District's Transparency Under Fire

Criticism has been pointed at recent Glen Cove Board of Education meetings as residents ask questions, and get few satisfactory answers, on a variety of topics.

Board and district administration members cite privacy laws when they decline to elaborate on certain details and reasoning behind recent decisions, including the investigations into test coaching and scores tampering and the move to let go a popular superintendent of business.

Residents' questions have covered a range of topics, both broad and specific, with many touching on issues protected from public discussion by law. Personnel matters and ongoing investigations are legally sensitive, but many in the community are unsatisfied with the general level of communication coming from the district, including a lack of publicly posted budget line items and details about how the test coaching investigation has been conducted.

One resident at the April 8 Board meeting expressed frustration at what he said he felt was inadequate communication about the coaching allegations.

"Rumor has been rampant. Stories that go on sound like Nazi Germany in many cases that are shocking, and I really would like to hear from the superintendent because I thought that, honestly, the agenda tonight, frankly, would be a report from Dr. Laria on what is transpiring...and not from a legal point of view, but what is going on in our school district," the man said.

The district's attorney, John Gross, explained that he had instructed the district and Board to remain tight-lipped about the investigation.

Do you have a question you think the School Board or district administration should be able to answer? How would you like to see issues handled when privacy laws and other legal concerns are at play?