By Amanda Wyatt

Film star John Wayne might have played a sheriff in Hollywood westerns, but John Wayne Shierant — Sag Harbor’s brand new interim athletic director and a self-professed fan of his namesake — has his own tough job to do.

With the fall sports season already underway, the Sag Harbor Board of Education appointed Shierant (who usually goes by “Wayne”) to the position at its August 27 meeting.

“I’m delighted to point out a very special individual,” Interim Superintendent Dr. Carl Bonuso said of Shierant. “We had a wonderful conversation and he had equally wonderful reference checks, and people glowingly talking about [him].”

Shierant’s first day in the district was August 28, and he is scheduled to serve on a part-time basis through December 21, or until the board finds a permanent athletic director. Over the course of this 70-day period, he will be paid $22,750.

A retired athletic director (AD), Shierant has four decades in athletics to his credit. In 1970, he began his career in West Islip, where he taught physical education, coached track and field, and served as head football coach. From 1996 to 2009, he was the director of athletics in West Islip, overseeing 94 teams in the district.

Raised in Pennsylvania, Shierant studied physical education at Sterling College in Kansas and received his master’s degree in health education from Adelphi University. He also has a professional diploma in education administration from Long Island University.

While at Islip, Shierant was praised for his success as a football coach. Newsday referred to him as one of the “top football minds” in the history of Long Island high school sports, noting his winning percentage of 0.805.

“I was surrounded by great people at Islip,” said Shierant. “I had great administrators, great assistant coaches and the community was very pro-athletics…[It’s] no different than the people that are in Sag Harbor, taking pride in their community.”

Since retiring, Shierant has done interim work in Rocky Point, Southold and Connetquot school districts. In the winter, he spends time playing golf in Naples, Florida.

At the board meeting, Dr. Bonuso noted the importance of having a seasoned AD.

“We wanted someone who literally could hit the ground running,” he said. “There’s an awful lot to be done.”

“That’s a very special position to give because we’re talking not just about competitive sports per se, but we’re talking about a curriculum that’s changing day in and day out, we’re talking about a wellness program,” Dr. Bonuso added. “We’re talking about ‘athletic director’ in a very broad and very special and important sense.”

The board of education added it has decided to wait to appoint a permanent AD until the role and responsibilities of the position have been clearly defined.

Under the leadership of former superintendent, Dr. John Gratto, the position of AD had been combined with that of director of buildings and grounds. Montgomery Granger served in this dual-capacity until August, when the district decided to reduce his job to director of building and grounds.

But as Pierson coach Sean Crowley pointed out during the public input portion of the meeting, Shierant will be the sixth athletic director in seven years. In addition to Granger, William Madsen, Mike Burns and Dan Nolan have all served as AD since the departure of Nick DeCillis in 2006.

In related news, the board also announced it will hold two forums in coming weeks to meet with potential candidates for the open position on the board of education. That position has been vacant since board member Walter Wilcoxen resigned in late June, shortly after winning reelection to the board for a third term. Candidates will be publically interviewed by the board at 6 p.m. on September 11 and September 14. The seven contenders for the position are Marian Cassata, Stephen Clarke, David Diskin, Tom Gleeson, Jonathan Glynn, Susan Kinsella and Thomas Re.

By Claire Walla

After meeting with representatives of the Youth Advocacy Resource Development (YARD) program, Sag Harbor School District Superintendent Dr. John Gratto announced that the two parties had come to a decision.

“We agreed that the YARD summer beach program would remain under the auspices of the school district for 2011,” he said.

The school board has agreed to operate the program and the district will still essentially “own” the summer beach program this year.

However, Dr. Gratto continued to say that going forward the school board expressed an interest in detaching the summer beach program from the school’s list of responsibilities. The program could remain in operation, in this case, if it were to become a separate entity entirely (YARD is currently under the school’s insurance policy); or, Dr. Gratto added, “perhaps it could be run by Southampton Town.”

“It’s not a done-deal, per se,” school board president Walter Wilcoxen added.  From here on out, the future of YARD and it’s dependence on the school will be based “on the will of the board.”

School board member Dan Hartnett added that YARD was created at a time when “it was a completely different era,” before districts were subjected to such strict financial controls and annual audits.  “The question now is: how can we look at the needs of the kids and still be served in an era of accountability.”

He continued, “I’m happy that we’ve reached a decision to look at the beach program this year, because it is a beloved program.  And certainly there is time between now and next year to look at ways to administer and supervise it in a way that doesn’t harm the school.”

In other news…

To address the ways in which technology has changed the nature of communication, the board of education will revise board policy to take into account new ways of distributing information, i.e. texting and tweeting… yes, even Facebook.

