Speak Out
A place to have your say about anything, from politics to potholes. Flag as Inappropriate
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pat conway June 12, 2013 at 02:10 pm
just reading Jane Goodall with my son for school and came across this quote of an amazing woman…Read More "every individual matters, every individual has a role to play, every individual makes a difference." that is what makes our nation, our village so great everyone has an opinion whether we agree with it or not. It just saddens me to think some may not voice their opinion in the future because of the rather harsh comments which I'm sure were just meant to get a point across rather than be hurtful. Garden City residents are not afraid to get involved, to stand up for what they believe in and I am proud to live here.
GcSupporter#2 June 12, 2013 at 04:15 pm
"If there is no discipline, there is anarchy. Good citizenship demands attention to…Read More responsibilities as well as rights."
- Principal Joe Clark
pat conway June 12, 2013 at 05:00 pm
Thank you GcSupporter#2 I love quotes! tells so much about the person and their beliefs and life...I…Read More had to look up Principal Joe Clark after that....definitely a man I'd like to learn more about. I always try to use quotes with my children and their school work - I think the spoken and written word of others is so important!
Carisa Giardino (Editor) May 16, 2013 at 02:01 pm
The boys will take on Seaford in game two of a best-of-three Nassau County Class A quarterfinal…Read More series. Game is at Seaford High School at 4:30 p.m.
Elle May 8, 2013 at 07:47 am
Johnny Resident 7 hours ago commented:
I have to agree with Elle. The education system in town has…Read More fallen, we were never the highest ranking school district, but it definitely has gotten worse. Who is to blame for this parents, teachers, administration? Lets overhaul the department from the top down or at least try to correct it with what we have. Remove tenure and make the teachers and administrators accountable for what they do. Re-earn the right to be an employee of the Village. Companies do it all the time, maybe a shake up is needed. Our taxes go up yet the enrollment is down as is our rankings. How much is the administrator earning? and is it really worth the money??
Melanie Donus June 15, 2013 at 07:11 pm
Unfortunately I just saw this and agree with both of you. It has to come from the BOE. Special…Read More Education costs always get thrown under the bus at the top of budget presentations, however, parents provide ideas to "think outside of the box" like other higher ranking districts do to save money and administrators disagree with the model and instead make parents go to hearings, which costs even more $ to the district for legal expenses.
Jill Hamiliton May 6, 2013 at 12:48 pm
It seems that with so many questions asking how taxpayer dollars are being spent, that it may be…Read More time for state officials to take a closer look at district spending. We have seen countless stories in the news over the last few weeks highlighting the rampant political corruption that has spun out of control throughout New York government. We have read about election schemes, testing schemes, cheating schemes, and budget voting manipulation schemes. When does it stop? While I commend District Attorney Rice for her efforts to expose these scandals and correct these problems, I wonder why this District is not subject to the same scrutiny as other districts. In order to protect taxpayers, and students against corrupt individuals who manipulate the system for personal gain the integrity of the system needs closer examination. A closer look at special programs that are funded by the state should be considered. Are the children who need the most getting what was intended for programs to further their education? Or are these dollars going into other programs or used to pay hourly wages for additional staffing for school events and after-school programs? Yearly raises are not the only issue that costs taxpayers money. Classification salary bumps add an average of two thousand dollars or more per year on top of the yearly raise. While technology is important to helping children learn it loses its effectiveness when used to occupy students rather than teach them valuable skills to use in the real world. It is nice to see local papers highlighting the good deeds of students when they work to help out in the community but these stories are used as nothing more than a public relations tactic used by the District designed to feed selected stories to local papers to keep the districts name in the news. Full disclosure of school spending is essential to helping taxpayers better understand where the money is spent and how effective it has been to further the students education.
