public comments supporting the District recognizing EID as a school holiday. Other districts on Long Island and the NYC public schools, (the largest school district in NY state) have adopted and recognized Eid as a school holiday over the past few years. Residents of our community have actively lobbied our district to recognize Eid as a school holiday so their children can observe the holiest day in the Muslim religion. Next year the holiday falls during the summer months, so the Board has plenty of time to implement the day off for the 2020-2021 holiday. Despite this, the BOE still needs more time to decide whether to adopt it as a permanent school holiday vs. deciding on an annual basis if the District will recognize EID It has now been referred to the District’s legal advisors.
CRONM stands with our residents in getting the District and Board to recognize EID as a school holiday. We encourage our Board to support our diverse community as a strength in our schools. CRONM questions why the Board has not placed the decision or discussion about adopting the EID holiday on any meeting agenda. CRONM will request that the EID holiday be placed on a meeting agenda and voted on publicly by BOE members. We encourage all residents to write to Board with the same request.
6) Teacher Contract
The Teacher Contract for the next four years was approved at the December 2018 BOE meeting. CRONM is glad that our teachers have a contract in place (they did not have one since June) and were given well-deserved pay raises. Given our tight budget, our teachers are the majority of what our children “get” from their school experience.
During the public comments portion a resident asked the Board how the current teacher contract benefited our children. The Board President remarked that the benefit lies with the "teachers not feeling squeezed" and the “status quo” kept in check. Per the Board “with the tight budget there was very little room for negotiation.”
There were also several exchanges between Board members during the January meeting about the Contract and why one Board member, Wendy Gargiulo, chose to vote against it in December. In her opinion, the children of North Merrick did not benefit from the contract. With the current BOE often citing to our component districts, (Merrick, North Bellmore, Bellmore) for comparisons; when she compared the current contract with our component districts’ contracts, there were stark differences including: lack of extra help before and/or after school, number of teacher conference days, professional development done during the school days, etc. Please watch video for the exchange.
It’s challenging to assess the contract since the public is not part of the conversations that happen during negotiations. As a follow-up, CRONM is comparing all the contracts on the SeeThroughNY website and encourages others to do the same if you want more information. We are working to put together a student-centered spreadsheet soon which compares and contrasts the areas mentioned above.
See everyone at the February 5, 2019 Board Meeting.