“This is an important topic,” said school board member Dan Hartnett. He explained that there is a Sunshine Law in New York State, which prevents a board of elected officials from meeting in private when a majority of members is present.  Understandably, this notion is complicated when it comes to today’s swift back and forth of snippets of information.

“We should ask that all broadcast emails be copied to the [district] clerk, so that [all information] can be accessible to the public,” said school board president Walter Wilcoxen.

Facebook, the online networking site, has become a popular pastime among members of the community and now parents, teachers, administrators and others can join a group to learn about Sag Harbor School and community events.
Benefits of the Facebook group, according to school board member and founder of the group, Mary Anne Miller, are that people can regularly stay informed of happenings in the area.
For example, this weekend, the Sag Harbor Elementary School is having its annual Multi-Cultural Feast, where students can bring a food of their choice that is representative of their family heritage. For those who belong to the Facebook group, Sag Harbor UFSD Parents Connect, their attendance can be confirmed online.
So far, according to Miller’s Facebook group, there are 10 confirmed guests attending Friday night.
For many in the district, events like the multi-cultural dinner have come and gone without parents even having knowledge of it until after it was finished, according to Miller.
“A lot of parents say they don’t know about a certain event until afterwards,” she said.
For that reason Miller thought of forming this group earlier in the school year to help keep the notification of events at the forefront of people’s attention.
“I started this group for anyone in the district to join, and it has an open enrollment so anyone can post any event they are aware of occurring in the district,” Miller said.
“In the last couple of years, there has always been a feeling of disconnect, especially as the children get older, and the parents have tried various ways to get involved,” she continued.
Ellen Heller, mother of two in the Sag Harbor School District, began a Yahoo group from a suggestion put forth by Pierson’s assistant principal, Gary Kalish. She said that group has 30 members, but just two days ago she recommended the members of the Yahoo group join the Facebook group instead.
Now, the Facebook group has 65 members and is still growing.
“Facebook was very easy,” said Miller because members of the online community can join a group, even if they are not “friends” with anyone else in that community.
The first event Miller posted was for Little League sign ups, now, she said the PTA and the PTSA use the group to post their events and regular school events are posted there by parents and teachers as well.
Miller said the Facebook idea is not the only technology-linking group designed to connect parents within the Sag Harbor School’s community.
The school district’s website has recently been going through some upgrades and changes, which technology coordinator Vincent Raicovi helped to implement. The new system, called Unity Messaging, is credited with allowing visitors to utilize various mediums. With the system, the school district can send a message to computers and telephones and they also support email and text messaging.
On the district’s website, it also states that Unity Messaging allows the school to “store multiple sets of contact information so we can be sure your message is delivered.”
Miller said that although this is a great tool, the Facebook group has been very successful because there’s no need to speak to anyone, people can just learn about events online. But she added, the Unity Messaging service is a good tool for keeping the school community informed in many other ways, for example snow days.
Any event that occurs in the Sag Harbor community can be added to the group by any member of the group, said Miller. She noted for example, Bay Street Theatre could use the tool to announce their family film series and said that any family oriented events can be listed here as well.
“We encourage people with young children who are not yet in the school system to join, and it really helps just to get everybody talking.”
Miller said that one of the first thoughts for the group was to create an equipment swap. This, she said, parents can use for trading things like ice skates, rackets or anything else children use for one season, but quickly out-grow. But she said that plan hasn’t really taken off, yet.
“One of my biggest mantras as a board member is trying to get people together,” said Miller. She also added that there has always been a “bit of a disconnect” among parents in the community. She also noted it would be a great tool for parents considering what nursery or kindergarten school to send their children to. This way, she notes, parents can get advice or recommendations from others.
“Facebook is a much larger animal and can include the outer groups like Little League events and happenings at SYS in Southampton,” said Miller.
Anyone can join Facebook at www.facebook.com and search for the “Sag Harbor UFSD Parents Connect” group to join.

The Sag Harbor School district is “moving slowly,” but moving none the less on trying to get more students to come to the district on a tuition basis, with Superintendent Dr. John Gratto leading the initiative.

Right now, students in schools in Amagansett, Springs, Wainscot and Sagaponack are sent to East Hampton High School, for the remainder of their middle and high school careers because those schools do not reach grade 12. Gratto said he would like to see if it is feasible that school boards of those smaller schools agree to give kids a choice of whether or not they want to attend East Hampton or Sag Harbor schools.

According to Business Manager in the Sag Harbor School District, Len Bernard, this is not uncommon. Currently, Tuckahoe school in Southampton gives students an alternative; they can either attend Southampton High School or West Hampton Beach High School — because classes at Tuckahoe only go to eighth grade.

