Education

File photo

By Emma Gutmann

As of a January report from the New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli (D), Middle Country Central School District has dipped into the “susceptible” fiscal stress status. The district’s community letter on Feb. 1 stated that reserves are “close to being exhausted” and the budget gap is around $7.5 million.

The comptroller’s Fiscal Stress Monitoring System uses data submitted by local governments to provide every school district in New York with a fiscal and environmental score out of 100. Financial indicators for school districts consist of cash position, year-end fund balance, operating deficits and surpluses, as well as reliance on short-term debt for cash flow. Environmental indicators are forces beyond local officials’ immediate control, including teacher turnover rate, changes in property values, budget vote approval rate and percent of economically disadvantaged students and English language learners. 

A district’s overall score determines whether it has the label Significant Stress, Moderate Stress, Susceptible to Stress or No Designation. Middle Country’s 2022-23 fiscal year scored 25 points, the minimum value in the Susceptible to Stress range. Four other Long Island school systems joined Middle Country on the fiscal stress spectrum, with New Suffolk and Amityville in the most extreme category and Roosevelt and Springs in the mildest warning stage alongside Middle Country.

Instructional expenses continue to contribute to Middle Country’s budget overflow as the district strives to maintain excellence for students and staff under the financial strain. The district anticipates a need for two or three more PRAISE classes, where each accommodates eight special-needs kindergarteners. These valuable and necessary specialized classes come with a jarring expense, costing around $350,000 each according to Superintendent of Schools Roberta Gerold.

In an interview, Gerold noted that the pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the student body, who could use support for their anomalous learning and mental health needs. In the vein of wellness, a boost in health care for current employees (plus 10%) and retirees (plus 25%) has been another cost driver. 

“We are a state-aid-dependent school district, which means when state aid is reduced, we feel the impact — and don’t have many alternatives other than raise taxes or cut programs or services,” Gerold said. “This year, Gov. Hochul’s [D] budget proposal cuts state aid. In Middle Country, if we were to receive what current law indicated we should, our state aid would be about $1.4 million more than what we are now supposed to receive.”

Middle Country has been lobbying to receive a larger slice of state aid with the support of local elected officials and working on a plan for financial recovery with the guidance of their administrative colleagues. The proposed state aid for 2024-25 is nearly $120 million, an increase of 4.64%.

Gerold reported that the school was able to offer programs with resources for their students’ evolving needs through federal funding — a pool which will expire in September of this year.

Although Middle Country has done its best to budget and ration its reserves, “the next couple of months are going to be difficult as decisions are finalized and implemented,” the district’s letter said. 

Setauket Elementary School. Photo by Mallie Jane Kim

By Mallie Jane Kim

Some area seniors and persons with disabilities will qualify for a 50% cut to the school portion of their property taxes next year, after the Three Village Board of Education voted during their Feb. 7 meeting to raise the maximum income levels on a tax exemption aimed at easing the financial burden on vulnerable groups.

The move comes after nearly a year of advocacy by area senior Rochelle Pollack, who approached the podium with her walker at several board meetings since March 2023 in order to ask the board to make the change. She said seniors have elevated medical and prescription costs — alongside the high inflation rates impacting everyone. “House prices have skyrocketed,” she said at an April 2023 meeting. “It’s great if you’re selling, but it’s not if you’re staying, as school taxes have also skyrocketed.”

Pollack pointed out that someone making $40,000 but paying $14,000 in property taxes is left with $26,000 to live on. “In this day of high inflation, gas, food, heat, medical procedures and prescriptions, I dare any of you to live on $26,000,” she told the board. “How can seniors?”

According to Deputy Superintendent Jeffrey Carlson, it’s unclear how much the savings for these groups will impact all the other homeowners in the area.

“What makes it tricky for the board is there’s no way to know how many people will now get this exemption,” Carlson explained, adding that changing the income levels opens up the exemption to a whole new group of people. “How many? No idea. We have no idea what income levels are, so it’s hard to say how much it will cost everyone else.”

During previous board meeting discussions of the exemption, Carlson compared it to splitting a restaurant bill. If two people in a group of 10 want to pay less because they only had water and salad, the other eight diners must pay more — the cost of the bill doesn’t change. “For one person to pay a little less, it means everyone else pays a little more.”

New York State raised the maximum allowable income levels in 2022 to $50,000 for those aged 65 and over, but the board opted to meet that increase halfway in light of uncertainty over how many seniors will take advantage of the tax credit, and what the real impact will be on all other homeowners. 

The sliding scale approved by the board will mean people over 65, or those with disabilities, who make up to $39,500 can qualify for the maximum 50% benefit. At the lowest end of the exemption, those making $47,000 to $47,900 can get a 5% tax break. Residents would need to apply for the exemption to the town assessor by March 1. 