Bob Orosz May 6, 2013 at 09:17 pm
Jill, I believe that school budgets are just too complicated for the general public and even for…Read More members of the school board to comprehend, which leaves the public to mistrust and is fueled by news articles, like the ones you mentioned, on public corruption. I believe that there is inherent problem in the makeup of school boards. Although those who choose to serve may have best intentions, best intentions cannot replace the lack of experience and knowledge to effectively run a multimillion dollar business. As a result the school board members become dependent upon administrators, attorneys, and costly consultants to make any decisions. This lack of knowledge can also make them easily manipulated by others. There is also a lack of support, ideas and scrutiny by the general public, which can be seen in the low turnout for both the school vote and board meetings. Let's face facts, they're only a few key administrators who really know where and how the money is being spent with the school superintendent acting as the lead salesman in selling the budget to the public at large, but the big question is: "Are we buying what they're selling?"
Jill Hamiliton May 7, 2013 at 12:12 pm
I agree with many of your points concerning the issues that plague the inner workings of the…Read More District. It is unfortunate that the "well intentioned: “trustees are forced to rely on school officials and outside contractors to clarify the many facets involved in running school business. However good their intentions may be in the beginning, it eventually turns into a political game. If members become too reliant on the "advise" of administrators and consultants, then I wonder how that does not always benefit those who whisper in their ears? If the real decision making is left to Administrators, is there really a need to have a Board of Trustees just for the sake of saying there is a Board? I agree that more people need to get out and let their voices be heard. They certainly can be heard complaining to their neighbors and peers when the vote does not go the way they had hoped. That same energy can be used before the vote takes place. The Board needs help and they can get it by hearing what the people have to say. Parents and residents are very informed about what goes on in their schools. They see and they hear that takes place. Unfortunately, all their good suggestions come out the form of complaints to one another. Those suggestions need to be brought before the Board by more than a handful of residents during scheduled meetings. The residents are great when it comes to getting out and being part of something when there are community fundraisers and events. It would be great to see the same zeal when it comes to, making their voices be heard during budget votes and board meetings. While I agree that budgets can be very complicated, then something should be done to clear up the confusion. Throwing numbers at taxpayers and telling them that this much will be spent for (let’s say constructions), does not tell people what exactly they are paying for. Companies bill the school for specific work they did. Those invoices along with others that involved spending should be accessible for review. After all, the taxpayers are the people who are buying the product. Most people do not let someone into their home to perform a service before they know exactly what it is they are going to do. I have confidence that regardless of how complicated the budget is the taxpayer’s will seek clarification from school officials when needed. After all, that is what they are there for? Administrators have used the threat of cutting popular sports and after-school programs if the budget does not pass. In recent weeks we have read about the accomplishments of the GC sports teams and their players. The District uses these triumphs as a public relations tool to boost the reputation of the school. They also lose if sports programs were to disappear. Let us not forget that it is many of the GC teachers who get paid a handsome stipend to coach those teams. Those bonuses provide an attractive salary bump to yearly wages. In many instances, the increase can reach to over the hundred thousand dollars per year. The same goes for after school tutoring. GC teachers (and the extra personnel they provide the assist them) have a financial stake in these programs. There is much talk about state funding for special needs programs to provide services. If these programs were to be cut, will the money be returned to the state? If fat needs to be trimmed then perhaps those cuts should target the excess waste. The district proudly announced several weeks back that they successfully sued a contractor to recoup money they spent on overpayments. Unfortunately, this required spending more money on attorney fees to reach a settlement. This was not a situation where you have to spend money to make money, it was more a spend money to spend more money. Closer examination of the little things as well as big things would be beneficial to help curtail wasteful spending.
The College Whisperer™ May 2, 2013 at 09:31 pm
Agreed. See my recent blog post, Raging Against The Testing Machine.…Read More http://gardencity.patch.com/groups/the-college-whisperer/p/raging-against-the-testing-machine
sir farts-a-lot May 3, 2013 at 01:00 pm
you know what the results of the testing will be; the schools with a large population of kids from 2…Read More parent households will meet or exceed expectations....those with large populations from 1 parent households will not. Why waste the money administering the tests when you know the results?
