No More Games of Telephone

There are many reasons I enjoy community journalism. Among my favorites is a classic; the game of telephone. You remember, one person makes a statement to another and then passes it on to someone else. And the message at the end does not resemble what it was at the start.

Well, a recent phone conversation was the latest version of this game. The call I received had to do with the January West Islip Board of Education meeting. The question revolved around a whether there was a discussion about salaries of school district administrators at the board meeting. “There was not,” I replied. “Why?” I then inquired.

It seems as if some in the community are concerned about the salaries of West Islip school district administrators and whether the community can afford them given the current fiscal environment. A legitimate concern, but I asked the caller if those concerned about administrative staff salaries are aware that West Islip’s were among the lowest in the county? I also asked if those concerned were aware that the school district has one of the lowest administrator-to-student- ratios in the county? The answer to both questions was no.

I'm not sure if the conversation about administrative salaries stemmed from a lack of information or mis-information, but which ever, neither is good.

With the board of education about to embark on the budget formation process for the 2010-11 school year, it might behoove more local residents to attend budget hearings to let the trustees know what their concerns are. The meetings are also wonderfully educational, providing a plethora of information about what the school district spends, the burden placed on local homeowners (that homestead rate can be a real…well, it’s tough), and how West Islip ranks in spending compared to surrounding school districts.

No matter what one’s personal views are on school spending, it is important to have the correct information before forming an opinion or speaking publicly on an issue. If not, it only leads to a dissemination of incorrect information. And that helps no one.

The First Meetings Of 2010

The New Year in West Islip has gotten off to a spirited start as the first meetings of the Board of Education and West Islip Association were held recently.

While our local BOE meetings tend to be rather vanilla when compared to other school board meetings I've covered in the past, such as in Long Beach (long story), the meeting on Thursday, January 14, at Kirdahy School at Captree, was a bit lively.

Held in the school's gymnasium, there was a strong turnout at the meeting. While many of the regulars were in attendance, the numbers were inflated at least for one night mainly for two reasons: the school district was honoring its fall season student/athletes, and many members of the custodial staff were out in support of their union as it negotiates a new contract.

In addition, trustee Eliot Bloom was again posing questions and discussing a few issues that focused on how the school district negotiates contracts with its many unions to wanting to know if there was a simpler way for him to receive information from administrators.

While Bloom's repeated questions appear to at times annoy some other trustees who work hard to remain expressionless — as well as some in the audience — there is nothing wrong with seeking answers in an open forum and on the record. It is important to note that like a member of Congress, school board trustees are elected to represent West Islip residents. So while this may make some in the community cringe, we encourage Bloom and other trustees to have more of an open dialogue at meetings and discuss issues that matter to the community and are pertinent to the school district during meetings.

The evening before the January school board meeting, the West Islip Association held its first meeting of 2010 with a presentation from Vision Long Island. While a story on VLI's presentation is on WestIslipTribune.com, the WIA is changing its focus a bit. Joseph DiCarlo, chairman of the association, noted that the group will work to have specific topics at each meeting.

In addition, the meeting at the West Islip Public Library had a good turnout and several local elected officials were in attendance: Islip Supervisor Phil Nolan, Islip Councilman Steve Flotteron, Islip Councilwoman Trish Bergin and Suffolk County Treasurer Angie Carpenter.