Carlson explained that the state used to raise maximums for this income-based exemption incrementally each year, but until last year hadn’t made an increase since 2009, hence the substantial jump. Previously, residents needed to make $29,000 or less to qualify for the 50% discount. 

Trustee David McKinnon vocally supported increasing the income levels for the exemption, as he had during previous board discussions, as a moral issue of fairness. He called property taxes regressive by nature since they tend to disproportionately burden people with lower incomes — the less a person earns, the higher percentage of their income they end up paying, on average. McKinnon also praised Pollack for her advocacy in raising the issue to the board.

“She’s been an incredibly effective advocate for seniors here,” he said. “I knew nothing about this particular issue, and she came in at considerable cost to herself.”

The board was unanimous in approving the increase, and left open the possibility of bringing the district in line with state maximums next year, depending on the impact this change has on the rest of the community.

Prepared by Daniel Dunaief

Brooke Ellison, 45, a pioneering disabilities advocate whose abilities with words and compassion far outdid her disability, died on Sunday, February 4.

Ellison was a tenured Associate Professor in the School of Health Professions in the Department of Health Sciences at Stony Brook University.

A resident of Stony Brook, Ellison was returning home from Murphy Junior High School as an 11-year old when she was struck by a car. The accident, which paralyzed her from the neck down, didn’t deter her budding academic interest or her ambitions.

As soon as she woke from the accident, she insisted she not fall behind in school.

With her mother Jean at her side throughout her education, Ellison became the first quadriplegic to graduate in 2000 from Harvard College, where she received magna cum laude honors in cognitive neuroscience and gave the class commencement speech.

Ellison earned a Master’s in Public Policy in 2004 from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and received her PhD in sociology from Stony Brook University in 2012.

A passionate advocate for accessibility and opportunity for the disabled, Ellison conducted research on the ethics and policy of science and health care.

Her mission “was to turn what happened to her into a [way to] help people who are handicapped achieve independence,” said Miriam Rafailovich, Distinguished Professor in Material Science and Engineering.
Ellison wrote two books about her life. The first, called “Miracles Happen” became a movie directed by Christopher Reeve titled “The Brooke Ellison Story.” More recently, Ellison published “Look Both Ways.”

Jean Ellison said her daughter felt her recent book was one of her most important contributions. Knowing she was in failing health after surviving three bouts with sepsis over the last year and a half, Brooke Ellison felt a sense of urgency to share her experiences.

“She poured out [her life] to the universe through this book,” said Jean Ellison.

While Ellison died young, she lived for over 33 years after the accident, which is well above the seven years the medical community expected at the time for someone on a ventilator.

‘Deep sadness’

Ellison served on several committees and boards, including the Board of the Directors of the New York Civil Liberties Union and the search committee for a president of Stony Brook.

In a letter to the campus community, President Maurie McInnis, who expressed her “deep sadness” for Ellison’s passing, recounted how Ellison was one of the first people she met on campus.

“Her legacy at Stony Brook and beyond is defined by passionate advocacy for inclusive education, healthcare and disability rights,” McInnis wrote in a letter to the campus community. “She helped alert me and others to our blind spots and offered many ideas for making this campus more inclusive and welcoming.”

Ellison was recently teaming up with students using drones and artificial intelligence images to map the topography of Stony Brook.

“To go from one building to the next looks like a straight pathway, but at the end, a one-inch drop, which is not encoded anywhere” could be a huge problem for someone in a wheelchair, said Rafailovich.

Ellison’s students asked her what she would want a robot near her that she could control to do. She suggested a hand she could control that could turn the pages of a book.

Ellison was working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ensure that people with disabilities who need power for ventilators or other equipment receive immediate attention after power disruption.

“She noticed during Hurricane Sandy that emergency workers had no idea where people who were on life support were during two weeks,” said Rafailovich.

Ellison was working with the state to get a new system where people on life support could receive help quickly.

Ellison had planned to do a fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy Carr Center for Human Rights Policy.

Caring for everyone

In addition to her focus on helping people with disabilities achieve independence, Ellison served in many capacities at Stony Brook, including as the Director of the Center for Community Engagement and Leadership Development.

Among her many efforts, Ellison also ran for election in 2006 for the New York State Senate, where she lost to republican incumbent John Flanagan.

Ellison was a committed educator who asked students before they met her in an ethics class to describe what they thought would make a life not worth living. Students suggested this would include not being able to do things they needed, needing care from someone else, or living on life support.

At the end of the semester, she asked the same question.

“They thought if they were on life support or if they had to have someone take care of them, maybe it could be done,” Jean Ellison said. “Their whole outlook changed.”

Senior Sabah Bari, who is a Health Science student, appreciated how Ellison spent the first 15 minutes of class asking how students were doing. Describing Ellison as “one of the most influential people I’ve gotten to know,” Bari plans to dedicate her pursuit of a master’s in public health to Ellison.

