Dr. Huang, I deliberately did not send this letter prior to the election on May 20 as I didn’t want to give any appearance of a desire to skew the results, but this issue has caused me much pain and I need to address it now. (It is being written as an individual and is not necessarily reflective of the opinions of the balance of the board as I have not discussed this with them before drafting this letter.)
On May 11 you held an education forum at the Great Neck House and it was reported to me that you said to the audience, in an attempt to show precisely why you felt you should be elected to the school board, that “they’re all Jewish” or words to that effect.
Please know I am greatly offended by that comment! Be assured that at no time while I have been living in Great Neck (36 years) nor on the board (22 years) has a single decision ever been made by me, or any other board member, due to any individual religious affiliation. Thomas Jefferson referred to the necessity of establishing a wall of separation of church and state and we each take that responsibility extremely seriously.
As I was neither invited, nor asked to attend your education forum I did not have the opportunity to correct this and other misstatements which you were purported to have made, although I doubt that you would have made such remarks in my presence. (Ironically your comment regarding the religious composition of the board was incorrect, although that is neither your business nor do I find it germane to our ability to lead.)
I hope you realize that with the exception of required demographic breakdowns, which we are required by law to make, we do not see or treat our students differently regardless of being black or white, Persian or Asian, Jews or Christians, rich or poor, academically gifted or in need of intervention, carnivores or vegans; they are, quite simply: our children.
And I would hope that as adults we could also be seen with a blind eye, rather than referred to with comments meant to disparage.
This election is now behind us, and it is my hope that going forward you will “remove the gloves” and continue to be interested in and involved with our schools and I invite you to enjoy the myriad district-wide events which celebrate both our cultural and educational diversity!
Barbara Berkowitz
President
GN Board of Education
