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Earl L. Vandermulen High School. File photo

By Phil Griffith

Some residents advocate defunding and closing the Port Jefferson School District. They promise an illusionary tax reduction. I believe the schools and students are our village’s greatest assets. Since the first school opened in 1820, Port Jefferson residents have enthusiastically supported educating our children. It’s time to rebuke those who would abandon that tradition.

The human cost of closing the schools would be devastating. Students would be transferred to presently unknown school districts. All employees would lose their jobs, salaries, contractual rights and benefits. Local control by our elected school board would be lost. Residents will not be permitted to vote on school budgets or elect board of education members. Parents and students lose proximity to schools. Businesses will discover lower takings because students, parents and special events attendees will shop elsewhere. We’ll no longer be able to brag about the super schools in our village. No longer will prospective home buyers choose Port Jefferson because of the prestigious reputation of our education system. How will that affect home prices?

Is our Port Jefferson School District superior? Class size is 10 students to one teacher, one of the smallest anywhere. Our special education program is one of the finest. According to U.S. News & World Report, Earl L. Vandermeulen High School ranks No. 99 within New York state and No. 903 out of 17,680 United States schools. Of the 72 school districts in Suffolk County, Port Jefferson ranks No. 7. The music program is nationally recognized. Special classes like Latin are offered. Due to the low number of students, participation in varsity sports is high. Students are 100% immunized — 48% female, 52% male — and come from Belle Terre and Port Jefferson villages. 

Niche.com ranks Port Jefferson School District No. 44 of 687 as best places to teach and No. 71 out of 681 as best teachers in New York. Of teachers in Port Jefferson district, 100% are professionally certified and have at least three years’ experience. The high school was awarded a United States Blue Ribbon medal for excellence in 2017. The district has a 0% dropout rate and a 98% graduation rate in four years. Do we want to abandon such an excellent academic institution?

After the school district is gone, how will real estate values be affected? There is a direct correlation between the school budget, higher income, better schools and real estate prices. The National Association of Realtors found 26% of homebuyers consider the quality of the schools to be very important. A good school system raises the value of all homes. According to NewHomeSource, house prices in a top-rated school district are 49% higher than the national median average. A Brookings Institution study demonstrated homes in prestigious school districts are $205,000 more valuable than in low-performing ones. The National Bureau of Economic Research found every $1 of school spending returned $20 on home value. The New York Times cited that every increase of five points on standardized test scores raises home prices by 2.5%. 

What happens to the 204 years of schools in Port Jefferson? Formal education in Port Jefferson began in 1820 when James Monroe was U.S. president. There are traditions unique to the Port Jefferson School District. In 1926, The Purple Parrot newspaper was begun and followed by “Crystal” yearbook in 1927. The daisy chain and Halloween parade continue. We gather in Harborfront Park for eighth grade dance and junior prom pictures and frivolity. The senior prom is preceded by a red-carpet entrance into the community-decorated high school. Our Wall of Fame honors alums. The elementary school pool provides life-saving lessons. We welcome back our former students with a homecoming parade down Main Street, football game and class year anniversary dinner. Who will wear the purple and white school colors in the Royals tradition? Where will all of the championship trophies, plaques and banners go?

Will the accepting school district(s) match the Port Jefferson schools excellent academics, special education, select courses, athletic participation, neighborhood proximity, traditions, close social relationships and unique quality? Let us unite students, parents, teachers, administrators, school board members, civil service employees and residents to “Save Our Schools.”

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Dean Laura Lindenfeld, Stony Brook University. Photo by Conor Harrigan/SBU

Stony Brook University’s Laura Lindenfeld, Dean of the School of Communication and Journalism (SoCJ) and Executive Director of the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, was recently named as the finalist for the Scripps Howard Fund Administrator of the Year award.

The Scripps Howard Awards, an annual contest hosted by the Scripps Howard Fund and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, is one of the nation’s most prestigious American journalism competitions. Nominees are judged by a panel of experienced communications professionals and journalists. The winner and finalist of the Administrator of the Year award, which honors leaders in higher education who work to train and inspire up-and-coming journalists and communications professionals, will be recognized at the Awards. Lindenfeld was nominated for the award by a group of faculty members from the SoCJ.

