The lines were clearly drawn between the five Mineola School Board candidates during Monday night’s candidates forum, with two of the challengers defining the upcoming school election as a referendum on the board of education’s school consolidation plan.
“It’s going to be a vote on configuration. There has been a division in our community,” said Veronica Levitan, who added that the configuration issue would determine the outcome of the five-way race for two school board seats.
Challenger Joseph Manopella said voting for the budget would be a vote for reconfiguration since $2.6 million in the proposed $84.2 million budget are for reconfiguration-related improvements to the Hampton and Meadow Drive schools.
“It’s also about configuration. You’re voting for a portion of the reconfiguration and people have to keep that in mind when they’re voting,” Manopella said.
The incumbent candidates, board president Terence Hale and William Hornberger, offered a different take on the implications of the school election, citing their board’s four consecutive years of maintaining 2.5 percent increases in the tax levy.
“It’s about the future of Mineola,” Hornberger said. ” We planned to execute a program we can deliver in these very difficult financial times.”
He and Hale noted that the board had maintained all programs as it held costs down on its projected $84.2 million budget, a 5.11 percent increase over the current year.
Hale said economic necessity had prompted the school board’s decision early last year to close two elementary schools in the district.
“This budget will pass and we will move forward,” Hale said. “We can’t run seven schools. We just can’t do it anymore.”
Challenger Gerald Magaldi expressed his opposition to what he called “reconfiguration” but conceded the need to consolidate facilities.
“Do I believe in reconfiguration? No I don’t,” Magaldi said. “Unfortunately we do have to close schools.”
Excluding $2.6 million to be drawn from the school district’s general fund to upgrade the Hampton Street and Meadow Drive Schools, the proposed budget would be $81,128,573, a 1.83 percent increase over next year, translating to a 2.37 percent tax levy increase.
The overriding issue in Mineola’s school consoldiation debate has been which schools to shutter.
Both Manopella and Levitan said they thought the Willis Avenue School, the newest and largest of the district schools, should be retained – contrary to consolidation plans that project leasing at least part of Willis in the fall of 2012.
“You want to keep the Cadillac and lease the Chevy,” Manopella said. “You don’t just take something that’s good and give it away.”
Levitan, a language teacher at the Long Island Conservatory and treasurer of the Meadow Drive PTA, said the Willis Avenue School should be kept as a “cluster school” in the district. She said she likes the class sizes in Willis, but echoed reservations of other parents about the lack of green play space at Willis Avenue.
Hornberger called the Willis Avenue School a “beautiful building” that “should have never been built.”
The $10 million bond to build the school is not yet paid off and the school can only be leased to a non-profit organization.
“A majority of the board said Hampton is a better fit for the south side,” Hornberger said.
Magaldi agreed that the Hampton School is the right choice as the Pre-K through 2 school on the south side of the school district.
On the proposed lease of the Cross Street School to Solomon Schecter Day School of Glen Cove, Manopella, Levitan and Magaldi all said they supported leasing the Cross Street School.
But Manopella said the lease deal with Solomon Schechter might have been negotiated more effectively and said “the nature and intention of usage must be considered.”
Hale and Hornberger both endorsed the lease they had authorized Mineola Superintendent of School Michael Nagler to negotiate with Solomon Schechter for the district.
Hornberger said he was aware of an e-mail sent to community members yesterday with the message “Throw the Bums Out,” referring to him and Hale and signed only “Vote Down the Budget.”
Williston Park civic activist Umberto Magnardi claimed credit for the e-mail after the meeting. He said he touted the candidacies of Manopella and Levitan in the e-mail as candidates preferable to Hale and Hornberger, and said he had signed the message Umberto “Vote Down the Budget” Magnardi.
Manopella, executive director of Franklin Hospital, and Magaldi, an executive with Signature Bank, both pointed to their financial expertise as qualifications for the school board. Hornberger cited his career as an accountant currently working for J.P. Morgan.
“I do this every day in the hospital setting,” Manopella said. “I’m qualified to do this.”
Manopella said the board needed to plan for the next ten years. Both men said spending needed to be reined in.
“Something has to give. We can’t keep giving the increases we’ve been seeing,” Magaldi said.
Magaldi, who said he has no children in the district, has coached little league and teaches confirmation classes at St. Aidan Church.
Hale said with neighboring districts securing wage freezes with their teachers, the trend puts the Mineola School Board ” in the driver’s seat” in upcoming negotiations with district teachers.
“We’ll be working on zero increases,” said Hale, who also suggested increased pension contributions could be negotiated with the teachers.
Hornberger said that teachers will still receive annual state-mandated “step” salary raises. Hornberger and Hale both said that 5 percent annual salary increases aren’t possible with the impending 2 percent property tax cap being imposed by New York State.
Levitan, who touted her teaching background and experience as a negotiator as her prime qualifications, said she thinks the teachers “will be more than willing to negotiate with us.”
Manopella said economic conditions dictated salary freezes or limited increases.
All candidates spoke in favor of 21st Century education initiatives.
Levitan suggested adding more AP classes in the high school. Manopella called providing Mineola students 21st Century skills “essential.”
Hornberger said the school boards needs to enable students “to think outside the box,” and cited the new iPads program among fifth graders in the Jackson Street School as an example of the board’s goals.
“The iPads are going to change the way we teach,” said Hale.
The board plans to extend the iPad program to all middle school students.
With two children in district schools, Levitan said she is “vested in this community.”
After the meeting, she said she is “still debating” about her vote on the school budget on May 17.
Monapella said he agrees with plans to close two schools. He also said he has “no preference” on whether the Cross Street School is leased to Solomon Schechter or becomes a community center and is only concerned about the economic viability of either option.
Hornberger said it’s late in the game to change the plans to lease Cross Street now and reconfigure the conslidation plans, depending on the final results of the traffic study commissioned by the school board.
