1972-04-27

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AN OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER
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SERVING THE GREATER FARMINGDALE AREA, BETHPAGE, MELVILLE ^ W
A MEMBER OF THE OBSERVER/ TRIBUTE GROUP OF NEWSPAPERS^ y'
VOL. 9 NO. 3 6 Second Class Postage has been paid at Farmingdale, N. Y. 11735 • Published by THE OBSERVER. INC., Box 146, Farmingdale, N. Y. Thursday April 2 7 1 9 72
( installation and Await/ \ Teachers: Strike or Not Is
Up to the Board of Education
Ira Goldfine ( above), newly installed commander of the
L. I. F. E. Post 792, Jewish War Veterans of the U. S. A. accepts a
proclamation from the office of the Town Board of Oyster Bay.
Receiver of Taxes, Sol Newborn, made the presentation for the
Board at the annual installation of officers held at the Far­mingdale
Jewish Center, last Sunday. In addition to commander
Goldfine, the other officers are vice- commanders Alvin
Abramson, Sr., Bruce Troner, Jr., and Fred Bryer, Jr. Below:
Janice Hatch of Farmingdale High School received the Jean R.
Tint Award for Americanism from commander Goldfine, right,
as Rick Draws, county commander of the Nassau- Suffolk
district council looks on. The award was given at the annual
installation of officers of Post 792.
Photos: Jack Pokress
Timely Topics at Friday's
Dolphin Green Open Forum
School and Library finances
will be discussed at the next Open
Forum of the Dolphin Green
Civic Association. No timelier
topics could have been chosen for
the Open Forum, scheduled for
this Friday, 8: 00 p. m., at Guilford
Hall of the Farmingdale Senior
High School. At a time, when
negotiations between the board of
education and the teachers are at
an impasse and teachers are
talking strike, a public discussion
of the financial situation of the
school district is of importance
for all parties involved: the board
of education, the school ad­ministration,
the teachers and -
last but not least - the taxpaying
residents.
According to Ralph Ranieri,
president of the association, the
school administration will be well
represented that evening.
Superintendent of schools, Dr.
William Kinzler, assistant
superintendents Charles L.
Manso and Dr. Philip J.
Acinapuro, business manager
Richard Zutt and principal John
McLennan will be among the
guests this evening.
Representatives of the Far­mingdale
Public Library will also
be present to state their case for
the adoption of the library
budget. The library trustees are
presently waging a determined
campaign to gain the public's
sympathies. Since 1967, Far­mingdale
voters have con­sistently
defeated each budget.
All library trustees, as well as
library director Orrin Dow, will
be present at the Open Forum
this Friday evening.
The Dolphin Green Civic
Association is urging all parents
and students lo attend.
" We will not go backwards another inch, regardless of the consequences".
This was Ken Deedy speaking, president of the Farmingdale Classroom
Teachers Association ( CTA). The time was Monday night, the place Mill Lane
JHS, the occasion the " public hearing" called by the teachers to inform residents
of the present status of the contract negotiations with the Board of Education.
The unique feature of this
public meeting was the CTA's
official declaration of its
minimum demands and of its
resolve to rather go on strike than
accept anything less. As Deedy
explained to the approx. 200
people in attendance, these two
demands are all that is left from
the original list of 75 demands
when negotiations started in
January, and a list of some 30
unresolved items that still
existed before the teachers
decided to reduce their package
to two non - negotiable demands
and turn to the public.
These two demands are a wage
increase in line with the federal
government's pay board rules,
amounting to 5.5 per cent, and a
renewal of last year's contract.
The school board's decision to
discharge 21 teachers and one
principal will not be fought by the
union, Deedy explained.
The existing problem arises out
of the teachers demands for
" maintenance of the present
contract", which, strictly legally
speaking, would mean renewal of
the contract that expired March
31. This the Board of Education is
not willing to do. It objects to the
contract provision governing
teachers' sabbaticals.
Sabbaticals are leaves of ab­sence
with full pay for up to one
year. The* expired contract, and
contracts previous to that,
spelled out who would be entitled
to a sabbatical and when. Based
on last year's contract, seven
teachers, for which replacements
would have to be hired, were
entitled to sabbaticals.