“This is a well-deserved honor for Laura. Our School of Communication and Journalism is thriving at Stony Brook under her leadership. I am so pleased to see her recognized with this prestigious award,” said Carl Lejuez, provost and executive vice president.

Since joining Stony Brook University in 2016 as Executive Director of the Alda Center and a professor in the School of Communication and Journalism, Lindenfeld has helped contribute to the school’s success by winning re-accreditation from the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications for the undergraduate journalism program, increasing student enrollment in the SoCJ by more than one third, doubling the size of tenure-track faculty at the school, and bringing in more than $15 million in funding opportunities. She was also nominated for her contributions in streamlining the Alda Center with the SoCJ as a collaborative unit, helping attract top talent.

“For the past five years, it has been my joy and my honor to lead the SoCJ and the Alda Center,” said Laura Lindenfeld. “These two organizations have a critical role to play in bridging science and society through effective, engaging communication, and in helping to create a fairer, more just, more rational world. I am truly honored by this recognition, and proud to be working alongside the incredible people at the SoCJ and Alda Center, and across the Stony Brook community.”

Dean Lindenfeld has also served as Vice Provost for Academic and Strategic Planning at Stony Brook and Director of the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, University of Maine and professor of communication and journalism there. She worked as a copywriter for DDB Needham Worldwide and screenplay writer for RTL Plus in Dusseldorf, Germany. She holds a PhD in Cultural Studies from the University of California Davis and an MA from the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn in Germany.

The Scripps Howard Awards will air on Scripps News in October 2024.

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Suffolk County Community College students and administrators meet with Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the NY State Assembly, at the state capital. Photo courtesy of SCCC

Suffolk County Community College students and administrators recently visited the state capital to advocate for funding and support for the college’s operating funds for the benefit of the students.

Students spoke with members of the state legislature, including Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the NY State Assembly; Steve Stern, State Assemblyman, District 10; Mario R. Mattera, State Senator, 2nd District; Monica R. Martinez, State Senator, 4th District; Fred W. Theile, Jr. Assemblyman, District 1. The students shared their personal stories, goals, and opportunities for investment in higher education.

About Suffolk County Community College

Suffolk County Community College is the largest community college in the State University of New York (SUNY) system, enrolling approximately 21,000 students at its three campuses in Selden, Brentwood and Riverhead. Suffolk offers the Associate in Arts (A.A.), Associate in Science (A.S.), and Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) degrees, as well as a variety of certificate programs. Offering affordable collegetuition, a highly respected Honors program, workforce training programs, extensive extracurricular activities, championship athletic teams, and numerous transfer programs, Suffolk is a first-choice college for Long Island students. Visit us online at sunysuffolk.edu.

 

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The Eagle banner at Hauppauge High School. Photo by Rita J. Egan

By Sabrina Artusa

At the Feb. 27 Hauppauge Board of Education meeting, the board previewed a 2024-25 budget overview, which projects a 3.38% increase to the tax levy and a 3.28% increase in expenditures.

Of the total expenditures, which are expected to be $133,216,224, 70% is consigned to staffing. According to the assistant superintendent for business and operations, Brigid Siena, it is the largest to date. 

“The revenues have to meet and match the expenditures,” Siena said. She also noted that federal COVID-19 grants have expired and that $1 million in programs and salaries will be absorbed in the forthcoming general fund budget.

District enrollment has declined since 2022 and is expected to continue declining into 2025. This trend, however, is not unique to the Hauppauge school district, as Superintendent Donald Murphy noted. Data from the Education Trust-New York shows that statewide enrollment has decreased by 8% from the 2017-18 school year to the 2022-23 school year.

Murphy said, “Although enrollment has gone down, we have increased enrollment in different classes of students … so students with disabilities [and] our English language learners have gone up quite a bit.”

Hauppauge school district is not one of the 44 Long Island districts set to lose money according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) preliminary budget for 2025. The district was originally allocated a gain of $769,125 in state aid, but the amount will not be certain until the plan is approved by the New York State Legislature by April 1.

