BOE Discusses Princeton Plan, Business Council Meeting

At the Sayville Board of Education workshop meeting on June 2, the two main topics of discussion centered on the recent and the .

Superintendent Dr. Walter Schartner briefed the board members on the highlights of the meeting, as well as the main areas of concern voiced by parents. “The parents at this meeting wanted more research and more details, such as transportation costs and the effects on the children,” he said. “I don’t think they understood this was just a preliminary discussion. These kinds of studies cost money.”

Some parents proposed cutting teacher’s salaries and benefits as a cost-saving measure. Others believe the Sayville Public Schools administration is too top heavy and said administrators and even the administration building could be eliminated. Some parents said trying to coordinate getting three children to three different schools would be stressful. Several parents said concerns over inconsistency in class sizes were a non-issue.

Schartner believes that the true Princeton Plan scenario would be very difficult for the younger children. “Stability is very important for the kindergarten through third graders. Personally I don’t think the move would affect the fourth and fifth graders as much,” he said.

Schartner and members of the board will look more closely at other school districts that operate with intermediate centers (kindergarten through third grade) to gauge the effects. One good example would be Island Trees School District. The board is awaiting more data on the effects of the tax cap in order to be able to tax specifics before another roundtable discussion is called. The next meeting will likely be held in the high school auditorium with microphones for each speaker.

One unrelated topic brought to light during the Princeton Plan meeting was bringing special education back to the district. Schartner said discussions have already been started that involve bringing six Sayville students here. The district currently does not have the type of program these particular children would need, however. “It’s almost like the chicken and the egg,” said Dr. Gerry Sullivan Keck, deputy superintendent. “We can’t start a program without a commitment from the parents and it’s difficult for the parents to make a commitment without seeing a program in place.”

Dr. Schartner also presented a summary of the recent Sayville School/Business Council meeting that took place earlier in the week. “We are already reaping the benefits of this partnership as two students have been placed in internships with two of the local businesses,” he said.  “I feel we are ready to go forward focused on ideas that can help the community and the students thrive. When we meet again in September we will focus on internships, mentors, and other programs that will support our students. We will discuss how our students can help the business community. I will request that the student government send student representation to the meetings.”