Gratto said for example Sag Harbor could easily absorb the four or five students expected to graduate from Sagaponack, which only goes to fourth grade, for next year. And this, he said, could be done without the need for increased staffing or other expenditures. “It would just be revenue,” he said.

“If 20 students came here at $20,000 a piece, then is $400,000 of revenue a taxpayer wouldn’t have to come up with,” the superintendent said.

Two weeks ago, the Sag Harbor district gave a tour of their schools to the Spring’s school principal, Eric Casale and Gratto reported Casale “liked what he saw.” According to Gratto, there is a possibility that 10 students could come over from the Springs School next year.

Gratto noted the board of education in Springs, has not yet made a decision on the matter, but they are “open to the idea.”

He added the larger perspective is striking a balance between expenses and revenue — the two sides to every budget.

“If you want to keep the same level of program and your expenses are relatively constant, although we did cut out a lot of expenses this year, then that means our taxes are likely to go up. If you bring in more revenue, then you mitigate the cost of taxes.”

And according to Gratto, by adding tuition based students to the school’s roster would help that cause.

Dana Wexler a Pierson High School junior, who lives in Sagaponack, was a tuition-based student who came to the district last year.

At Monday’s Sag Harbor board of education’s meeting, the eleventh grader asked the board if it was possible the school taxes her parent’s pay be used toward her tuition.

Currently her parent’s must pay tuition because there is an agreement between the Sagaponack school district and the East Hampton district.

Currently, a school district that does not have the full 12 grades, must pay for a student to attend the district agreed upon by the school board. If the agreement suggested by Gratto is approved, then students in Sagaponack could have a choice of either East Hampton or Sag Harbor. Then, the tuition would be paid for by the Sagaponack school district for a student such as Wexler to attend Pierson, rather than the parent.

The intent of Gratto’s initiative, explained school board president Walter Wilcoxen, is to get schools like Sagaponack to agree to allow the students to have a choice of either district.

According to Bernard, a student such as Wexler would pay around $18,622 per year for her to attend Pierson.

“It is not unprecedented for a district to sign agreements to send their students to other districts,” Bernard said.

According to Bernard, there are nine kids currently paying tuition at the school’s in the Sag Harbor district, but in the past three years, since Bernard joined the institution, there have been as many as 12 at one time.

Although Bernard could not confirm a number of new tuition paying students for next year, he did say the school received “calls of interest.”

Wexler’s father, Peter, said his daughter chose Pierson over other schools in the area because “she liked the people and she liked the school.” He also said she spent an entire day at the school and seemed to really enjoy all the aspects, including the small class size.

“It seemed like a really good public school,” said Peter, although he also looked at sending her to private schools in the area close to the same price.

Gratto said he expects to hear back from neighboring school districts by April 2009, in hopes of gaining new students for the 2009-2010 school year.

 

 

The Sag Harbor superintendent of schools on balancing the budget and what the federal stimulus package means to the district.

Could you sum up the current fiscal situation of the district at this point, are there going to be any mid-year cuts?

At one point the governor proposed a mid-year budget reduction, but in fact that was never passed by the legislature. But in anticipation of that, on October 6, 2008 we froze spending by $100,000. Even before that we had saved over $300,000 without reducing educational programs. That was good in that it helped to keep our education programs in place and it helped to carry over money for next year, to help minimize taxes for next year.

 

Do you anticipate some change in state aid or economic stimulus package from the federal government – and how do you see that working within our district.

Governor [David] Paterson’s proposal is still just a proposal, so it hasn’t been acted upon by the legislature yet. Last week, the stimulus package was approved by the federal government so that is scheduled to give us about $190,000 more in aid, that we are thankful for. If we get that it will keep programs in place and minimize taxes to the public.

 

Do you believe that the economic stimulus package is going to be enough for the district?

I do, because in total we had made about $677,000 in cuts in the budget for next year. If you look at the budget to budget numbers all in total we cut out $677,000 dollars, that’s on top of the $310,000 we cut this year. So all told, that brings us to a place where we have high quality programs in place and I hope we have a tax levy that the public will believe is reasonable.

 

What is the current proposed tax levy for next year’s budget?

What we will share with the board tonight [Monday] is 4.5 percent; but I say share with the board, because it is the board’s decision and they aren’t scheduled to adopt the budget until March 23. They may decide that is too high, or may decide they want some more cuts to get to a lower tax rate, or more revenue to get to a lower tax rate. But the 4.5 percent is for both towns.

 

What will the funds from the stimulus package be used for?

