School Board Notes

Although the Nov. 1 Board of Education meeting adjourned early so board members and the community could attend a public work session on the 2011-2012 budget process, the agenda was a full one.

Among the highlights:
Senior Caleb Zulawski was recognized by the Department of Mathematics as the Northport-East Northport Student of the Month for his outstanding achievements, including scoring 100% on both his math Regents Exams, a perfect score of 36 on the ACT exam and perfect scores of 800 on the SAT II exams in math, biology, and physics.

Daniel Drance, District of Mathematics K-12 presented a review of instructional initiatives in the math program. He explained that the lower state scores in grades 3-8 were due to more rigorous testing, and said that for AIS (Academic Intervention Services) purposes, the district is allowing the use of the higher 2008-2009 cut scores. A full report comparing test results of the last three years can be found at the Board of Education website.

Trustee Lori McCue suggested that parents be included more in the process when it comes time to determine whether a sixth grade student should take an advanced math class in the seventh grade, a path which will eventually lead to AP classes in the senior year. Trustee Jennifer Thompson asked for more rigorous preparation in the sixth grade so that students will be more prepared for challenges in the later grades. Drance responded that options are currently being explored for a more advanced class in sixth grade.

Trustee Andrew Rapieko expressed concern that AIS services are being taxed by a larger number of students requiring help. Drance said that part of the program initiatives involved adding a math component to elementary summer school. McCue praised the idea and asked if it could happen as early as next year. Drance said it was possible.

Later, Northport High School Principal Irene McLaughlin addressed questions from the Board and members of the community regarding the report on secondary class size.  Trustee Donna McNaughton asked specifically about low enrollment in some classes, citing Geometry 8R at the East Northport Middle School, where only 9 students are enrolled.  The minimum guideline is 15. Superintendent MaryLou McDermott said that options had been explored, including sending the students either to the high school or combining them with other students from Northport Middle School. However, there was no room at the high school, and transportation was also an issue so the decision was made to maintain the class at the lower level.

Dr. Nina Dorata, a member of United Taxpayers of Northport-East Northport, questioned the high number of students in certain classes, including English 10 Honors, which averages 23.1 students in 9 sections. "Is it possible that four or five sections can have 25 students and one section could have six?" she asked. McLaughlin conceded that it was possible but unlikely, stressing that each student's schedule is taken into consideration.

McLaughlin also addressed the number and variety of classes that are available. "There are over 850 sections offered at the high school. Some are deliberately set low to help struggling students. Other times we have promised a class and we don't want to close out someone who has taken earlier levels." She admitted it was a challenge to balance such a "plethora" of classes with the needs of so many students.

Later in the evening, Trustee Julia Binger questioned a recommendation to dispose of outdated and/or badly worn library materials at Northport High School and the Dickinson Avenue and Bellerose Avenue Elementary Schools, asking how such determinations are made. Matthew Nelson, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and Administration said the process is subjective, depending on whether the material is still currently being used, or if it was available in databases.

 Saying that she hated the idea of throwing away books, Trustee Jennifer Thompson asked if there were a way to get books into the hands of others, either overseas or in the community.  Board President Stephen Waldenburg questioned the logistics of such a project, including the time needed to sort through the material and a location in which to store it. McDermott suggested that the books might be stored at the William J. Brosnan School and the public be notified that the material was available.

Following the meeting, there was a public work session in which Assistant Superintendent for Business Kathleen Molander gave a demonstration of how the 2010-2011 budget will be presented using a program called Finance Manager. In the past, the budget report was sorted using a program format based on the last four digits of each code. The new budget will use the same codes but be sorted using a function format which automatically calculates both budget and percentage changes.  According to McDermott, this change is being made so that the district will be in compliance with New York State guidelines.

Molander stressed that using the previous program format required cutting and pasting in Excel, which was time-consuming and sometimes led to errors. Rapieko asked why the district had used the program format in the past, and Molander replied that it was a matter of historical practice.

Wills asked how these changes will be communicated to members of the public who are interested in the budget. McDermott replied that there will be an informational night at one of the January board meetings.  Budget basics will also be posted online at the Board of Education website.

Thompson asked if the public would be able to use their laptops to view the budget during the meetings. Nelson replied that the network isn't ready to have everyone logging in at the same time, but next year is a possibility. That raised the question of how many copies of the budget draft would be available to the public. In the past, that number has been 200. Thompson pointed out that some high school students have attended previous budget meetings as part of their class assignments, and have had to take the draft books to show that they had been present at the meeting, leading to a lack of copies for other members of the community. Waldenburg said that such issues will be addressed at the January informational meeting.

The next Board of Education meeting will take place on Nov. 15 at 7:30 at the William J. Brosnan Building on Laurel Avenue. Options on how to handle the Nov. 9 will be discussed.