Clarity
In response to the mailing that went to homes from the “committee against the bond” located at the UPS store on Jericho Turnpike. It urges people to “Vote NO” if you don’t want a 5th grade in the Middles School or 8th grade in the high school- A no vote WILL NOT guarantee this. Those grades will only remain if a second bond is passed in February. If the second bond fails then those grades will move anyway. The postcard also states vote no “if you don’t want so many transitions.” I don’t understand this comment. Right now there are 4 transitions, if the bond passes there are 4 transitions; if the bond fails the default has 4 transitions… It is correct that if the bond fails there will not be roof top playground, instead the default option will take parking spaces at Willis further complicating the parking situation. Please know all the facts and vote on Tuesday.
Jim, I don’t consider it double speak. I was addressing the people who put out the anonymous mailing. I certainly don’t think every no vote is to save Meadow, many no votes will be from people who were either uninformed or misinformed. Others truly want 5th and 8th grade to stay put. The people who were misinformed read an unsigned postcard that most know came from a group to the north. The content was inaccurate and designed to strike at the most important part of many voters concerns, higher taxes.
I really must applaud the section of the district that can come out and mobilize the way they do. I only wish they could be a more open and transparent group. I found many of the tactics utilized to be unworthy of people who preach the proper educating of our children. Honest and open debate would better serve all.
But the debate is over……..for this vote and I commend those who conducted themselves with integrity.
Artie talk about double speak. You said “Mary, If I came across as saying ” that all no votes are purely to save Meadow” it was not my intention. However, the postcard seems to echo the rhetoric of a certain group who feel that way.
And your earlier post said ” It’s easy to lie about things when you’re not going to put your name to it.
Truth would have read:
VOTE NO: if you want to save Meadow.
VOTE YES: if you want to save the District.
COWARDS!
It doesn’t seem like you said all no votes are to keep Meadow open, it’s EXACTLY what you said.
Believe it or not people can be against this bond votes for reasons other than saving Meadow. I am against it and I have always been. The number 1 reason I am against this bond is there has been absolutely no evidence that it is educationally sound. I attened Mrs Goffman’s presentation on the cluster model and she clearly stated there was no real data supporting it as a viable option. She went on to make up a list of pro’s and cons that she believed would come of it but again none of these OPINIONS were supported by fact or study. We are EXPERIMENTING with the eductional future of our future if we vote for this bond.
I have said from the beginning that voting to close schools before a plan was in place was foolish and I still believe that today. There are many other reasons I can and have listed as valid reasons to vote no on this bond and none of them have anything to do with saving Meadow. I would like to and have supported saving ALL the primary schools.
Just because I haven’t been blogging doesn’t mean I’m not paying attention! Up until yesterday, I have appreciated the spirited and “American” debate over the issues with the reconfiguration, but when my children came home with stickers on their shirts saying “VOTE: Efficiency and Affordability”, that was really the last straw for me. Central Office: PLEASE do not use MY CHILDREN as walking billboards for YOUR propaganda! The Outreach, the flyers at the fair, the mailings, anonymous or not, fact or fiction, ARE ALL in some ways PROPAGANDA! Lets be honest! The difference is they are addressed to the HOMEOWNER! Up until now, my children have remained unaware of this contraversy – not anymore thanks to Central Office!
On another note: if the sticker had said: “VOTE: for a better education plan….VOTE: for a better Mineola School District” – maybe that would have been ok – still a year later all I hear about is the money…how about focusing on the education plan? How about spending money on propaganda that communicates the benefits of clustering? How about spending money on propaganda that communicates how much better our schools will be when students transition, in THEIR PRIMARY YEARS! through buildings like revolving doors. I still have yet to be convinced that clustering is a BETTER education model than what our children are receiving right now…convince me of that and maybe you will get my vote
I don’t know why but somehow I have not received any of these postcards from the Committee of Misinformation. In Ms. Kessler’s note above, she states that except for the part on transitions everything else is true. That’s good to know. And it’s very nice of her to point out what is true and what is not. In their next missive if the committee would just highlight the true statements it would save everyone some time. Also, if we want to make reference to historic documents that were signed by their authors we might want to consider the Declaration of Independence. After signing that document I do believe emotions were ruinning quite high too.
If you feel strongly about a position you should be willing to stand up and put your name to it. This is the message we should be sending to our kids. When you send out an “unsigned” postcard as far as I’,m concerned you lose your creditibility. We’re not in a society where you will get put before a firing squad for supporting a school position.
As far as comparing a post card of one liners to the Federalist papers isn’t that a bit of a stretch.
Other than the statement regarding transitions in the postcards sent out by the Committe Against the Bond, the remaining statements are not untrue…whether you agree with them or not is a different matter. Simply because the author or authors of the postcards choose to remain anonymous does not invalidate the message. Shouldn’t the free expression of ideas be encouraged with or without a signature at the bottom of the page? What if the Federalist Papers, which were originally published anonymously, were discarded outright simply because the authors refused to identify themselves? The concentration should be on the substance of the information regardless of its author. Given the highly charged climate surrounding this bond vote and the reconfiguration in general, it is understandable why some would prefer to remain anonymous when voicing their opinions.
John, you make very valid points. Most of which I agree with, however I have to be realistic.
“- I want ALL the schools to remain open. They all have value.”
