School board shows off improvements at Stratford
This month’s Garden City Board of Education meeting saw a boost in attendance, and not just from district residents. This was the first board meeting to be held at Stratford School, so teachers and students there stopped by to show off the best it has to offer.
Leading the pack was school principal Eileen Vota, who gave the board a tour of the school before the meeting got underway. Along the way, highlights of the capital improvement project were pointed out, all a result of the 2009 School Investment Bond and Energy Performance Contract.
Vota pointed out new doors, wireless Internet, and a refurbished auditorium featuring handicapped accessible seating as just some of the capital projects that have been completed the last few years.
In terms of energy performance, an automated ventilation system that shuts down at night, and overhead lighting that shuts off when no one is in the room for a certain amount of time were cited as ways the district is saving its energy bill.
Then it was time for Stratford students to show what they’ve been up to, as the kids demonstrated some ‘new math’ games to the board, and also showed off bridges they’ve built, in a merging of the math and art programs.
On hand for the meeting was State Senator Kemp Hannon, who recently secured a $75,000 grant to be used to upgrade instructional and security equipment districtwide.
“It’s not easy being a member of the board [of education],” Senator Hannon said. “When you have all these wonderful students here tonight, it makes it a lot more worthwhile.”
Hannon is pleased with the district’s emphasis on the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics [STEM] curriculum, saying that science and technology will continue to form the core of the state’s economy, far surpassing manufacturing.
From there, Superintendent Dr. Robert Feirsen took over, and brought up remarks that newly re-elected Governor Andrew Cuomo made recently, calling public schools the last true remaining monopoly, one that he hoped to break.
Dr. Feirsen noted that public schools are a public trust, much like police and fire departments, and agreed with the governor’s remarks…sort of.
“We would be very happy if the governor broke the state’s monopoly on governance of the school district by returning some of the community control to the board of education, which is duly elected by the community,” Feirsen said.
Feirsen also noted the passing of the smart school bond referendum, which could result in a $561,000 bond for the district, though that is all up in the air at the moment.
Other news from the meeting:
• The most recent cash balance figure sits at more than $12.7 million.
• The board accepted a donation to be put toward the placing of a statue at Homestead in memory of Karen Krug, who taught there for more than 20 years.
• One parent brought up the issue of consolidation, fearing that it could affect Garden City, creating a loss of local control. Dr. Feirsen noted that he’s all in favor of collaboration with other districts, citing the financial benefits, but agrees that consolidation is not the way to go, and that the district’s legislative affairs committee will remain on top of the matter.
The next school board meeting will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 8:15 p.m. at Garden City Middle School.