Jill Hamiliton May 6, 2013 at 05:14 pm
If we believe that the reasons for students successes on standardized testing in other countries is…Read More attributed to their “different educational systems” then perhaps it time for this country to take a closer look at our system to determine what is lacking. New York State provides a set of detailed standards that outline topics to be covered by teachers according to grade and subject. If these standards and core curriculums fail to provide an effective framework for teachers to prepare students for success on state exams, then improvements must be made. A look at test design should be considered as well. Are questions too ambiguous? Is the vocabulary used on the test too complicated for students to comprehend? Are questions open-ended leaving students to second guess the answer? We under sell the potential of students when we buy into the idea that children under perform because, other systems may be better than the U.S. at providing a well rounded education. This nation has been a pioneering force of innovation for centuries. We have met with countless challenges along the way. This is yet another challenge for us to face. There has been a great deal of whining over policy changes that disrupt the familiar routines that have caused complacency within the system. There are stresses that accompany all walks of life. We do children a disservice if we try to shield them from real world challenges and expectations. Sheltering students from difficult situations is not the way to help young minds use their creative skills to think outside of the box to achieve success. With so much competition rising in today’s workforce, we fail to prepare students if performance expectations are lowered. In order to continue producing the “Best and the Brightest” students, we must continue to raise the bar to help them meet future expectations.
Jen Thomas April 13, 2013 at 12:02 am
We should be teaching our daughters to love and respect themselves and pageants do not do that.…Read More Feel like a queen? How about a judge or an architect? As the mother of a disabled daughter, I am appalled by this.
P Shoshanamarie O'Hare April 14, 2013 at 04:08 pm
That is not true. Pageants open a door for girls/woman to speak out and help out. There are many…Read More different types of pageants to chose from. Not all are about beauty alone.
Miss Long Island 1997
Also a Lupus and domestic violence Survivor
P Shoshanamarie O'Hare April 14, 2013 at 04:09 pm
Ps: it also helps disabled girls have more confidence in themselves ..
Carisa Giardino (Editor) April 5, 2013 at 03:00 pm
Hello, the application and the application process is still underway and under review by the Town of…Read More Hempstead. The Neiman Marcus addition is just one aspect of the overall mall renovation so the review process is ongoing.
Concerned Schoolmom April 6, 2013 at 10:35 am
Good. I had heard that some adjacent property owners had filed suit to block the project and that…Read More Neiman Marcus was pulling out because of the delays. Glad to hear that it is moving forward, albeit slowly.
Elise Pearlman April 5, 2013 at 06:23 pm
I think that there is a lot of truth to what Stevo has to say. The first time we see someone, we…Read More see him or her the way that they really appear, you might say. After that, our perceptions are colored by our feelings. If we like the person, his or her good features will come to the fore and that person will grow in attractiveness esp. if we continue to learn about their wonderful personal qualities. I remember meeting someone whom, at first glance, I thought was very attractive but with time, when I learned she wasnt nice at all [ and I wasnt the only one who thought that], I never saw her as pretty again. Pretty is as pretty does, as the old adage goes. Inner beauty radiates to the outside. It is something to remember.
Jan Hickman April 6, 2013 at 12:43 am
Joanna- glad you enjoyed the piece and beauty IS ridiculously priced!
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Jackie Connelly-Fornuff April 6, 2013 at 11:42 pm
Hi Chris, not sure why a link would be broken?
I know our taxes go up at least $200 a year. After 10…Read More years it certainly adds up. It's always been expensive to live on Long Island and that won't ever change. People can either move elsewhere if they can or stay until they can leave. I love Long Island and while I agree the cost to live here is costly, Long Island is my home :)
Barbara Capella Loehr (Editor) April 7, 2013 at 03:40 pm
The link on the Sound Off page should be working now.
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