I would like to do the same, but we have to face the fact that the majority of our district residents can no longer afford to maintain the luxury of four elementary schools.
“- Closing 3 out of 5 elementary schools is VERY drastic. Why not close 4 and save more money???”
Simply said, closing four schools would be impossible without increasing class sizes beyond the district’s guidelines and the existing buildings would need to be renovated at a cost in the 20 or 30 million dollar range.
“- Closing 3 buildings will result in the loss of 48 classrooms.”
True, but how many of them only service 12-14 students while others have 22-24?
“- A rooftop playground on Willis.”
Yes, for a 1/2 hour a day so the kids can blow off some steam. K and 1st graders who really just want to run in circles anyway.
“- Dr. Nagler’s plan is to fire 25 full time teachers plus 22 part time aides. I’d rather see a few administrators “excessed” instead of the fine teachers who actually teach our children.”
FIRE, is a strong word but for what it’s worth, my wife will be one of them. A huge impact on my family’s finances, but that doesn’t make it wrong. I still believe it’s the best choice for the entire district.
“- Whenever I hear about leasing our schools to outside entities, I have to ask “Are we in the business of generating revenue or are we in the business of educating our children?””
We are here to educate our children, of course. At the same time it must not be done through over spending and a blind eye to the taxpayers who must fund the programs.
The debate is drawing to a close. Many points have been brought to light. Some by people willing to put their name to what they believe and some by anonymous sources who are not willing to stand behind their opinions.
Nobody should ever take the rantings of unsigned propaganda as fact. If the statements could be backed up, they would be proudly accepted as the words of their author. That has not been the trend and the voters are being denied factual information because of it.
For those of us willing to put our name to our opinion, we accept the inevitable opportunity to debate our position at every school and community function. Something I want my children to learn, being responsible for your actions.
Yes, well said Mary. As someone who has attended many board meetings in the past 3 years, I also want to clearly state that I am 100% against the bond for these reasons:
- I want ALL the schools to remain open. They all have value.
- Closing 3 out of 5 elementary schools is VERY drastic. Why not close 4 and save more money???
- Closing 3 buildings will result in the loss of 48 classrooms.
- A rooftop playground on Willis.
- Dr. Nagler’s plan is to fire 25 full time teachers plus 22 part time aides. I’d rather see a few administrators “excessed” instead of the fine teachers who actually teach our children.
- Whenever I hear about leasing our schools to outside entities, I have to ask “Are we in the business of generating revenue or are we in the business of educating our children?”
I encourage everyone to find out the facts — all the facts. Check out the prior edition of the Outreach. It says in big, bold font
“BOND VOTE TO SAVE $42 MILLION”. The same words “save an estimated $42 million over 10 years” are repeated 5 more times throughout the Outreach. But nowhere does it tell you how many teachers will be fired, nor how many classrooms will be lost. Consider all the facts and go out and vote on Tuesday.
Dr. Nagler,
I just received another UNSIGNED Crap-O-Gram from the UPS store in Garden City Park.
Can we expect to receive an “Outreach” newsletter before the vote on Tuesday? It would be refreshing to get some truth in the mailbox.
Mary, If I came across as saying ” that all no votes are purely to save Meadow” it was not my intention. However, the postcard seems to echo the rhetoric of a certain group who feel that way.
I agree, Mary D.!
I agree with Mary’s ideas as well.
I also think that it is time to stop bashing instead start solving the problems that are surfacing with regard to the “options” in the bond. They really don’t feel like “options” that are for the educational advancement of our children at all.
I wish that the Board and the Superintendent would listen to ALL of the CCC recommendations
Understandably, there are no guarantees as to what will happen if the bond fails on Tuesday…it’s up to the Board to decide what will happen next. You, as Superintendent, have said you will recommend that the Board proceed with the N/S bond option. However, at the October 7 Board Meeting, Mr. Hornberger raised and the other Board members expressed an interest in pursuing a different cluster option which would also allow the 5th Grade and the 8th Grade to remain in place. Clearly, the Board is entitled to decide on whether to pursue this other option.
The only guarantee is if this bond passes this cluster configuration is what we will have in the district and, assuming all of the procedural hoops are jumped through, we will be committed to financing a $6.7 bond and leasing Meadow Drive for 10 years.
Well said Mary
If I may, I would like to make a few points. Although I do not favor the bond that will be put up on Tuesday the 26th, I do not support the postcard that was mailed to residents this week. The information was misleading, and some was incorrect. However, I would like to point out that it is still possible to favor some of the other options available and yet not be considered part of the underground movement to get out the no vote. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, my reasons for not supporting this bond are the following: I feel closing three schools is drastic, I prefer to keep some form of neighborhood schools for our younger students, I prefer 5th and 8th to stay where they are, and I would rather not see a rooftop playground on top of Willis Ave. I resent the opinion out there that all no votes are purely to save Meadow. It cannot be discounted that the CCC made up of over 30 people from all parts and places of the District recommended a COMPROMISE that seemed to address the things that were said to be the top concerns. There are some of us who have been attending all these meetings, participating in discussions, weighed all the info, know the facts, and who should be allowed to state how they feel without all the negative connotations that are going along with it.
It’s easy to lie about things when you’re not going to put your name to it.
Truth would have read:
VOTE NO: if you want to save Meadow.
VOTE YES: if you want to save the District.
COWARDS!