The school board's contention,
spelled out earlier and reiterated
Monday night by Superintendent
of Schools Dr. William Kinzler, is
that granting or withholding of
sabbaticals is discretionary with
the board. Citing the fiscal
crunch facing the school district,
the Board of Education has made
College Credits and Open
School on Board's Agenda
College credit by examination
and the " open school" within a
school at the elementary and high
school levels were the main
topics of Monday evening's
public curriculum meeting of the
Farmingdale School Board. Mr.
Leonard Marino, Director of
Guidance at the high school,
provided details on the college
level examination program
which enables out- of- school
adults and high school and
college students an opportunity to
receive college credit by
examination.
Mr. Marino cited the example
of San Francisco State College
where 67 percent of the freshmen
enrolled took the CLEP exams.
Many became " instant
sophomores". Marino indicated
that high school students, par­ticularly
seniors, might take
advantage of elective courses or
self study to prepare for the
exams.
High school principal John
McLennan recommended the
continuation of the informal
school at the high school. The
program lor juniors will remain
almost identical as the present
one. The program for seniors will
emphasize more in- depth and
independent projects. All such
programs are subject to school
and parental approval before
being taken.
Mrs. Rosalie Samuels and Mrs.
Patricia Desch put forward
proposals to operate a similar
school- within- a- school program
at the Northside and Woodward
Parkway Schools. These
programs emphasize more in­dependent
work and use of
project type activities. The
Woodward Parkway proposal
would cover the early grades and
the Northside project the upper
elementary grades. Enrollment
in such programs would be on a
volunteer basis.
Response of the audience
seemed to be generally positive.
Many were concerned with the
possible cost and school officials
indicated that it could be done
without additional funding. Some
monies will be requested for
specific materials to insure a
greater variety of activities for
the students but lack of funding
was not considered a major
impediment to the im­plementation
of the program.
public its decision not to grant
sabbaticals anymore.
This would result in a savings
of $ 110,000 - $ 120,000, or 11- 12
cents on the tax rate. In the
teachers view, however, this
constitutes breach of contract
and, moreover, loss of an ad­ditional
seven jobs.
New regulations regarding
substitute teachers would, ac­cording
to the union, result in the
loss of five more teaching jobs, so
that in essence not 22, but rather
33 jobs, including one principal's,
are lost. The principal is the one
from Main Street school which
will definitely close at the end of
the current school year.
Responding to an invitation by
the CTA, and to the challenge, as
he described it when he ad­dressed
the audience, Dr. Kinzler
expressed his dismay at the tack
taken by the teachers. While he
would not want to comment on
the current status of the
negotiations, Kinzler said, he,
too, would call the CTA's action
unique. The Board of Education
has always done its talking at the
negotiating table, as it should be,
and not in public.
As to the sabbaticals, Kinzler
stated that if no consensus could
be reached, the courts would be
the proper authority to resolve
this argument. ( The CTA is about
to institute such action and has
filed already charges of unfair
labor practices).
Going through enrollment
figures on the elementary level,
Kinzler pointed out that with the
beginning of the new school year
the district's pupil population will
drop by some 330 children. The
elementary schools remaining
after the closing of Main Street
School will be able to absorb all
children, with only one class
section, amounting to four
classes, having 31 children in the
classroom. Other class sections
range from close to 30 pupils to a
low of 20 at the Parkway Oaks
kindergarten class.
Public participation in the
( Continued on Page 7)
Loyalty Day Parade Sunday ^
The Corp. Gerge Benkert Jr., Post 516, Veterans of Foreign
Wars, will hold their 17th Annual Loyalty Day Parade and
Program on Sunday, April 30.
Assembly time for the parade is 2: 00 p. m. on Sunday at the Fred
Murray Field, which is located behind the Farmingdale Village
Fire House. The parade will start at 2: 30 p. m.
Dignitaries who will be present are Ralph Caso, Nassau County
Executive, Assemblymen Martin Ginsberg, and Philip Healey,
John Hallahan, Mayor, John R. Ray, Past Department Com­mander,
Leo J. Morgan, Postmaster, William Barker, Com­manding
Officer 8th Pet., and the Rev. Father Hartman of St.
James Parish.
There also will be ten antique cars on display. Various
organizations, including marching bands, will be present.