Herricks School Board Addresses Subject of Mineola Merger

At the outset of the last Herricks School Board meeting, Herricks School Board President Christine Turner read the following statement from the Herricks School Board:

“The proposal by a member of the Mineola school board member was not discussed with the Herricks Board of Education or administration in advance. In fact, we were surprised to see the issue raised in the local papers. The matter appears to be part of an internal discussion within Mineola. Since it is not appropriate for use to comment on the internal affairs of another district, we will make no comment at this time.

“Should the matter be broached formally by the Mineola Board of Education, or any other distict, at some point in the future, we will schedule a meeting to discuss the issue publicly before any response is made allowing all who wish to participate in the discussion to do so. A potential is not a matter to be taken lightly or in an off-hand way. It should be considered thoroughly and thoughtfully. Since it affects the whole Herricks community, the whole community should have a chance to become involved in a reasonable and rational process before any steps are taken or any discussion initiated with another district.

“We do not believe that a merger is in the best interests of the community at this point. However, the situation may change at some point in the future. Should circumstance change or should we be required to consider a merger by the state, we will contact all parts of the Herricks community at that point.”

Statement from Herricks Teacher’s Association

Another statement was read at the Herricks board meeting from the Herricks Teacher’s Association read by its president Craig Lagnese:

“The Herricks Teacher’s Association has declined the recent request from the Board of Education to reopen all five contracts for the purpose of reducing salary settlements.

“The Herricks Teacher’s Association represents more than 750 employees, including teachers, teaching assistants, secretaries, custodians, nurses, therapists, instruction aides/monitors, transportation, buildings and grounds, maintenance and technicians. As a union, we have always had a tradition of collective bargaining in good faith with the Board of Education. In negotiating for each of the five separate contact units, the HTA has always been sensitive to the economy of the community and its taxpayers. In fact, historically, salary settlements have been less than those in districts we compare ourselves to academically, yet our students often surpass their peers on academic assessments in those very same communities. Our students continue to be competitive with the very best, yet the per pupil expenditures for Herricks have been traditionally lower than those very same districts to which we are compared:

District Per Pupil Expenditure

Jericho 28, 876

North Shore 26, 440

Manhasset 26, 287

Great Neck 26, 162

Syosset 24, 719

East Williston 24, 453

Roslyn 24, 451

Port Washington 23, 622

Herricks 21, 741

Langnese continued:

“The Herricks School District remains one of the top districts on Long Island yet the tax rate is not in the top tier in Nassau County. The district that we compete with spend thousands more per student than we do and have much higher tax rates.

“There is one simple reason families continue to move into this community. It is the excellent school system. This is why real estate values in Herricks have remained consistently higher than in neighboring communities. Many of our members reside in this community and are themselves the taxpayers. Whether we live in Herricks or not, each of us feels the increased financial burdens associated with higher school taxes. Unfunded mandates from the state and local governments, state aid formulas and New York State’s budget process have created a systemic problem that hurts all successor agreements for three or five contracts. We will continue our tradition of bargaining in good faith at that time with a clear empathy for the community’s needs.”