BOE Highlights: Superintendent, Budget & Fine Arts

The Glen Cove Board of Education meeting on Monday night at began with a big announcement: Interim Superintendent Dr. Joseph Laria has been and will remain with the school district.

His appointment will occur at the next BOE meeting on March 21.

Laria took a moment to address the news and said he welcomes this opportunity with an open heart.

“I will always do the right thing for the community, and for the children of this district,” he said.

BOE Gets Heated Over Fine Arts Committee 

The implementation of a Fine Arts Committee was a hot-button issue of the night. Board trustee Joel Sunshine led the discussion on the topic and said he has asked the board to act on it for quite some time.

A Fine Arts Committee would be no cost and give community members a chance to make recommendations and contribute their time and talents towards enriching the schools’ art programs, said Sunshine.

He also suggested a similar committee be made for sports, as it could also have the potential to further strengthen Glen Cove’s current curriculum.

Resident Glenn Howard found it shocking that members of the board were not immediately embracing the suggestion of such a committee.

Resident Frank Casale – a father of four children in Glen Cove – also said he was "dismayed at the seemingly partial rejection of the concept." Casale said the committee would be a timely and helpful idea.

Budget Season 

Dr. Laria spoke about the upcoming budget season, speaking in detail about fiscal matters and the kinds of cuts the district could be enduring.

Glen Cove has a current budget for 2010-11 of $70.4 million, according to Dr.Laria. The board has reportedly prepared a 2011 “rollover” budget. This means that if all levels of staff, programs and services are maintained, and all appropriate  adjustments in the budget (pension increases, health insurance increases, etc.) are made, the district would have a budget increase of almost $5 million, yielding a rollover budget of $75.3 million.

It is is an increase of 7.5 percent, or a tax levy estimated increase of 9.14 percent.

In order to bring this number down to a 3 percent increase, $3.6 million needs to be cut; 4 percent, $3.4 million, according to Dr. Laria.

Budget workshops, which are open to the public, will be held on March 7, 14, 16, 23, 28 and April 4. The board must adopt a budget by April 11 in preparation for a vote on April 17.

A New Doctor in The House

Laria announced that has received his doctorate from Columbia University.

Points of Pride

“Students in the Glen Cove school district fared very well statewide and on Long Island and in some key academic benchmarks,” said Laria.

, 94 percent of Glen Cove students earned Regents diplomas in 2009-10, which was up by one percent over the previous year, comparing favorably with the Island-wide average of 91.3 percent.

The rate of high school graduates has also increased to 96 percent in 2009-10, which is up from last year’s 94 percent.

Glen Cove was also above the New York State standards in every grade level.

Gribbon Does Souper Bowl

The students and families of Gribbon Elementary participated in the “Souper Bowl of Caring,” a nationwide food drive, collecting 245 pounds of food. The items were donated to the food pantry at the Glen Cove Economic Opportunity Council.

The Gribbon school also made 250 Valentines, which were sent to the troops overseas.

Student Sit-ins 

A group of Glen Cove High School seniors, who are required to attend a BOE meeting at least once each quarter, attended Monday night's meeting. One student mentioned she had learned more than she originally anticipated.

“Coming to this meeting has definitely made me more aware of what’s going on,” said senior Kimberly Farfan. “I think it’s important for students to understand the decisions that are being made about our schools.”

District Launches New Website

The BOE announced that the school district has a brand new Web site, created in part by Syntax.

Editor's Note: Stay tuned to Glen Cove Patch for more information on these school-related stories.