Letter To The Editor: BOE Needs More Transparency

Editor's note: This letter was submitted by West Islip resident Serena Leonard. To send in your letter, email kaitlyn.piccoli@patch.com.

After having attended the latest Board of Education meeting, I have come away with the same thought that I always do: the most informative part of the evening is when the public is allowed to speak. For those of us who are not always able to attend these meetings in person, the Public Participation Log is available for view on the district website a month after the meeting takes place, and the only information you will find there is the name of the speaker and the subject matter of their question. Not very informative at all. I was extremely happy to discover that there is a recording of the latest meeting posted on the Citizens Board of West Islip website, and I encourage all to take a look if you were not able to attend the meeting in person.

The information I found most interesting is that the contract between the Board of Education and the real estate broker regarding the lease of Kirdahy and Westbrook Elementary Schools is not being carried out as written. According to the speaker at the meeting, apparently the broker had proposed to list the schools for lease on certain websites, and the contract states that the broker will provide a written monthly report to the Superintendent regarding marketing efforts, contacts, etc. These things have not been taking place, however. It appears that the schools have not been listed as proposed, and the Board has decided to accept periodic oral reports in lieu of written reports. The community would have been able to request to view the written reports, but instead the Board has assured us that they will pass on to the community any pertinent information regarding the leases as they see fit. I am not questioning the competence of the real estate broker, but the fact remains that a written contract exists and therefore should be adhered to by this Board. I find it troubling that the Superintendent and the Board do not think that there is an issue with it not being adhered to. We vote members of the Board in to represent us and trust that they will carry out the position with integrity by following all rules, regulations, policies and contracts to the best of their ability. This does not seem to be the case with this real estate contract, and we only know about this because a member of the community brought it to our attention.

I was also very disappointed to witness the Board downplay the lack of due recognition for the High Performance award that Westbrook won, route: {:controller=>"articles", :action=>"show", :id=>"westbrook-earns-reward-school-status-from-new-york-state"} --> from the NYS Education Department. All awards and achievements are posted in the School News section on the district website, yet this award is conspicuously absent. Westbrook students and staff deserve the recognition that they earned by achieving this award, and just because the school may no longer be in existence, the people that earned the award are. They do not deserve to have this achievement overlooked because of the Board's choice to eliminate their school. Once again, we only know about the receipt of this award because a member of the community brought it to our attention.

The disappointment did not end there. Although the community had been told that the Superintendent would be foregoing a raise this year in light of the dire financial situation that, according to the Board, necessitated the