Funds won’t come till next school year. They have targeted it for IDEA funds. That stands for individual disabilities education act. When the law changed in 1974, it said that all students with disabilities must receive a full education. The state at that time promised 40 percent funding. But in fact, it has never given 40 percent funding; it has been about 12 percent funding since 1974. With this new stimulus package, the funding will go up to 22 percent of the cost of educating special education students. Still not what they promised, but still 10 percent better, so that is good for us. A lot of that goes to paying for special education staff, we have a lot of students here that are special education and probably 12 or 15 special educators, so it will go toward paying their staff instead of that being funded in the general education portion of the budget.

 

Do you anticipate any cuts to programs for next year?

No, again, we have been stingy on staff development. From a student’s perspective, I don’t think they would notice any difference. They will still go on field trips, they will still have sports events and still go to a music competition. The staff has retrenched a bit, for example I didn’t go to a conference last week in California – the American School Administrators Conference, it may have been valuable, but I didn’t go. The staff has retrenched some but I don’t think the students will notice.

 

Will the economic stimulus package make up for the loss of revenue that we have seen in the district or will see this year?

Yes actually it will. The details are still being flushed out, but here is how I understand it on February 23. Governor Paterson in his budget proposal, proposed that Sag Harbor get $185,000 less in aid. As I understand it, our stimulus package was designed to offset that. So in fact it will; we will get $190,000 in aid, which will offset the $185,000 cut proposed by the governor. Typically we get an increase in state aid, so this year not to have a reduction is progress.

 

Do you anticipate problems in the future, and how do we mitigate the problems for next year?

Anticipate problems in the future? Yes. I think that next fiscal year will be even more difficult than this fiscal year. I say that because assessments are typically two years behind. Typically people have challenged their assessment, it is certainly possible that in East Hampton and Southampton, they will go down. If that is the case, then there are thousands of dollars to assess from and therefore people’s tax rate may go up. Nobody likes their taxes to go up. So we have made an awful lot of cost efficiency savings this year and we may have to look for more next year. I think programs will be in greater jeopardy next year, than they are this year.

 

What programs would you think might be in jeopardy?

I would look closely at everything that isn’t mandated. I would look closely at athletics, music, guidance counselors. I’d have to look at kindergarten. And that is unfortunate, because all those things add to the quality of the school system and I would hope that we wouldn’t have to dismantle any of them. There is always a balancing act between keeping quality and keeping quality at a price that people are willing to pay. I often draw the analogy that running a school is like running a really big house. What happens at your house? If you want something you have choices, you either put it off, or go make more money so you go get a part time job – that’s kind of what revenue is. Or you decide to live without it. And we may have to live without a few things. They may be mitigated by increased revenue, but we have to take a look at everything and see how important it is.

 

What are some of the positives that you see right now?

I think fundamentally, everyone should keep sight of that we have a great school system in place already. So if we had to live without some program, there is probably a chance that some other school doesn’t have that program anyway. Fundamentally we have an awful lot of good things in place, great academic results and great extra-curricular offerings, so even if we were to cut some out, we would still have a great quality program. One of the things that I think of is that we have a program at the Elementary School called Japanese culture. Well, suppose elementary students didn’t get exposed to Japanese culture – its enriching, it’s nice, but it doesn’t have a great impact. We may have to make some decisions like that. We have a good counselor-to-student ratio as opposed to other schools – suppose our student ratio wasn’t that good, it wouldn’t matter. Our students wouldn’t get help that quickly or as thoroughly as they need to, but those are some decisions that we may have to make. The counselor-to-student ratio is one-to-150; in other schools it is one-to-250. Our students get help quickly and effectively; if they were in another school they would have to wait longer to see a counselor. Those are the types of things we could look at, because we can’t touch the core in structural program. But there are an awful lot of good things in place here. 

The  Teachers Association of Sag Harbor may have traded in black shirts for more subtle buttons,but the message is still the same: they want a new contract.  

Members of the Teachers Association of Sag Harbor (TASH) are in the middle of negotiating their contracts with the Sag Harbor school district’s board of education and superintendent. The negotiating began in February of this year and many of the district’s teachers are wearing buttons on their shirts to stress the fact that they have yet to come to an agreement on certain pieces of the contract. The bargaining began between TASH and the board of education along with the former superintendent, Kathryn Holden. When they could not come to agreements on certain issues, they declared impasse.

 “Since TASH declared impasse in June we had a mediator come in.” superintendent Dr. John Gratto said on Monday. “She came in two days in August but we haven’t scheduled another session with her at this point.”