Stacy Gropack, Dean of the School of Health Professions explained that the school is eager to make sure students are doing well and feeling well at all levels.

“Many of our instructors do that,” Gropack said, but “Ellison in her position took it to a different level. She was always very concerned that students were in the right place and were healthy. She made sure students had the capacity to succeed at all levels.”

A dedicated family

Ellison received considerable ongoing support from her family.

Jean Ellison served numerous roles, from getting up at 3:45 am each day to get her dressed to driving her to ensuring her slides were ready and in order for her presentation. It took six hours from the time Ellison awoke until she was ready to leave.

Jean Ellison is “probably one of the most dedicated, strongest women I know,” said Gropack. Ellison “could not have accomplished what she did without [her mother] on all fronts.”

Mathias Risse, Berthold Beitz Professor in Human rights, Global Affairs and Philosophy at the Harvard Kennedy School, recalled how he taught an ethics class that included Ellison in the fall of 2002.

Ellison was “one of the most talented students in the class,” Risse wrote in a memorial to his former student. “Jean was there with her, every time, and she was as much a member of the [class] of 2004 as [Ellison] was herself.”

When the two of them were on campus, “everyone knew who they were, mother and daughter,” Risse wrote.

Ellison’s father Ed and her siblings Kysten and Reed provided important, meaningful and ongoing care for her.

“One of us had to be with her 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Ed Ellison. “Jean and I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to help her do what she wanted to do. It was a life well-lived.”

Ellison adored her family and, in particular, her five nephews, who not only returned her affection, but were also fiercely protective of her.

One of Ellison’s nephews had a cat that she almost ran over in her wheelchair. She asked her students to help her design a 360 degree camera so she could survey the perimeter when the cat was nearby.

“That’s the kind of independence she wanted,” said Rafailovich.

Ellison shared affection with her family and friends by blowing kisses frequently. Her father stroked her cheek and lifted her up out of her chair and put her arms around his neck.

“The love she had for everyone oozed out of her,” Jean Ellison said. Her daughter “constantly told people how much she loved them.”

Before the accident, Ellison had been a ballet dancer. She would sometimes dream of herself dancing.

“We both like to think that she’s dancing now,” said Jean Ellison.

Stem cell research

Ellison became a powerful voice in some of the earlier battles in 2000 over stem cell research. Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that could one day help in the treatment and care of people with neurological limitations.

Ellison, who founded the Brooke Ellison Project, helped establish the New York State stem cell research organization, which provided research funding outside of the federal level.

Ellison and the Christopher Reeve foundation “had the courage to put [state funding] in place,” said Rafailovich. “She saw stem cell research as the key if we’re ever going to regenerate nerves.”

Ellison recognized any new treatment wouldn’t happen immediately, but wanted to help people in the future who were dealing with similar challenges.

Ellison is featured in the upcoming documentary “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story,” which was recently shown at the Sundance Film Festival.

Ellison served as a board member on the Empire State Stem Cell Board, which designed New York State’s stem cell policy from 2007 to 2014.

In 2017, Ellison also served on the board of directors of the New York State Civil Liberties Union and, in 2018, was chosen as a political partner for the Truman National Security Project.

“We count ourselves incredibly lucky to have known her and are extraordinarily humbled by who she was and what she accomplished in her short life,” NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman wrote in an email. “I have benefited immeasurably from [Ellison’s] wisdom and friendship, and I am especially grateful or her patience and determination in helping the NYCLU to better understand and advocate for the rights of people with disabilities.”

Leaders from the Truman National Security Project, which is a diverse nationwide community of leaders united with the goal of developing smart, national security solutions that reinforce strong, equitable, effective and non-partisan American global leadership, expressed their appreciation and admiration for Ellison’s contributions.

Ellison was a “visionary, leader, teacher, and, most importantly, a true friend to us and the disability community. [Ellison’s] eloquence captured the heights and depths of the disabled experience – beauty, pain, nuances, and silver linings – while pushing society’s boundaries of a more inclusive and dynamic world. Amongst [Ellison’s] vast list of accomplishments and accolades, her kindness and strength touched everyone she met,” wrote Jessica Gottsleben and Kristin Duquette, TruDisability Experts, in a statement.

Ellison thought well outside of her wheelchair and outside of the proverbial box.

In the first day of class, Bari recalled how Ellison asked students to think about the character Thanos from the Marvel series.

Bari recalled wondering, “are we in the right class? Where is she taking us?”

Throughout the class, Bari suggested that she and her fellow students rethought numerous aspects of their lives.

In her own words

In the introduction to her book “Look Both Ways,” which people can hear Ellison read on YouTube or on her web site BrookeEllison.com, she shares her life and perspective.

