Published by the Board of Education Spring 2011Brentwood Bulletin

St Patrick’s DayParade 2011

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he Board of Education would like to take this opportunity to thank-

you, our residents, not only for your support for our school district, but also for the support you give to our children which contributes to their successes.

A year ago you gave a resounding “yes” to our budget and allowed us to have enough revenue to provide academic programs and extra-curricular programs that have resulted in incredible success stories for our kids. Our children have achieved State Champions in Soccer and Music. We have Intel Semi-finalists, Siemens Competition Semi-Finalists, Horatio Alger Scholarship Winners and International” I Sweep” com-petitors. Our science award winners all benefited from our AP classes, and we are privileged to have thirty two scholars. Many after school activities, such as the YES Pro-gram and the WXBA full service radio sta-tion benefit our children in a very positive way. We have been, and continue to be, good neighbors with the BYA letting them use our fields and courts for our kids to play. When our so-called partners in Albany make their harsh cuts, they don’t consider the damage

it does to our students, teachers and taxpayers.

I am privileged to have had your trust over the years and I want you to know that your children are our main concern. I know you will join me and your Board of Education in honoring all the wonderful work your children do on a daily basis. They make us all proud.

We are committed to our children, teach-ers and taxpayers. Although we have made cuts in certain areas, all budgetary moves were made to save programs for our kids. Rumors circulated that the safety of our kids would be compromised and our buildings and grounds would suffer. In fact, incidents are down and our buildings and grounds are looking better each day.

In case you have heard rumors that Full Day Kindergarten and EIP have been cut, I would like to put your minds at ease. The truth is that we have saved both programs, and we are constantly working together with the ad-ministration and staff to find ways to save as many programs and jobs as possible.

T

Brentwood Plungers Make a Splash!!

The Special Olympics Polar Plunge was a huge success and the “Brentwood Plungers” played a major role! Not only did the team raise money they also raised morale and made bathing in icy waters fun. Our plungers raised thousands to help fund programs for the Special Olympics and promote awareness and recruit volunteers. When asked if they would be back next year to take the icy plunge? Our plungers responded with an astounding yyyyeeesss!!

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Dysfunctional AlbanyThe Governor announced he has reached a tentative state budget agreement that will restore more than 200 million dollars to education programs. This sounds like good news, doesn’t’ it? The only problem is that 70 percent of that money will go upstate and the rest will be divided among down-state schools. If you do the math, it’s a little bit of money for a lot of schools!

The Governor touted this budget agreement as a spending plan that belongs to the people and keeps costs and spending down. The media is calling the 132.5 billion spending plan “the first budget that boasts a spending cut”. Those spending cuts have been aimed at area schools since day one, effecting districts like Brentwood very deeply.

The Governor continues his claim that school districts, including ours, have lots of hidden monies in reserve. What he hasn’t told you is that the Attorney General has set up rules that restrict the use of those reserve funds and left us needing to find alternative ways to cover deficits in our budget to save programs and jobs. Even though we are grateful that a state budget agree-ment has been reached, we are leery that it has been reached without considering the poorer school districts which are the most adversely effected. Consequently, the kids, teachers and taxpayers of Brentwood are going to feel the pinch the most.

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Fighting Back!!!

Here is the latest update on what we have been doing regarding the cuts from Gov. Cuomo.

We have written to all of our State leaders and asked them not to forget the educational needs of our students. We let them know that our kids strive to achieve and these proposed cuts would hurt not only our kids but also our teachers and taxpayers.

Mike Sgroi and George Talley went, along with the PTA, to a breakfast on Saturday, March 5th to meet with the politicians that represent us. Phil Ramos chose not to attend.

Roland Jimenez and George Talley then went to Albany on Sunday, March 13th to meet with our leaders face to face, reminding them that we are the largest school district on Long Island and that, as such, our needs are greater than most districts. While one of our Assemblymen, Phil Ra-mos, thought it was unimportant to honor an appointment with us, Senator Zeldin not only took the time, but also scheduled a follow-up meeting with us for the following Sunday. We met with him along with the Superintendent of

Central Islip school district, two board members and their business official in the hopes that it would result in provid-ing us with additional funding. We are grateful to Senator Zeldin for that opportunity. Also present at the meeting were, our Superintendent, Joe Bond, myself, Lorraine Pace, Steve Coleman, our business official, Stacy O’Connor and Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Joan Lange. Roland Jimenez then made an appointment with Mr. Ramos to meet with him at his Brentwood headquarters the following Thursday but, unfortunately, Mr. Ramos cancelled that meeting also. We have really been trying to voice our concerns to him, but thus far he has thwarted all of our efforts to do so. We have been in constant and close communication with members of our Administration, working in tandem with them, reviewing the budget and doing all we can to save as much as possible. So far, we were able to save the Full Day Kindergarten and EIP programs. We assure you that we will continue to review the numbers and we will strive to do our best to keep as many programs and jobs as we can.

George TalleyPresident,

Board of Education

Mike SgroiTrustee, Board of Education

Roland JimenezTrustee, Board of Education

FIDDLERONTHE ROOFFIDDLERFIDDLER

If I Were a Rich Man Nothing short of outstanding! That was the way parents, families and friends described the Music Departments performance of Fiddler on the Roof. Playing before sell out crowds, our kids brought the house down receiving loud ovations. Our musicians were outstanding, led by Joel Ratner they performed flawlessly. Keeping the crowd captivated and on the edge of their seats.

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Pictures are Worth a Thousand Words

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George TalleyPresident, Board of Education

Mike SgroiTrustee, Board of Education

Roland JimenezTrustee, Board of Education

When Mike Sgroi and Roland Jimenez were tapped as Chairman and Co-Chair of the Fund Raising Com-mittee little did they know how much aid would be cut from our budget by Governor Cuomo. School Board President George Talley met with the pair and decided it was time to throw a couple of carnival like events to help generate revenue while at the same time giving residents something to look forward too. “Back to back weekends Memorial Day and the weekend after following the Hispanic Day Parade said Talley, we are

going to host events that this town won’t soon forget!” The Lions Club, Veterans Groups, Fire Department and others have gladly volunteered to help with the events that will include planes and helicopters flying above, rides and fireworks and some of the best food around. Keep your eyes open for future announce-ments as new attractions and information are added. It is scheduled to take place on the grounds of Suffolk Community College in Brentwood.

Fund Raising

This publicationis designed toinform residentsof the BrentwoodSchool Districtcommunity ofnews aboutyour schools.For furtherinformation,call 434-2334.

BOARD OF EDUCATIONGeorge M. Talley, PresidentLorraine A. Pace, 1st Vice PresidentSuzanne M. Belanger-Embree, 2nd Vice PresidentStephen E. Coleman, TrusteeRoland Jimenez, TrusteeGail Kirkham, TrusteeMichael Sgroi, Trustee

Joseph C. Bond, Superintendent of Schools

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Future Scientists of America!!!

National NewsRodger Shelton was recently signed by Edinboro University to play Wheelchair Basketball as a star player. Rodger is a senior at the Sonderling Center and has played for the New Jersey Nets High School Varsity Wheelchair Basketball Team and the Nassau Kings Adult Team. Some of his accolades include being the recipient of the Most Improved Player Award 2010 and being voted into the All-Conference Wheelchair Basket-ball Team(s), March 2008-2010. Rodger will be majoring in Psychology at Edinboro University in the Fall of 2011.