Friday, February 3, 2017
Vol. 93, No.22
FOUNDED 1923
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LOCALLY OWNED AND EDITED
Gold for fencers PAGE 66 n Candlemas plans PAGE 3
State audits GC school district, examines overtime
THE ELIXIR OF LOVE
BY RIKKI N. MASSAND
Garden City Schools had some explaining to do in late January, and the last Board of Education meeting, held on Tuesday night, January 24 at the high school, became a forum for multiple topics. In his monthly community update Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Feirsen addressed findings of the recent New York State audit and a critique that showed concern over district spending. An official press release issued on Thursday, January 19, by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli offered comment on completed audits of the Garden City Union Free School District as well as other schools in New York. For Garden City’s district the issue highlightSee page 46
Stewart School presented its opera production, “The Elixir of Love” on January 19th. This the 79th time the school has produced an opera. See pages 52 and 53 for additional photos.
Three new GCHS electives announced
BY RIKKI N. MASSAND
At the Tuesday, January 24 meeting of Garden City’s Board of Education the evolution of the popular Project Lead the Way S.T.E.M. course catalog for Garden City High School students was noted as the community prepares for a few months of deliberations and adjustment to the 2017-2018 school district budget and its local tax implications. Dr. Edward Cannone, the district’s assistant superintendent for Curriculum for Curriculum/ Instruction, said a priority for next
year starts with the third engineering course in the Project Lead the Way sequence. “The first two courses have been very well-subscribed. The third course should do the same with a level of participation continuing in the same way. It’s another course in which students can qualify for college credit. It also puts the cap on the engineering experience students can get from the Project Lead the Way series. Similarly another course, Media Arts I, is designed to put the “A” for arts in S.T.E.A.M. – it is a course designed for students who have a particular interest in
the psychological aspects of art and want to pursue that as part of their portfolio as artists and perhaps adjunct their business or grade level aspirations,” Dr. Cannone said. The third new offering would be a tweaked version of an existing GCHS course. Advanced Placement Geography will be recommended to the board with the other two courses for 2017-2018. In the past high school freshmen expressed interest in taking AP Geography and earning credits for it, but that was not open to them before. See page 45
District details lead remediation in schools BY RIKKI N. MASSSAND
On January 24 Garden City Schools’ Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance/District Clerk Dana DiCapua spoke about the latest ways in which the district is trying to address the lead problems highlighted at the very start of the school year. A communications plan has been put in place for each school building, with a specific spreadsheet distributed to school principals and custodians now that several locations have been pinpointed as lead-contaminated faucets, spigots, and sinks. “We are trying not to inundate them so we did this in a very systematic way, and this communications process is in place – so far our personnel are pleased with it. Each location is identified, and the latest on them and dates of testing there are detailed. Some contained notifications that those water locations can be See page 45
Mayor: Money for LIRR track plan not in state budget PAGE 8 Village to offer facilities tour prior to budget sessions PAGE 9