Look Both Ways

 

“People living with disability are celebrated yet rejected, are the objects of both praise and of ridicule, and are heralded for their understanding of challenge, while often left to battle those challenges on their own,” she wrote.

Ellison continued, “the lens from which I view the world is not one of disability, but rather one of humanity touched by disability, which serves to heighten the lessons fundamental to our lives: those of adaptation and problem solving, leadership and growth, compassion and hope. These are the lessons of disability. These are the lessons of life.”

Funeral

Ellison is survived by her parents Ed and Jean Ellison, her sister Kysten Ellison and her husband David Martin, their sons Carter and Harrison, her brother Reed Ellison and his wife Ellen Ellison and their three sons Jamie, Oliver and Theodore.

Visitation will be held next Monday, February 12 at Bryant Funeral Home, 411 Old Town Road in Setauket  from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. The family will hold a private burial service.
How you can help
Those interested in helping to sustain the legacy of Brooke Ellison can donate to the Brooke Ellison Legacy Scholarship through the following website: https://alumniandfriends.stonybrook.edu/site/Donation2?df_id=2660&2660.donation=form1&mfc_pref=T&designation=5701

Stony Brook University: Entrance sign

By Daniel Dunaief

In anticipation of a nor’easter on Tuesday, Feb, 13 that has triggered a National Weather Service Winter Storm Warning, Stony Brook University announced that it was canceling classes and events scheduled for Tuesday.

The canceled classes and events apply to the Stony Brook main campus, SB Southampton and SB Manhattan campuses and includes the School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Social Welfare, and the Dental School.

In a note from Jason Casale, Director of Emergency Management, Stony Brook urged students with clinical obligations to make every effort to attend rotations and contact their clinical coordinators with questions or concerns.

During emergencies, non-essential employees can request supervisory approval to charge their accruals when offices are open, according to the campus e-mail blast. Essential employees have to report to work according to their scheduled hours.

University Hospital and the Long Island State Veterans Home employees are considered “essential” and are expected to work according to their regular schedule.

Brookhaven National Laboratory is also closed to everyone but essential personnel from 6 a.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday.

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, meanwhile, announced it is closing on Tuesday until 5 pm.

As of Monday evening, the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning, predicting Suffolk County could receive snow accumulations of 5 inches to 10 inches and wind gusts of 40 miles per hour.

From left, Madeline Quintyne, John King, Chancellor, SUNY; Dr. John Nader, President, Farmingdale State College. Photo courtesy of Farmingdale State College

Farmingdale State College (FSC) has been awarded more than $750,000 in funding for innovative, faculty-led proposals aimed at advancing offshore wind technology training and education on Long Island. FSC received three out of ten proposals funded from university centers, colleges of technology, and community colleges across the SUNY system.

A founding partner in the Offshore Wind Technology Institute (OWTI), FSC is a hub of wind technology and sustainable energy research, development, training and education, with certificate and  microcredential programs in wind energy technology.

“Farmingdale is leading the way in the commitment to advance our use of offshore wind to power both our lives and our economy,” said John S. Nader, PhD, president of Farmingdale State College. “We are simultaneously creating jobs and an environmentally sustainable future for Long Island and throughout New York State.”

In total, the OWTI awarded more than $8M in two rounds of funding to support SUNY institutions in preparing students and workers for a sustainable energy future. FSC was awarded nearly $900,000 in the first round announced last May.

SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr. said, “To meet climate goals set by both President Biden and Governor Hochul, the offshore wind workforce needs to grow significantly over the next several years. That’s where SUNY and the Offshore Wind Training Institute come into play by developing programs to prepare the highly skilled, in-demand workforce that will power New York’s sustainable energy future. All of these projects represent the significant strides SUNY is taking toward advancing New York State’s climate goals.”

The recipients of the OWTI funding from FSC include:

  • Khosro Shirvani and Marjaneh Issapour, awarded $282,700 to embark on groundbreaking research exploring additive manufacturing techniques for the repair of wind turbine components. Their project seeks to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of offshore wind infrastructure.
  • Paulo Castillo and Supriyo Karmakar, awarded $371,914 to develop a cutting-edge workforce microcredential program. This initiative involves the acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment designed to detect blade defects, such as micro-cracks and erosion, ensuring the highest standards of safety and reliability in offshore wind energy systems.

In addition to the core projects, FSC received the following subawards:

  • Marjaneh Issapour was awarded $100,000 to partner with the University at Buffalo to prepare instructional content for a wide audience to better understand the offshore wind supply chain.
  • Lijian Xu, PhD is partnering with Stony Brook University and the Advanced Energy Center to create a power systems laboratory for renewable energy transmission experiences.

