The Oyster Bay-East Norwich Board of Education discussed changes to its policy after a former board president suggested increasing transparency regarding the revisions at its meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
Former Board President Ann Marie Longo said the board should be more transparent and have more discussions at its meetings to educate the public.
“The public… they depend on coming to meetings and having you, as a board of education, discuss these things openly, so they understand what is going on in the school district,” she said.
Longo said that hundreds of people watch the meeting livestreams to learn more about the district’s operations. At the Sept. 30 meeting, Longo expressed similar concerns, saying the board did not comply with open meeting laws when it tabled a resolution without discussing it first.
On Oct. 14, Longo said the board did not discuss policy changes before approving their first reading. The board said a second reading of the policy changes would be held at a future board meeting.
“This is a first reading,” Superintendent Francesco Ianni said.
“But you didn’t read anything. You didn’t discuss anything,” Longo said.
Longo raised concerns specifically regarding a policy change that would require board members to abstain from votes. The proposed policy would change the ruling that “An abstention will count as a ‘No’ vote in a tie-breaking situation, unless there is a conflict of interest where it will not be counted,” to “An abstention does not count in determining the approval of a motion in a tie-breaking situation.”
Longo said she is concerned about how the policy will change potential conflicts of interest when the board of education votes in the future.
She said the board should be more transparent about changes within the district at its meetings.
“Every single thing that changes in this school… has to be done at this meeting, in front of everybody, so everybody can understand it,” Longo said.
Board Vice President Maryann Santos said the board’s policy committee reviews all policy changes before they are brought to the board. She said that board members do not discuss policy changes outside of the meetings, and that if individual board members have questions, there is time during the meetings for them to discuss them.
After public comment, Trustee James Rickard made a motion to reopen discussion regarding the policy changes, which was approved.
Rickard raised concerns over a policy change that dictates that individual board members should forward all inquiries “requiring action” to the board president and superintendent for a response, as well as a change that would enact the board president as the “spokesperson” for the entire board.
“That language appears to restrict trustees from acknowledging, even, those emails or routing concerns and concentrates communication authority in administration,” he said.
Santos said individuals can interact with the community, but inquiries that require action should be directed to the administration or board.
The board also discussed who is responsible for adding agenda items and clarified that the superintendent is responsible for doing so “in conjunction with the board president.” Rickard said he would like to revisit the policy in the future to dictate how and when trustees can add agenda items as well.
The meeting began with an update on the fine and performing arts departmental goals and achievements.
“We hit the ground running as always,” said Erica Giglio Pac, the department’s director.
Gilgio Pac highlighted three students who were recognized by regional organizations. Anya Schade was named a Long Island Scholar-Artist by Newsday, and Aari Gupta and Maalika Mehta were recognized as All-State musicians by the New York State School Music Association.
Gilgio Pac said Schade is the first student in the district to be named a Scholar-Artist.
She said the department offers college credit to students in certain music and arts courses, and the Advanced Placement art students scored about the regional and global average last year.
Gilgio Pac said the student-run news channel, the Baymen News, has more than doubled its student anchors from last year and added a new segment, “Bay Sports.”
“We’re so happy to see that continue to grow,” she said.
Gilgio Pac said the department continues to offer field trips, work-based learning, and guest speakers to immerse students in the arts at a professional level. She said off-campus community events also help foster students’ connections.