There will be several budget workshops and hearings leading to the annual budget vote on May 21. The first workshop will be on March 12 and will review the tax cap and revenue. 

The board also met for an executive meeting, where the members consulted with their attorney regarding the ongoing case, Jane Doe v. Hauppauge Union Free School District. This case was one of the many initiated against Long Island school districts via the New York Child Victims Act, which expanded the statute of limitations and permits victims of crimes committed on them as children to file a lawsuit until their 55th birthday. 

Murphy announced several upcoming charity events including a fundraising contest with West Islip school district to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project on April 4 and a Hoop for Heroes event at Hauppauge High School on April 5.

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Andrew Hoppe and Delilah Shapiro earned seventh place medals in the Write It Do It event.
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Andrew Hoppe and Delilah Shapiro earned seventh place medals in the Write It Do It event.
Mohammad Karim Anan and Liza Michalopoulos earned 10th place medals in the Astronomy event.
Harborfields High School’s Kyleigh Connors and Michelle Diner earned fifth place medals in the Geologic Mapping event at the Eastern Long Island Science Olympiad.

Harborfields High School recently sent three teams of 15 students to the Eastern Long Island Science Olympiad to compete against 60 other teams in 24 different science and engineering events. Guided by teacher Mike Pinto, Harborfields earned six medals over the course of the event.

Kyleigh Connors and Michelle Diner took fifth place in the Geologic Mapping category.

Andrew Hoppe, Suvan Shrestha and Quinn Johnson Wemyss finished sixth in Scrambler.

Andrew Hoppe and Delilah Shapiro took seventh in Write It Do It.

Alex Meagher and Leo Meagher earned ninth place in Ecology.

Mohammad Karim Anan and Liza Michalopoulos finished 10th in Astronomy. 

Riley Lyons and Brody Surbeck placed 10th in Dynamic Planet

— Photos courtesy of Harborfields CSD

 

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Huntington High School. File photo

By Rokah Sejour

Huntington Union Free School District Board of Education focused their second budget presentation Monday, Feb. 26, for the 2024-25 school year that highlighted the 1000/5000 series analysis and capital expenditures. 

The current budget draft totals $152,828,294, a 4.43 present change from last year’s adopted budget. However, due to tax levy limits the budget is expected to decrease 3.83 percent and would total a budget of $151,955,866.

The transportation budget amounted to a total of $12,916,093, seeing an increase of 4.06 percent. The transportation or the 5000 series portion of the meeting discussed the three-year term with Beacon Mobility/Huntington Coach is set to expire in June of this year. The company is also planning to equip all buses and vans with video recording systems.

Though recording equipment is already in place on all the buses, the company is working with the district to test their parent app, which is a pilot program that would allow parents to be privy to the exact location of their child’s bus at all times by accessing a software through their phones. Parents would be able to see their child’s bus on the way and how far the bus is from their existing bus stop.

This program when implemented will be done via a slow rollout and is not expected to be launched by September of the 2024-25 school year.

The board also gave an update on a few of the summer 2023 projects like the completion of the Washington boiler room replacement, the Finley partial parking lot reconstruction, the Jack Abrams STEM partial roof replacement and the newly completed high school turf field.

Capital reserve funds

The district’s capital reserve balance is at a total of $5,014,347. This current budget proposal is anticipating a building aid ratio for the 2024-25 school year to be 0.398, which would be extracted from the capital reserve balance. The voter-approved cap for the capital expenditure is expected to be finalized by March 25.

The capital project proposals from the district five-year plan were on display in order of priority with the phase 3 of the Jack Abrams STEM building roof replacement due for implementation. 

The cafeteria air conditioning, Huntington high school auditorium and visitor bathrooms, and Huntington primary schools window replacements were also among the priority list.

The Board of Education meeting can be accessed via the school district’s website, www.hufsd.edu/leadership/board.html. 

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Photo courtesy Ed Flood's Facebook page

By Aramis Khosronejad

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “in 2022 U.S. greenhouse gas emissions totaled 6,341.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, and 5,487.0 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents after accounting for sequestration from the land sector.” In the wake of these statistics, New York State has been searching for a way to help decrease these concerning figures.