The initiatives align with the priority focus areas outlined by the OWTI, addressing the expanding needs of the offshore wind industry, and fostering equity, diversity, and inclusivity in clean energy education and training.

About Farmingdale State College

Farmingdale State College offers 46-degree programs focused on emerging, high-demand, and relevant careers to help prepare the next generation of leaders in technology, engineering, business, healthcare, science and the arts. With nearly 10,000 students, FSC is SUNY’s largest college of applied science and technology. More than half of our graduating seniors leave debt-free and 94% are employed six months after graduation or enrolled in graduate school. FSC is home to Broad Hollow Bioscience Park, which supports the development of biotech start-up companies and partners with surrounding businesses and research institutions along the Route 110 Business Corridor. Our engaging student experience, highly inclusive campus and sustained commitment to accessibility, affordability, and student support, helps make FSC one of the best values in higher education.

From left, regional winners Jonathan Zhang, Mehek Sawhney and Kevin Ma. Photo courtesy Commack CSD

Three Commack students have been selected to present their research as regional semifinalists for the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium taking place on Feb. 11.

The Junior Science and Humanities Symposia Program is a tri-service – U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force – sponsored competition which promotes original research and experimentation in STEM at the high school level and publicly recognizes students for outstanding achievement. Students must apply to present their completed original research at the first level of the fair, held at York College. 

The three projects moving forward to compete for scholarships, recognition and a place as a regional finalist are:

Jonathan Zhang

Efficient Differentiation of Sleep-Related Hypermotor Epilepsy and REM-Sleep Behavior Disorder via Neural Aperiodic Components

Jonathan used a mathematical formula to evaluate EEG brain activity to diagnose sleep disorders in two minutes vs. 8 hours of sleep studies.

Kevin Ma

Decreased Immune Activation Drives the Differential Therapeutic Responses to Chemoradiotherapy Between HPV+ Head and Neck Cancers and HPV+ Cervical Cancers

Kevin investigated two forms of cancers to differentiate where the cancer originated and if it tied back to the HPV+ to provide individualized immunotherapy based on the type of cancer and the tumor environment. 

Mehek Sawhney

Secretion of Francisella tularensis Protein FTL_1123 from Escherichia coli Containing the HlyBD Operon

Mehek studied the structure of a certain bacteria that can be used in biological Tier 1 warfare. She investigated how  the bacteria secretes these virulent factors, and a way to prevent it from being released as a threat.

Please extend your congratulations to these students for this well-deserved and hard-earned recognition, and also to the Research team of Jeanette Collette, Daniel Kramer, and Andrea Beatty.

From left, Rebecca Kassay, Sen. Anthony Palumbo, Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio, Sen. Mario Mattera, Assemblyman Ed Flood and high school students rally against proposed education cuts. Photo by Samantha Rutt

Elected officials from across Long Island joined forces in a rally Feb. 1 held on the front lawn of Ward Melville High School. A diverse crowd of educators, students, parents, concerned citizens and community figures gathered for the event, lining Old Town Road with signage reading “$ave Our School$,” as officials vehemently spoke in opposition to the proposed cuts to education funding outlined in the latest state budget proposal. 

The proposed cuts, part of a broader state budget plan aiming to address fiscal challenges, have sparked widespread concern among education advocates and community members. Long Island officials, representing various districts and political affiliations, united in their stance against these reductions, emphasizing the detrimental impact they would have on the region’s schools and students.

New York State Sens. Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk) and Mario Mattera (R-St. James), along with state Assemblymembers Ed Flood (R-Port Jefferson), Jodi Giglio (R-Riverhead) and Port Jefferson Deputy Mayor Rebecca Kassay (D) all stood before the podium expressing their respective concerns.

“Governor Hochul’s proposed budget is a choice to underfund our schools, and it’s shameful,” Palumbo said. “We’re here to bring attention to that. This is critical. This is absolutely important.”

Palumbo, who represents New York Senate District 1, spanning from Stony Brook to Montauk, opened the rally addressing the financial consequences of the proposal on his district. 

“The governor’s proposed budget cuts state aid by $168 million, affecting 337 school districts statewide,” Palumbo said. “My district, Senate District 1, around 330,000 people, stands to lose $20,025,000 if the governor’s budget is adopted. And where we’re standing here in Three Village, they stand to lose $8.9 million in funding.” 

Three Village Central School District is among the many school districts to be affected by the budget proposal, experiencing the highest values lost in aid. Among the other districts to be affected are Port Jefferson School District standing the potential to be hit by the largest percentage of funding loss on Long Island at over 28%. Mount Sinai, Cold Spring Harbor, Smithtown and Kings Park school districts also stand to be negatively affected by the proposal.

Concerns for education quality and job loss

The rally highlighted the importance of adequate funding for schools in ensuring the quality of education and opportunities for all students. Flood spoke to his concerns for the quality of education students would receive suggesting programs, extracurricular activities and staff would have to be cut as a consequence of the proposed cuts to education funding.