The mediator, Karen Kenney, was chosen by the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) to work with the board of education, the superintendent, the school’s attorney, Tom Volz, and the Labor Relations Specalist who works for New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), Rich D’Esposito.

On June 30, the previous contract, which was developed in 2004, expired, although is in effect until a new contract is developed. The teacher’s contract covers sick leave, vacation time, health insurance, benefits and salary among other items.

“Negotiations will continue,” Gratto said, “The board is working hard to propose terms of the contract that are fair to employees and the taxpayers.”

The Teachers Association’s Team, which consists of Eileen Kochanasz, math teacher Jim Kinnier, home economics teacher Donna Mannino, and third grade teacher Maria Semkus, were hoping for a new contract before the previous one expired.

According to Kochanasz, TASH president, TASH is made up of 119 teachers, substitutes and support service teachers.

In a recent Newsday poll, Kochanasz points out that the English test scores for Sag Harbor’s eighth grade are second out of 137 schools on Long Island. She said what the teachers are asking for is not a lot for a school with such a high rating.

“Why are we arguing over this?” she said, “We have a great school, let it be — it’s beautiful.”

Kochanasz said she is unsure when the next meeting on contract negotiations will take place because nothing is scheduled right now.

“From what I understand from Dr. Gratto is that the district attorney has compared current salaries from surrounding districts and presented them last week at the executive session on September 23,” Kochanasz said on Wednesday. “But they [the board] decided that their attorney did not get enough data for the next four years.”

Teahcer contracts are for four years, and Kochanasz explained that the school board has asked their attorney, Tom Volz, to get more information but she believes he would not be able to present this information before the middle of October.

“I don’t understand why the board had four years to consider the issues for this new contract and they are just starting to collect the data now,” Kochanasz said.

Gratto said that the contract negotiations are not something that can be rushed.

“This is simply a process that takes time,” Gratto said, “There are terms of the contract that the board is trying to take a ballot on.”

But Kochanasz says that even after the contract is agreed upon, TASH members still have to pick a date for a ratification vote. She explained that even if TASH meets by October 31, the group might not be able enact the new contract until the middle of November.

“This is just showing the disregard,” Kochanasz said, “We are what makes this school.”

But Gratto says that progress is being mae and notes that he and the board are also currently working on the custodial and secretarial union contracts.

“We are looking at three negotiations simultaneously,” Gratto said. “Both sides look at the issues differently and it takes time to get to an agreement. It’s a meeting of the minds.”

Gratto also said on Monday that it is incumbent upon the teachers and the board of education to reach a fair agreement.

“Wearing buttons won’t hurt or injure that process,” he said.

Barbara Cohen, representative for the secretarial union, said on Monday that contracts are still being discussed.

“We are not even sharing this information with our secretaries at this point,” Cohen said, but added, “We are making slow steady progress.”

Representative for the custodial department, Matt McAree, said his group is moving ahead at a steady pace.

“We have made a lot of progress on our contracts and hopefully they will be finalized soon,” McAree said on Monday. “Two more weeks and we should know. But even after we negotiate and it goes to the board, it will take a few weeks to go into effect after that.”

 

A facilities study of the Sag Harbor School District which began in 2007 has a list of projects totaling nearly $8 million — and this is not including major projects such as a new auditorium for the high school, a new cafeteria at the elementary school and parking. Those projects could more than double the cost, according to school district architect Lawrence Salvesen.

 Last Thursday, September 18, was the first of six meetings for the school district’s newest committee, the long range planning committee, which will make recommendations on the projects to the school board.

With 901 students in the district, the school board announced at its September 8 meeting plans to develop the planning committee to work with the district’s architect to discuss building and grounds, maintenance and other issues that relate to facilities.

At the first planning committee meeting, Salvesen, of BBS Architects and Engineers, P.C., sat at the front of the room with school board president Walter Wilcoxen, high school principal Jeff Nichols, superintendent Dr. John Gratto, athletic director/buildings and grounds head Bill Madsen and Bernard. Wilcoxen noted that the next meeting will be less formal and take place at a round table so that members can converse in a casual setting. The public is invited to sit in on the sessions. The committee, explained Wilcoxen, will reach consensus before approaching the school board with any recommendations.

At the meeting Salvesen handed out a packet of over 50 pages containing the facilities study that he began along with engineer Fred Seeba in January 2007. The booklet contains a laundry list of improvements with each project marked by priority. First priorities deal with safety and mandatory items required to be fixed either according to law, code or regulations. Some of the items have been completed by maintenance personnel at the school during the course of the study.

 “I have surveyed the faculty of both schools,” Gratto said, “and I have a certainty of what we should do.”

