New Hyde Park-Garden City Superintendent of Schools Robert Katulak assured district residents at a school board meeting Monday Night that security measures to safeguard students were already in place prior to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.
“We have had training programs in place for the past five years,” Katulak said. “Even prior to the events of Newtown, our administrators’ receive annual training on safety precautions and drills that are practiced with students.”
The meeting, which was held at the Garden City Park School, was the district’s first public input session for residents to weigh in on crafting the 2013-14 school district budget.
But safety concerns were at the forefront of discussion following shooting deaths of 20 first graders and six school personnel at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut
Trustee David Del Santo called for the district Safety and Security Committee to meet to address concerns that he and other members of the community have about safety issues. The committee is scheduled to meet at Jan. 9 at 3 p.m.
Jenna DeRocchis, second vice president of the Manor Oaks PTA, said the school security should be “proactive” rather than “reactive.”
Referring to the Sandy Hook tragedy, DeRocchis said “It unfortunately could happen again. Let’s be proactive and do what we need to do to ensure the safety of our students.”
Katulak reviewed drills that are practiced on an annual basis, including fire drills – conducted at least 12 times per year – and evacuation drills, emergency go-home drills, take shelter drills, lock out drills and lock down drills. The details of each drill are known to only staff members, and for security reasons, are not shared with the public.
Last spring, the district received an “intensive training” from the Nassau County Police Department and FBI entitled “Active Shooters – Precautions and Strategies,” school officials said. On Jan. 7, district administrators attended a second day of training on this topic, which was provided by Nassau County.
“The suggestions given help tighten and strengthen our emergency response strategies,” Katulak said.
On Wednesday, Katulak said school administrators met with Director of Safety and Facilities for Nassau BOCES Peter LaDuca to review and implement any upgrades to the district’s existing program. The district continues to keep in close contact with the Nassau County Police Department’s 3rd Precinct through Office Nick Masseso, who often participates in discussions following safety drills, he added.
Responding to PTA members during the budget input session, Katulak said the district’s ongoing budget dilemma is the state-mandated tax cap, unfunded mandates and programs the district must maintain.
“It’s the balance of the century, as I have heard from many,” Katulak said. “It’s an uphill climb, but I assure you we will do it.”
Katulak noted that the 2011-2012 school budget, which totaled $34,494,380 with a tax levy increase of 2.88 percent, was approved with a 65 percent plurality
Manor Oaks PTA president Lisa Ugolini called for the board to maintain “reasonable” class sizes.
“As I have said at previous meetings, it is extremely important to monitor class sizes while forming your budget,” she said.
Ugolini stressed that specifically grades kindergarten through three need “more individualized instruction.”
Former Manor Oaks PTA president Cathy Wong said her three children were benefiting from the music and art enrichment programs.
They are “the kind of programs that my husband and I moved here for.” she said.
Kieran Griffin, an English teacher in the district and husband of a PTA member, also addressed the importance of art and music programs in the school, from the perspective of a teacher who is not involved in such programs.
As a non-artist or musician, I can’t say they have helped me personally,” Griffin said. “However as an English teacher, I will say they are just as important as an English class. You won’t find many people in the community who will say that, but it is absolutely true.”
Katulak invited community members to share ideas about avoiding cuts while crafting the budget.
“If you have exciting ideas that have never been tried…as administrators, if we had to cut a service, can we do something where we can only cut back on part of the service? We’re trying to explore all options,” Katulak said.
In other developments:
• Garden City Park School Principal James Svendsen welcomed the board to his Garden City Park School, pointing out the new gymnasium windows and lighting which was completed over the summer. Svendsen also praised the new use of Smart boards in Envision Program classes.
“In almost every room I go into, there is a Smart board on, and its being used in many different ways,” Svendsen said. “It’s enriched our instruction tremendously as we prepare them for the future.”
In addition, iPads have been added to multiple rooms for students to use. Svendsen assured the board and everyone in attendance that the district continues to encourage “good old fashion learning techniques” and makes sure they get time to run around the gym and exercise.
“All of our technology, as great as it is, will never replace a great teacher,” Svendsen said.
Svendsen also announced a new reading incentive program “Read-O, which encourages students to read at home.