“It’s disgraceful that we’re talking about having to cut budgets, in terms of cutting buildings, cutting programs, cutting staff and faculty,” Flood said. “We as people, teachers and school employees have our own families and right now to play politics with the lives of our students and our workforce is just shameful.” 

Cuts to education funding can have a multifaceted impact that can undermine the quality of education by diminishing resources, increasing class sizes, reducing extracurricular opportunities and straining the workforce, ultimately impeding students’ academic success and holistic development.

Echoing Flood’s sentiments, Mattera highlighted the direct consequences of reduced funding on classroom resources and student support services. “All the workers that are inside, our custodians, everybody, our security officers have a chance of losing their jobs. Does anybody want to lose their jobs? No,” Mattera emphasized. “You know what, our governor is making sure that this is going to happen.”

The rally also featured testimonials from parents who shared personal stories illustrating the impact of education funding on their lives. Kristen Gironda, a member of the Three Village PTA Council board, spoke about the challenges students may face and the critical role of adequate funding in addressing those obstacles. “We rely heavily on Foundation Aid for the success of our current and future students,” Gironda said. “Cutting this money from the current budget would be detrimental to the future of our students, their education and the opportunity that we can continue to provide them with.”

Students were also present at the rally, donning signs and standing alongside the officials as cars driving past honked their horns in reaction to the public event.

After all other officials spoke, Kassay concluded, “We must work together as a full district to make sure that as changes need to be made and that they’re made with the voices of the people standing here, the voices of the school behind us, and all the schools in the area to make sure that the changes are incremental, not straining taxpayers and not sacrificing jobs.” 

As the rally came to a close, elected officials pledged to continue advocating for increased education funding and urged community members to join them in their efforts urging everyone to “Get vocal with Governor Hochul!”

Assemblyman Ed Flood speaks in front of local politicians, educators and community members at a press conference against Gov. Hochul’s proposed school funding cuts. Photo by Mallie Jane Kim

By Mallie Jane Kim

Local political representatives and school superintendents rallied to Three Village Central School District Jan. 25 for a passionate press conference decrying proposed cuts to state school funding in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) proposed budget. 

Hochul touted an $825 million increase in state funding for schools overall, but some districts — including 34 in Suffolk County and 10 in Nassau — would face decreases. Of these, Three Village would lose the highest dollar amount at nearly $9 million if the governor’s plan stands, and the smaller Port Jefferson School District would be hit by the largest percentage of funding loss on Long Island — over 28%. Mount Sinai, Cold Spring Harbor, Smithtown and Kings Park school districts would also see modest cuts. This marks a break from the “hold harmless” provision in New York, which in the past has guaranteed school districts didn’t receive less state funding than the previous year, a practice that takes some guesswork out of budget planning.

Political opposition

“Governor, stop playing politics with our children — because we will fight you tooth and nail,” New York State Assemblyman Ed Flood (R-Port Jefferson) said at the event. “We need to restore some common sense and do what’s right for the children of our community. Where are our priorities? Let’s put our children first.”

The politicians who spoke — including U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY-1), state Assemblymembers Jodi Giglio (R-Riverhead), Jarett Gandolfo (R-Sayville), Doug Smith (R-Holbrook) and state Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James) — were united in considering the cuts as a targeted political attack and a conscious choice by the governor.

LaLota referred to the Jan. 5 Long Island Association’s annual State of the Region breakfast during which, as reported by Newsday, Hochul traded barbs with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman (R), including her quip, “I walked in, I hear somebody doesn’t want New York on Long Island, I was ready to walk off the stage right then. You don’t want me to take all the money with me, though, right?”

LaLota called Hochul a “schoolyard bully” and suggested she is using children as a political pawn against Long Island.

“It is wholly unfair and unjust to take money from our kids because she’s got a political squabble with us,” he said. “Don’t come after our kids because you have a political problem with Long Island. The right thing to do is to fully fund our kids’ education — that’s something we rely upon.”

The governor’s state budget proposal represents a first draft. The state Assembly and Senate will be instrumental in crafting the finalized version, which is due April 1 — but does not often come in on time. If the budget takes until early May to pass, as it did in 2023, school districts will be in a tricky situation since their budgets must be ready and made available for public review between April 30 and May 7.

Superintendents and other groups oppose cuts

“It is important to recognize that these proposed changes will create uncertainty and hardship for our districts,” said Bayport-Blue Point Superintendent Timothy Hearney, who also serves as president of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association. His district stands to lose 3.34% of its state funding under the plan.