Salvesen also presented a proposal for new parking spaces at both schools. He explained that in order to determine the amount of parking spaces needed, they should refer to the amount of faculty at the building. The elementary school requires 95 spots, and currently only has 54. Salvesen provided a drawing, which proposes new spots at both schools. If enacted, it may create more parking along Clinton Street, adding 21 parking spaces there, and new parking spaces at the bottom of the hill at Pierson High School. But a similar proposal was presented at a board of education meeting in February of this year and many at that meeting were not in favor of the new parking lots.

Salvesen also explained the poorly designed parking lots that currently exist can be re-designed to add more spaces along Division Street, Jermain Avenue, Hampton Street and Atlantic Avenue, to bring the total of both schools to 262 parking spaces.

Bernard explains that there are three options to pay for the projects; the first is using money from the operating budget. The second option is taking surplus money and putting it into a capital reserve, and the third option is to borrow the money. Bernard said that this is the most traditional way of obtaining the funds. The elementary school reconstruction in 1997 totaled $3 million and will be paid off in the next fiscal year, but the district also has loans from the middle and high schools that total $15 million and will not be paid back for another 10 to 12 years.

Salvesen explained that there are additional options the district has to pay for projects. One is a program called Excel Aid, in which, according to Salvesen, the school is given $350 per student — which would total approximately $300,000, for the district. Salvesen’s report already allocated this money into specific projects and it has already been deducted from the $8 million projected cost of the minor projects.

Salvesen’s proposal has marked such things as mechanical fresh air introduction for two rooms in the elementary school, where the estimated cost was $40,000, to be taken from Excel Aid.

Salvesen mentioned another option would be energy performance contracts, which would concern heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) of the buildings. According to Salvesen’s report, the HVAC for the high school alone is projected to be over $1 million. The district will have the ability to pay back this outlay with money saved from conserving energy if the projects can pay for themselves within 18 years, according to Salvesen.

“Doing this is educational as well,” Salvesen said. “We can have the students keep track of solar panels and other energy saving devices.”

Gratto stressed that the meeting was more of an introduction to the committee’s mission and therefore, touched on just a few of the projects envisioned to improve both schools.

“It’s roughly a slow process,” Gratto explained on Thursday, “This budget [for the projects on the study] could be in conjunction with a budget vote and it could take most of the summer to design all of those things. Then, in spring of 2010, the State Education Department will have to discuss the issues. Nothing happens quickly.”

Redesign of the auditorium, or a new auditorium altogether, is one of the top priorities and will be discussed in detail at the committee’s next meeting. In his report, Salvesen describes the current auditorium as “non-functional as an educational space due to issues such as: seating capacity, stage system, inadequate lighting and inadequate support facilities.”

Salvesen said on Thursday that the auditorium does not have enough seats for the students. A similar project in Westhampton cost the district $6.5 million, but also included other projects and renovations.

The next long-range planning committee meeting will be on October 16 and will focus on the auditorium, in particular.

“There have been a lot of complaints on this and that it is impacting the education of the building,” said Wilcoxen. 

By Melissa Lynch

Of the topics that were discussed at Monday night’s school board meeting, security was one that garnered a good deal of discussion.

Board president Walter Wilcoxen discussed “miscommunication” concerning a security position at the elementary school. A vacant monitor position at a pay rate of approximately $12 an hour was left open after the previous employee resigned at the end of last school year. At a board meeting two weeks ago, an individual was hired to fill the vacant position at $22 an hour and an audience member questioned the pay raise. On Monday, Wilcoxen clarified that the individual hired indeed was not filling the vacancy per se, but rather a new, upgraded position.

Wilcoxen explained, “The monitor resigned very close to the time of the hiring of the new officer so it looked like we were replacing the monitor —that was a mistake and that was not what we were doing.”

Further, Wilcoxen explained the difference between a security officer and a monitor.

“There are monitors,” he said. “While they may offer some security while they are sitting there — they basically sit at the door and greet.”

He added that the security position is different. It operates on a shift from 3 to 9 p.m. and is intended to ensure that “the school would never be open while no one was there.”

Wilcoxen said that he believed elementary school principal Joan Frisicano took the initiative to move the security position from the 3 to 9 p.m. nighttime to the daytime hours of the vacant monitor position. He said “there may have been a little bit of a miscommunication there.” He also pointed out that the resolution two weeks ago was written as if the security guard was a replacement for the monitor when in fact, it wasn’t.

“We just added that data we thought people wanted to know and none of us caught it,” he admitted. “Sorry for the miscommunication — we will try to do better in the future.”

In the end, the new security position will be during school hours. The monitor’s job remains unfilled and will be an evening position.

