Elwood Schools Notebook

Accolades for Girls' Volleyball Team

Athletic Director Lou Tuorto recognized the John Glenn Girls’ Volleyball Team, not only for claiming the New York State Championship title, but also for being named the New York State Tournament Sportsmanship Team, a New York State Scholar Athlete Team, and the number one sportsmanship team in Section X1 for the Fall season.

Gatorade and ESPN Sports have also named Melissa Rigo a New York State Volleyball Player of the Year. She is one of twelve athletes selected across the country and the number one player in the state. 

The volleyball team has won 13 county titles, 11 consecutive Long Island championships, and five state championships over a nine-year period. Tuorto called that “an amazing accomplishment,” noting that most of the current team members were in Harley Avenue when the run of wins first started.

John Glenn Knights Are Number One in Tri-State Area

The accolades continued as the John Glenn Knights were recognized not only for winning the Long Island Championship title, but for being named the number one football school in the tri-state area by MSG Varsity and the Sportswriters Association.

Tuorto said he learned at a meeting earlier in the day that the John Glenn athletic program was named the number one Sportsmanship Team of the Year by Section XI.

National Merit Commended Students

John Glenn Principal Vincent Mulieri recognized six National Merit Commended students from Elwood: William Hackett, Melissa Lercher, Ribu Mathew, Christina Pak, Jared Schaffer and Alice Somers. Approximately 34,000 students are commended nationwide based on their PSAT/NMSQT scores. 

A Nod of Thanks and Appreciation for Jerry Hannon

Resident Jerry Hannon was honored by the Board for his long-standing volunteer service to the Elwood community. Suffolk County Legislator Steve Stern was on hand to thank Hannon, who will be moving to Florida. “I have benefitted greatly from his wisdom and experience but especially for the example that he has set,” Stern said. “You will be sorely missed.”

Board President Joe Fusaro called Hannon “an Elwood icon” and VP Dan Ciccone said, “he makes an entire community take pause and reflect.”

Help on the Way for Soggy Baseball Fields?

After the accolades, the Board turned its attention to a proposal for the possible renovation of the varsity baseball field, which continues to flood despite renovations eight years ago. The Elwood Boosters Club has offered to pay for the renovation, including the architectural fees up to $50,000. However, the BOE agreed that the wording of the proposal giving the EBC approval of plans needs to be reviewed by legal counsel after Ciccone questioned whether they can legally be part of the process.

In the end the Board approved an expenditure of up to $1000 to conduct the study with the expectation that the EBC will cover the cost.

Possible Default Budget?

The Board discussed setting a default budget of $54,543,158 for the 2012-2013 school year, which would be the amount in line with the 2 percent tax levy cap. Trustee Andrew Kaplan was in favor of the idea, saying that the district could work bottom-up rather than top-down in determining which programs should be added back in rather than taken away. A 60 percent majority of voters would have to approve overriding the cap.

Superintendent Peter Scordo and Ciccone both had issues with the suggestion, with Scordo pointing out that it conflicted with the date in March when the Board officially sets the budget number. Resident Beth Banks said she was “appalled” that Kaplan would suggest making such a recommendation without the issue being on the public agenda and with so few people left in the audience. Kaplan said it was his understanding after the last work session that it was supposed to be on the agenda and that the Board had agreed before the meeting to add it back in.

In the end, the Board agreed to run the issue past legal counsel.