As an aid to the process, New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul (D), presented a new mandate this past September. The state mandate will require zero-emission new school bus purchases by 2027 and for school districts to operate zero-emission school buses only by 2035.

Although on the surface the use of electric vehicles seems like an efficient and smart way of reducing our greenhouse gas contribution to the global community, there are some drawbacks and consequences that state Assemblyman Ed Flood (R-Port Jefferson) as well as other state politicians have pointed out. 

Local state senators, Assembly members, fire safety and school officials gathered Feb. 25 at Levittown bus depot to a “Push the Brakes” rally on the state’s electric school bus mandate.

Flood categorized the conflicts that could arise with this new mandate in two simple categories: economic issues and the alarming lack of reliability. 

According to Flood, we need only look at the numbers to be able to reach the conclusion that the economic setbacks of a mandate such as this would be potentially devastating to the academic capabilities of many school districts within New York state. To successfully and fully implement these zero-emission buses it would take “roughly $20 billion” to do so, he said.

Flood and other elected officials have also been vocal regarding the proposed state-aid school budget cuts listed in the governor’s budget proposal earlier this year. School districts will have to cut programs, camps and other academic activities and opportunities for districts whose budgets would be affected by these cuts. 

Additionally, Flood has a concern for an increase in taxes if the bus mandate were to be carried through — he said that taxes in New York are already extreme without the addition of this new bus expenditure. Also, there has to be consideration for the cost of the establishment of charging stations for the buses, compounded by the stations’ running costs. 

Another heavy consequence of the implementation of these new fleets of buses, and what Flood argues is significantly more important, is the question of their reliability. The most important question for Flood is “What steps are we taking to ensure the safety of our children and these bus drivers?” 

It has already been observed in cities where e-buses are already in place such as San Francisco and Chicago that their batteries have problems with severe temperature fluctuations. Flood points out how the EV batteries can die quickly and may not prove efficient. In addition, EV batteries are prone to catch fire and are notoriously difficult to put out. If this were to happen while one of the buses was in use, Flood claimed that we’d be “looking at the loss of lives.” 

Flood provided a potential solution to these doubts over bus batteries by bringing up the idea that “having a backup system in place could address this issue” even if this backup uses carbon. “We need a more powerful EV source than the one we have,” he said.

The main belief that Flood carried was “not saying we shouldn’t be aiming for these goals but we’re trying so hard to be the global leaders in EV that we’re looking over the health and safety concerns that it’s going to cause to all these communities.” 

According to Flood, if there were a delay to this mandate, there would be sufficient time for all these concerns to be addressed and handled properly. Then, zero-emission buses would be safe to push into New York school districts, and we could do our part in making sure our planet suffers a little less. 

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From left, Shoreham-Wading River High School’s science research students Julianna O’Neill, Katelyn Schaefer, Alexandra Seletskaya, Dongkai Zhang and Derek Blanco. Photo courtesy of the SWRCSD.

Several students in Shoreham-Wading River High School’s science research class participated in the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair, which is the regional competition that leads to the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair. 

Third-and fourth-year research students presented the work they completed in the last year to a panel of three judges, and received feedback and questions from each on their research. 

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for the students to gain experience in speaking about their work, as well as being a culmination of their yearlong project, and a chance to gain an even deeper understanding of the science behind their experiments from professionals in the field,” science research teacher Dana Schaefer said.

Derek Blanco presented his work on the chemical analysis of sediment from the Shoreham-Wading River campus pond using tender X-ray spectroscopy. Dongkai Zhang presented his project looking at fatty acid production in the plant Camelina sativa. Julianna O’Neill and Katelyn Schaefer shared their examination of the most prevalent microplastics found in sediment from the Peconic Estuary and Alexandra Seletskaya shared the work she did examining the chemical composition of a carbonaceous chondrite meteor.

Blanco and Seletskaya are in the process of preparing manuscripts for publication for each of their projects, which will be submitted for publication prior to the end of the school year.

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From left, Hauppauge High School seniors Vivian Derby, Melissa O’Connor and Jennifer Battaglia present their civic capstone project on the possibility of having off-campus lunch. Photo courtesy of Hauppauge School District

Hauppauge High School’s senior participation in government classes presented civic capstone projects, developing presentations around changes they would like to see in Hauppauge schools as part of their work toward earning the New York State Seal of Civic Readiness.