Even though the budget is a first draft and subject to political bargaining in Albany, any final answer may come too late. School districts spend the early spring ironing out budget plans, so unless there is a change soon, districts will be faced with the option of incorporating the funding loss into the 2024-25 school year budget or risk putting up a budget that could surpass the state’s mandated cap on increases to the tax levy, an unpopular option for Long Island taxpayers, who already face high property taxes. In this instance, budget passage would require approval by a supermajority of voters (60 percent or more).

Hearney pointed out that education costs have increased even as enrollments have decreased over the past decade or so, in a nod toward one of Hochul’s stated reasons why some districts should receive less funding. “It’s crucial to underscore that condensing a decade’s worth of lost enrollment in a single year places an overwhelming burden on all of our districts,” he said.

Other concerned superintendents standing in support were Christine Criscione from Mount Sinai, Jessica Schmettan from Port Jefferson and Kevin Scanlon from Three Village. 

Scanlon spelled out what he thought the “significant challenges” losing $9 million in funds for his district would pose at a Jan. 24 school board meeting, the night before the press conference. He said he hoped for compromise in Albany, but that such sudden cuts would require drastic measures to accommodate. He said the district may have to close a school or discontinue the Three Village Academy high school program, and they may have to make cuts to the pre-K and pre-K enrichment programs, the Intellectually Gifted Program, special education aides, teaching positions, administrative positions, educational and extracurricular programs and even security. 

“Every area of this community will be impacted, so Three Village needs to come together as it has never done before,” he urged at the board meeting. “Parents, students, teachers, administrators, anyone out there — anyone on the street we can get in this community to be part of this conversation — we need for advocacy.”

Those who showed up to advocate at Thursday’s press conference included school board members, staff and teachers union members from Three Village and Mount Sinai, as well as members of parent teacher associations, also civic and community groups, including the local parent group Three Village Dads. 

David Tracy, leader of Three Village Dads, said he isn’t interested in being divisive politically, but couldn’t ignore the air of apparent retribution in the governor’s move. “Long Island was not a huge voting fan of the governor. I hate to believe this cut in the budget is somewhat of a backlash for that,” he said, adding that the disparity in funding changes from district to district is baffling to him. “It’s just tragic that it comes from our kids.”

Three Village Civic Association president Charles Tramontana agrees the issue is bipartisan. “Nobody wants to see that amount of funding cut without some sort of warning. I don’t think it’s controversial,” said Tramontana, who was scheduled to attend the press conference but was stuck home sick. 

“I don’t understand the way the state operates sometimes,” Tramontana said. “They didn’t give any notice that they were dropping that ‘hold harmless’ provision. Basic fairness would dictate that you would give some warning.” He added, “We took some hit— $9 million in one year is definitely going to cause some chaos in our budget.”

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Smithtown school district’s Joseph M. Barton administrative building on New York Avenue. File photo

By Sabrina Artusa

After two recent lawsuits, Smithtown Central School District Board of Education revised its harassment policy at a Jan. 23 meeting.

In the latest lawsuit, Michael Coppola, 16, claims he was bullied from fourth through ninth grade while a student in Smithtown. His family is now suing the school district under the allegation that the school violated Title 9 by failing to protect him. 

According to CBS News, the lawsuit states that “peers physically assaulted him, misgendered him, threw objects at him, verbally abused him,” from elementary through high school. 

As a result of the alleged abuse, the family registered several New York State Dignity for All Students Act complaints. 

In addition to Smithtown school district, the lawsuit is also filed against seven employees, according to Newsday. 

Diane Coppola, Michael’s mom, told CBS New York’s Ali Bauman, “Our family has gone into survival mode. We’re not thriving. We’re trying to survive the school years, and it shouldn’t be that way.”

According to Newsday, Michael Coppola’s grades declined and he developed an eating disorder due to the harassment. After switching schools within the district and continuing to deal with bullying, Coppola now attends a private school over an hour from his house. 

The Coppola family’s lawsuit is the second against the school district this year. The first was filed by a 16-year-old Smithtown High School West student who claimed the school failed to protect her from the bullying she suffered on a daily basis. This lawsuit was filed in September.

As a matter of policy, the school district does not comment on matters pertaining to litigation.

At the Jan. 23 Board of Education meeting, trustees read through a revised bullying harassment and prevention policy as well as reviewed capital projects.

The board amended the policy to include hazing as behavior to be prevented and stopped, and also elaborated upon the definitions of bullying, harassment and hazing, as well as the practices for prevention and intervention.

“I’m really pleased that we are revising this policy at a time that we need it.” said Kevin Craine, a first-year trustee.

Other matters

The board also discussed bond projects, both current and expected. While HVAC system upgrades are planned or proposed for several of the schools, the upgrades would not significantly improve the air conditioning in the schools, which has been a point of complaint of many parents after a hot September in the classroom. On multiple days there was a heat alert. 