These precautionary security issues stem from a lockdown situation that occurred last January in which a student who left the school was thought to be in danger of hurting himself or others inside the building.

Administrators believed that the student may have returned to the school with a weapon and the building went into lockdown mode. The doors were locked and students and teachers were sequestered in classrooms. The student never returned with a weapon but at the following board meeting parents and teachers talked about being prepared for such a situation in case it happened in the future.

The budget approved in May included the new security position as well as other security measures at both the high school and elementary school. A community referendum gave the board approval to spend $300,000 in state grant money in the form of EXCEL Aid (Expanding our Children’s Education and Learning) to install buzzers at the doors and strategically placed cameras in both buildings.

Wilcoxen believes the system will be installed by summer 2009. District architects must get approval from the state before work can begin.

Also, at Monday’s meeting a new biology teacher, Kevin Barron, was appointed to fill a vacancy. Barron was not at the meeting but an audience member questioned why his New York State certification in Biology 7-12 is pending.

 “He has completed his college degree and has sent all the information to the state,” said superintendent Dr. John Gratto, “and now the state department will be getting back to us.”

Barron completed his bachelor degree at Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania, majoring in biology with a minor in secondary education.

Also hired for this school year were music teacher Eric Reynolds and Spanish teacher Shannon Marr.

Reynolds, a music teacher for the middle school, replaces John Immerso, who left Pierson last spring before the end of the school year.

At the meeting two weeks ago, board member Wes Frye questioned whether or not the music position should be filled and Gratto has hired a consultant to evaluate the music program this fall. Reynolds taught a sample lesson over the summer to a group of music students and was recommended by Pierson principal Jeff Nichols.

Reynolds has a bachelor degree and completed coursework in his master of music education degree from Boston University. He previously taught instrumental music in Brockton, Mass. While there, Reynolds conducted bands at two elementary schools and a middle school. He has also worked in the field of arts administration for three years with the New York Youth Symphony in New York City.

Shannon Marr will be joining Sag Harbor Elementary as the kindergarten Spanish teacher. Marr studied abroad in Spain and Argentina and completed her master’s degree at Hofstra University. Most recently, Marr worked as a substitute teacher in the Longwood School District in Middle Island.

Also on Monday, Gratto provided an update on the elementary school’s gymnasium floor which was due to be completed by the time school begins next Thursday. Gratto said that the floor is getting its fourth coat of polyurethane and will be 99 percent finished by the time school begins. Workers will soon be putting in the basketball hoops and finishing touches. Pierson’s roof is receiving a new cap and coping and is also expected to be 99 percent complete by the time students arrive. 

 

There are goals, there are objectives and then there are “just do its.” The Sag Harbor School District adopted their goals for the upcoming school year on Monday night and contrary to years past, the list is relatively small. Superintendent Dr. John Gratto described them as “overarching,” designed “to improve academic achievement, to ensure sound fiscal and operational practices and to communicate effectively with the community. Under each goal is a list of “objectives” and some of those were eliminated and put into the category of “just do it” by the new superintendent.
“There were some responsibilities that previously had been characterized as goals,” said Gratto. “And I saw them as duties inherent in a position, as fundamental responsibilities.”
Examples of “just do its” include analyzing the sixth, seventh and eighth grade math curriculum in relation to New York State standards or analyzing the need for the use of consultants in the district. Gratto explained that a goal would be “running a marathon” or “kayaking around Block Island” while a “just do it” would be cross training district employees.
The goals and objectives came out of two work sessions at which board members and administrators discussed what should or should not be included. Some of the objectives are very specific and have numbers and percentages attached to them. Under the academic improvement goal, one objective is to “increase the percentage of students attaining mastery level on the Regents chemistry exam by five percent.
There was considerable discussion at a work session last Thursday about the percentage related objectives. Board president Walter Wilcoxen said attaching a percentage to the objectives made sense from the administrative point of view, but perhaps should not be included on a district wide goal list. He said he did not think such goals were “fair” and called them “subjective” and “arbitrary.”
Board member Ed Haye disagreed, pointing out that none of the objectives called for “huge increases” and said it was more about getting them to a “baseline” as opposed to attempting to turn every student into a “stellar performer.” Haye said in his opinion the district is doing a great job with the top performers, and a great job with the worst performers, but it was the “ones in the middle” he was concerned about and that were being addressed in the objectives. Pierson principal Jeff Nichols said the specific objectives were valuable because they allowed him to know precisely where to direct his resources at the beginning of the year.”
At the school board meeting on Monday night, former school board president Walter Tice expressed his opinion about the specific objectives.
“My experience is these tend not to be productive,” said Tice. “My experience is every group of students is different from the group of students that preceded it or that will follow it.”
Tice said demanding such specific, percentage based increases on tests may lead to the teachers only teaching to the tests and neglecting other aspects of a student’s overall education. As a result, Tice feared the specific objectives could possibly “undercut the delivery of information in the district” and distort the educational process.
“I think that’s pretty widely recognized throughout the United States,” said Tice.
“I can’t discount his experience,” said Gratto of Tice’s remarks. “But my experience is sharp focus results in sharp results in skills improvement and the corollary is test improvement too.”
“The fundamental premise is that if sharp conscientious people focus their efforts around a clear goal, they are likely to achieve it,” said Gratto. “In contrast, if people have fuzzy goals like I want to lose some amount of weight in some amount of time, they are likely to achieve fuzzy results. Teaching the skills of a test doesn’t require dull, uncreative teaching. Teachers can still teach in a creative in an engaging way while teaching skills.”