Students in Mr. Matura’s and Ms. Burkhard’s classes were tasked with selecting an issue that they were passionate about, aiming to bring positive change and improvement to their high school community. The process involved research, collaborative efforts within their groups and the creation of impactful presentations. The students invited members of the high school staff, administration and central office team to listen to their proposals for change and engage in dialogue. 

“From identifying critical issues to proposing thoughtful solutions, our students have demonstrated a level of civic responsibility that is truly commendable,” Matura said. 

“The presentations were informative and reflective of the students’ deep commitment to civic engagement,” said Director of Social Studies and World Languages Kelly Barry. “This assignment focuses more on the process than the outcome. It teaches our students to consider multiple viewpoints and gain an understanding of various perspectives on an issue. These skills will help our students succeed in any path they choose after graduation. We are proud of all of them. I am grateful for their teachers’ dedication to preparing them, guiding them through the process and teaching them how to advocate for positive change in the school community and beyond. We are incredibly grateful for the support and participation of our superintendent, Donald Murphy, and members of our central office team, as well as all of the administrators and teachers who took the time to listen to the student presentations.”

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Northport High School. File photo

By Rokah Sejour

Northport-East Northport Union Free School District Board of Education held a meeting Thursday, Feb. 15, focusing on the non-instructional budget for the 2024-25 school year as well as possible changes in policy for attendant zones within the district. 

The proposed budget totals $189,934,741, an increase of $6,896,313 (3.77%).

The buildings and grounds, security and transportation departments of the district presented proposals based on their developmental priorities. 

Builidings and grounds

The buildings and grounds department proposed the purchase of a backhoe that would aid in the work being done in-house by the buildings and grounds staff within the school district.

“You’re really saving money in the long run,” said John Lackner, director of facilities. The backhoe would allow the department to save rental fees that have in the past amounted to approximately $15,000 for building four playgrounds. It would also be beneficial during circumstances like weather emergencies where one may not be readily available. 

The department does have a smaller backhoe available, but Lackner said that it is smaller and is not always optimal for some of the work that is being done, not to mention it is at 75 percent functioning capacity resulting from damages and has therefore questioned its “life expectancy.” 

Renovations for multiple restrooms, maintenance of parking lot, filter replacements and fire alarm upgrades, among other requests, were also part of the proposal.

Security

Supervisor of security, John McEnroe, proposed a glass mitigation pilot project at the high school reception and common areas. The technology would use a product called Smart Tint that would reduce the visibility in these spaces in case of a lockdown but otherwise would remain transparent. 

McEnroe requested that additional cameras to cover blind spots and new playground equipment be added, as well as computer hardware for camera system monitoring. He also advocated for ongoing staff training and development in order to build readiness for emergency responses.

Transportation

In an effort to combat increases in maintenance costs and issues, the transportation department is requesting two big buses. Trish McGrane, the transportation supervisor said, buses had to be “leased a number of times,” already during the 2022-23 and the 2023-24 school years due to “a number of buses” in their fleet being over 20 years old. 

McGrane further proposed an implementation of the Wayfinder program, through the company Transfinder. The program would use voice-activated turn-for-turn directions through a tablet in order to assist drivers in situations where they have to follow another route in an emergency or a bus breakdown.

McGrane anticipates that this will reduce any foreseeable rerouting issues and prioritize safety in emergencies.

Changes in attendance zones

During the second half of the meeting, the board reviewed several policies, one of which was attendance zones. 

As it stands, students’ transportation is normally zoned for a particular elementary or middle school. However, there are times when students are placed by the school district in different schools as when they have an individualized education program, other reasons determined by the district or if the request is parent led. 

The requests did not initially have a deadline for submission, which in turn has caused difficulties for the district in knowing what school students would be attending and to plan accordingly.

With this policy, the request would adopt a submission deadline of April 1 and coincides with the deadline for private schools requests for transportation.

This change is due to New York State Education Law Section 3635 requiring that schools must provide students transportation from the school of attendance. 

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