In order to have air conditioning in every room, the electrical system would have to be upgraded — something the board hopes to do in the future. Installing window units as a solution would be temporary, and in the opinion of Daniel Leddy, the district’s director of facilities, would hinder them in their overall goal of central air conditioning. 

“When we have the money and the electric and the capability, we will can that in the future,” he said. “We are trying to look future. Throwing window units in — it’s going to create other issues.”

Among hopeful projects for the future were sports lights at High School East, upgraded lights at High School West, and synthetic turf field installments at both high schools. President of the Friends of Music for Smithtown Schools, Jennifer DeGregory, said that while she is grateful for the athletic improvements, she feels that the arts are being overlooked. 

“These facilities have not been updated to the point where there’s parts that need to be replaced that no longer are being manufactured,” she said. “We are very concerned about possible cuts to the arts.” 

According to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) proposed state aid budget, Smithtown will lose over $1.5 million for the 2024-25 school year. Overall, Hochul’s plan dedicates over $53 million in aid.

The board commended the boys cross country team and the Smithtown-Hauppauge girls swim and dive team on their excellent performances this past season. 

Ward Melville High School. File photo by Greg Catalano

By Mallie Jane Kim

A proposal to make secondary school start times later in Three Village Central School District failed in a deadlock 3-3 vote Jan. 24, due to concerns over newfound uncertainty sparked by Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) proposed state budget plan, which could see the district lose $9 million in funds. 

“If only this had all happened before we got this lovely little bomb dropped from Albany,” said board president Susan Rosenzweig at the Jan. 24 meeting.

Later start times were originally going to be part of the Jan. 10 district restructuring vote, which solidified a plan to move the sixth and ninth grades up to make 6-8 grade middle school and a four-year high school in the fall of 2025. But advocates for later start times asked the board to consider making a change for the 2024-25 school year, before the restructuring. That start-time vote failed because of increased cost and dissatisfaction that the proposed 35-minute change did not push start times late enough. 

The district’s Ward Melville High School currently begins at 7:05, and during a public meeting on start times in 2023, one parent shared video of a student getting picked up by a school bus in the pitch darkness of the early morning.

According to Rosenzweig, board procedure dictated they couldn’t vote on start time changes both for 2024-25 and 2025-26 in the same meeting, and the board was expected to approve the start time change for fall 2025 on Jan. 24. 

Until that “bomb from Albany.” 

“While the will is strong to make this happen, while we care more than anything about the children and their well-being and their welfare and want to do the right thing — we agree it’s a health issue — that burden of financial responsibility to me is too heavy right now,” Rosenzweig explained.

According to the district’s budget expert, Deputy Superintendent Jeffrey Carlson, the “real number” loss in funding under the governor’s budget would be about $8 million, after accounting for expected changes in building aid and taking out the “hypothetical” funding available for Universal Pre-K, which the district does not receive because implementing UPK would be more expensive than the current Three Village pre-K program, even with the additional aid money.

This vote marks the first time the six-member board ran into an even split. They opted last fall to rely on their “collegial” relationship rather than spend district money on a special election to replace the seventh board member, who had to vacate her position for personal reasons.

In the event of a tie, a motion does not pass.

The proposal’s failure comes despite years of advocacy by parents and, according to Rosenzweig, 22 letters written in support of later start times to the board in the week before the meeting.

Trustees Karen Roughley and David McKinnon argued that the board has been coupling restructuring with later start times through the decision process, and acting in good faith would mean keeping that pairing in place. “We need to distinguish a hypothetical, which is the governor’s budget, from a principle which is that we have to protect students’ health. They’re two separate things. We should be voting on principle, not some hypothetical which virtually everyone believes is going to change,” McKinnon said.

He added that restructuring the district without changing start times would create an “inferior product” since ninth graders would have to wake up even earlier than they do while housed in the junior high schools. “We would be agreeing that the ninth-grade students would now also have to get up as early as 5:30 in the morning in order to study physics and calculus while they’re half asleep.”

Board member Shaorui Li, the third “yes” voter, questioned the need to put off the decision over the potential cuts to a budget that for 2023-24 is $230.9 million. “We said many times this is a health issue — $8 million is about 4% of our total budget. For this 4%, are we willing to sacrifice our students’ health again?” she asked.

In voting “no,” Rosenzweig also pointed out the upcoming engagement of a transportation consultant, who the board hopes will figure out a way to push secondary school start times closer to 8 a.m. while spending less than the nearly $1 million increase predicted to accommodate additional buses.

Rosenzweig urged district families not to see the lack of decision as final. “This is not the end of the conversation,” she said. “This is just a moment where we have to be responsible with the information we have, and the information we don’t have yet. We don’t have the transportation consultant’s report yet, and we don’t have verified information from Albany. We don’t know what’s real and what’s a stunt.”