School News

Freeport NY, Sept. 8, 1999 No Speaking Here By Stewart Lilker Tonight Dante Grover and the Freeport Board of Education decided to further limit the public's right to speak at school board meetings. The board will be reducing the public's allowable time from five minutes to two and a half minutes. There was no discussion on whether Public comment would once again become part of the minutes. Grover claimed that he didn't want to be blind sided by questions. Now, it appears that all questions or topics of discussion will have to be submitted to Board in writing and in advance. Grover has claimed that he wants to do it like they do in the Village. The Board did not vote on this change. Grover consulted with Dr. Bediako and she advised that a resolution was not necessary for the change to take effect. There was no dissent from any member of the board. A member of the public protested that this change should be discussed at the action meeting on the 22nd., rather than unannounced at the planning meeting, where the public is under represented and cannot speak. Board member Muscara stated that the Board meetings are "our meetings," clearly indicating that the public could take it or leave it. Incredibly, the only African American Board member, Elerbe, agreed with Muscara and the restrictions. It appears that the Freeport Board of Education has its own Clarence Thomas. It is likely that Grover will read his new rules at the next board meeting. It was clear from the discussion that the Board was well rehearsed and the decision was made well before tonight's meeting. One must wonder if Mr. Grover's customers also must fill out cards before they are allowed to speak to him. These officials of the Village and the School District do not send their children to the Freeport Public Schools: Dante Grover, president of the School Board (he took his child out of the Frpt. schools); William White, Jr., Village Trustee, sends his children to private school; Donald Mausserberger, Village Trustee, (took his children out of the Frpt. schools); Deputy Mayor Frierson-Davis (she bought a home in the Baldwin school district). In the last Village election the Glacken candidates, the "real" Republicans, were proclaiming that they wanted closer ties with the school district. Interesting in that both of the candidates, White and Mausserberger weren't sending their children to the Freeport Schools. The School District is planning to float a thirty million dollar bond issue. What happened to the facilities task force and shared decision making? The original ERM report stated that the residents of the community did not trust the Board of Education. How is it that the Board was squirreled away in an illegal executive session with the various architects planning district wide renovations, while the public was kept in the dark? The "shared decision making" in this school district is going on up and down Ocean Avenue, between the School District Offices and Mayor Glacken's Village Hall. Finally, Board President Grover refused to admit that he signed a letter accusing a respected member of the Freeport community of threatening the principal of the High School. My confidential sources tell me that Newsday has been sitting on this story for weeks.