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County's school services consolidation commission about ready to release report With a draft completed, the Suffolk County Commission reviewing proposals to consolidate school services and cut costs countywide is expected to meet sometime next month to review the recommendations and finalize the report. The Commission, initially charged with coming up with its final report last winter, received an extension and planned on having its final report by the summer, but problems in getting all of the members together this month has resulted in the new delay, according to S.C. Leg. Lou D'Amaro, who heads up the Commission. "We have a lot of people away on vacation and I really do not want decisions to be made without having everyone in attendance," said D'Amaro. "When we initially started our discussions we were commit- ted to building consensus so I don't want to accept or reject any of these proposals for the final report unless everyone is in attendance at the meeting." D'Amaro said that consolidating school districts to reduce educational costs on Long Island is simply not a reality but that there is some agreement in consolidating functions. "There are plenty of smaller ticket items, which, if they stand alone don't add up to much, but as a whole can make a difference in taxes." said D'Amaro. Lindenhurst Superintendent of Schools Neil Lederer, who was on the committee, said that he began the process with some skepticism, but is now pleased and proud to put his name to the report. "The process was very even handed and there was no preconceived agenda," said Lederer. "Everyone was open and objective." As a result, he said, the committee came up with some good ideas to maximize efficiencies and handle budgets. D'Amaro declined to discuss any details of the draft until the Commission has had a chance to review it in its entirety. One possible recommendation, however, was raised last month by S.C. Exec. Steve Levy who proposed having schools pool their financial investments. Another option is to use their combined purchasing power for buying fuel and contracting for such things as legal, health care and construction services. As school bells rang, and busses buzzed through the community, students around the Amityville Union Free School District were ready to start another productive year, with many new developments for the district already in place. Once again, this year's focus will be on literacy, and staff members across the board will work on reading and writing with a focus on the content areas at the secondary level. District staff will complete ongoing hours of professional development, which will include topics such as technology and its integration into the curriculum, balanced literacy, classroom management, differentiated instruction and more, including skill-specific workshops for special area teachers. In addition, the district continues to add new computers to every classroom, replace student furniture that has outlived its life expectancy, and enhance security measures at the secondary level. Amityville has also found a spot on the map as the only school district on the East Coast to implement AWARD, a comprehensive software program that "revolutionizes student learning on the elementary level, and differentiates instruction so that all students can learn," stated district Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Susan Schnebel, who was instrumental in bringing the program to the district. When Amityville students are not engaged in classroom learning, they will continue to enjoy new playground equipment at the elementary level, and newly renovated library, tennis courts, and track at the secondary level. The district's buildings and grounds crew remained busy over the summer with many of these projects and more, including the addition of brightly painted hopscotch boards and geometric shapes on the asphalt of the Park Avenue Memorial Elementary School playground. As Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian De Sorbe completes his tenure in the district, he reflected on the status of the district at a recent Board of Education meeting: "The administrative structure and the instructional processes are in place in the Amityville Union Free School District to maximize student achievement," he stated proudly. "The result has been, and will continue to be, remarkable student strides in all areas." | |||||