Photo: Board members Mary Ann Miller, Walter Wilcoxen and superintendent Dr. John Gratto

The 1997 Pierson graduate, and new Pierson Assistant Principal, talks about what brought him back to the Harbor.

 

So what have you been up to since you left Pierson?

After high school I went to Hunter College and pursued my bachelors in history. From there I went into the NYC Teaching Fellows program.

 

Tell me about that.

It’s an organization designed to staff the historically underserved areas of New York City, areas characterized by high poverty, by high need students, typically struggling schools. The program grants you a master’s degree and through that program, I got my master’s from Brooklyn College. They put you in a high needs school as a fulltime teacher and while your in the school you’re pursuing your master’s.

 

Where did you teach?

The school was PS 41. The Walter Francis White school. It was K through eight. I stayed five years and spent most of my time teaching social studies in middle school and also English language arts. I took part in various activities – a lot of social studies programs, some tutoring and after school programs and a lot of collaborative team meetings.

 

How did you decide to get into administration?

After I finished my masters, I had the chance to teach at Pace University. I was an adjunct professor and taught Teach for America teachers. They were all grad students and that was my first experience teaching adults. I found that to be really exciting and from there started thinking about administration. Coupled with my experience teaching, and combine that with [teaching grad students], I could see I could maybe offer some change and contribute in a larger way than just in my own classroom.

I found the Principals Academy at Teachers’ College at Columbia. That’s a fast track administration program. Well, not really fast track – it’s an 18-month course designed to train education leaders and I just finished there in the end of July.

 

How did you find out about the position at Pierson?

I found it online, but I also got a call from a family member. It was funny, I was looking all around the area for positions. I have three children and moving out of the city was something my wife and I had been thinking about for a while. Naturally, I was thinking about moving back here.

The decision was both personal and professional. I can learn and grow from the opportunities, but also, I have the chance to come back home and be a contributing member of the community in my hometown.

 

How old are your children?

Sophia is five, Jack is two and Julian is four months.

 

When you were at Pierson did you ever think you would one day be back at the school, policing the halls as an assistant principal?

I knew that I loved school. I took advantage of everything Pierson offered, from theater to sports to the math league to school government. I loved Pierson. I loved the school, I loved the town, but I always knew I would be leaving. I never thought I’d be coming back policing it. It’s something that makes me smile just thinking about it.

 

This community has always rallied around the school. What do you remember about that when you were a student?

One of the most significant reasons Pierson enjoys the success it has had, is because of the community support it has. It supports its students. It answers the calls of the students’ needs and interests. I know they started up the homecoming again when I was there.

Working in the city, I remember that and it was something I tried to build. I tried to use a lot of the things I learned by involving the community and the families.

 

Have you been following the school since you’ve been away and are you anxious to jump back in?

I’ve been detached for a while, but I have family here. I know there are a lot more offerings, more AP courses. I anticipate coming in and listening a lot and learning a lot and working with the existing teams that are there.

 

Speaking of existing teams, there are probably still some teachers that were there when you were. Now you’ll be their superior.

On paper I guess it’s kind of that way. But that’s not how I’m looking at it. I think when you come into a successful school, everyone is operating in the best interest of the students and I think you work together. That’s how I approach leadership and supervision. I look at teaching as a craft and developing it and it’s always ongoing.

 

What are a few of your memories from Pierson?

The theater, the musicals, that was really great. And being part of the sports teams. I played baseball and we were Class D champs my junior year.

And the teachers, they felt like a really supportive presence. For me, one of the most supportive figures was Art Cleveland. He was the guidance counselor. I always remember how he taught me about setting goals for yourself and following through and being mindful of what’s important to you and working hard to get there.