West Hempstead residents were calling for the removal of one trustee from the board of education at Tuesday night's meeting, accusing her of violating the board's code of ethics.
Four residents read statements that they had prepared in regards to a postcard that Trustee Cynthia DiMiceli mailed to community members the weekend prior to the May 15 budget vote.
"In the postcard, she encourages people to vote 'No,'" stated resident Christine Fennes, citing various lines of the code of ethics that she believed DiMiceli broke through her actions, warranting the board to remove her from her position. Fennes accused DiMiceli of speaking to residents in town, telling them to vote down the budget, and putting together a slate of board candidates in an attempt to defeat long-time incumbents Carole Rilling and James Mariano.
"As a board of ed your responsibility is to present the best of our schools," long-time resident and retired West Hempstead teacher Barbara Keilty-Michaleski added. "When a decision is made and voted on, the majority vote is the decision that is presented to the public, despite individual differences."
Keilty-Michaleski accused DiMiceli of using her position to "influence how people should vote," acting in a "detrimental manner" to "undermine" the board, spreading "incorrect" information and "inferring there is money to be found between the lines" when the district has been operating on a frugal budget for years. She then requested DiMiceli resign from the board.
"Why would you work so hard to destroy our district that my children, your children, their children all attend?" asked native West Hempsteader Loraine Magaraci, who disclosed that she had elected DiMiceli to the board. "A failed budget would have had detrimental effects on our district that would have taken years to recover from ... This time you went too far."
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Another long-time resident and father of two West Hempstead graduates, Seth Bykofsky, said DiMiceli offered up "opinion or sheer fiction in lie of fact" calling her actions "nothing short of a breach of public trust."
DiMiceli told Patch she sent the mailings, which she for paid out of her own pocket, to residents to explain why she at the April 17 meeting. (She had tried to present her position during the meeting, but was told by the BOE President that it was not the appropriate forum to do so.)
In the letter addressed to West Hempstead residents, DiMiceli writes:
"We live in a new economy that has placed financial stresses upon families, seniors living on fixed income and young graduates who are looking for work. Having said this, some residents have criticized my disapproval of the Proposed 2012-2013 School Budget. Ever since my children started public school all I heard was '…if you do not vote 'yes' on the school budget you will be labeled anti-public education.' In my opinion, we must change this way of thinking."
Although these statements were interpreted by many as indicating that DiMiceli was encouraging residents to vote down the budget, DiMiceli told Patch, "In my letter, I did not tell anyone to vote 'No.''"
She told Patch her intentions were to explain her views on the budget and to inform residents about certain "facts that [they] may not know of," including the potential loss in revenue the district is facing next year now that Nassau BOCES has of Eagle Avenue. She also wanted to inform residents of the which predicts that, in the worst case scenario, West Hempstead could start deficit spending in 2014.
DiMiceli's critics accused her of "bashing" the school district by writing that the community "must have the courage to face and admit our deficiencies" and that "our standard of education will drop even further along with the value of our homes" if it didn't spend wiser and make provisions for the future.
DiMiceli told Patch she stands behind the statements in her letter, saying, "There's nothing wrong with saying ever single one of us can do better."
As the parent of students in the schools, DiMiceli said she had no intention of taking anything away from the students, but instead wanted to see the district explore other ways of saving money while keeping programs intact such as through contract negotiations, grants and better advanced planning.
"You can't put children and money in the same sentence," she stated, adding that those who do "are playing on emotions."
She also contends that if she hadn't pressured the district to spend more time working on getting the budget's tax levy increase down to 2.58 percent then they probably would have went with the 3.06 percent that was first presented to the board.
She explained that the district's motto is "Dedicated to Excellence," but showed that in many areas West Hempstead was performing below the Nassau County average -- specifically in Math and ELA in Grades 3 - 5, and Grade 6 ELA.
"We need to define what excellence is," DiMiceli said. "If being in the middle is excellence to people of West Hempstead, then I can't fight that. Excellence, to me, is being on my game every day."
Board President Walter Ejnes motioned for the board's Code of Ethics to be reviewed at the next policy meeting, scheduled for October, and asked their legal counsel to weigh in on the matter.
Greg Guercio, of Guercio & Guercio, LLP, did not disclose the contents of the legal opinion he sent to the board, but explained that the only penalty for trustees who violate the Code of Ethics is removal from the board.
"That is an extremely rare, almost unheard of, occurrence," he said. "An ethical violation has to rise to an extremely high level."
What did you think of DiMiceli's letter? Tell us in the comments section below.
Tuesday's meeting also explored the recent NYS test scores, progress on grant-writing and the Strategic plan, and a potential lawsuit regarding APPR. Check Patch tomorrow for a recap of these discussions.
4. represent the entire community without fear or favor; 5. remember at all times that he/she is one of the team; 6. ABIDE BY ALL BOARD DECISIONS ONCE THEY ARE MADE AND ASSIST IN CARRYING THEM OUT EFFECTIVELY; 10. assure the opportunity for high quality education for every student; There is no manipulation of these words!
What they should do, is present all facts THROUGHLY, and let the voters decide. I have never seen this at a school board meeting or budget presentation.
I will ask you what i ask my Board- Are your students LESS capable then a JERICHO or RVC? Do they deserve less then a quality education at an affordable price Throwing good money after bad doesnt insure quality .. truth be told if the people who rule the roost dont want change your in for a long hard road & a very rude awakening in a few years.Seems to Ms Dimiceli is trying to look towards the future to insure you DONT end up like Seaford did last year Personally i wouldnt kill the messenger I would look to WHO ISNT questioning & ask why are the satisified with mediocre? good luck you ARE going to need it
They don't like to hear any opinions (whether they be from a fellow board member or the community) that differ from the pre-approved plan. All those board meetings are for show to make the community believe they have any input, when they actually don't - what a scam! Unfortunately, all these communities (and any school board member who dares to veer from the pre-approved plan) don't realize that they've been Delphi'd. What's Delphi'd? The Delphi Technique was developed by the Rand Corporation as a cold war mind control technique, used to channel a group of people to accept a point of view that is imposed upon them while convincing them that it was their idea. Delphi is used in SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS, in trainings, at neighborhood association meetings and other places where the organizers want to give the appearance they have listened to community opinion and incorporated it into the plan when they have not. (Cont'd below)
Kudos to Ms. DiMiceli. Whatever you may think of her timing, at least she had the courage to stand up to this bullying tactic. It wouldn't have mattered if she'd given her input in the manner they'd requested, she'd inevitably have been shut up. She apparently didn't play their rigged game, so she's to be punished. It also has become apparent that voting for these school budgets is an effort in futility itself. I did not vote this year because I now know that our vote counts for ONLY 20% of the budget. And of course that 20% is the portion that affects the kids -- after-school programs, etc. etc. The main portion -- the 80% -- that sends our taxes sky high is the portion that we DON’T get to vote on. That's the portion that covers the salaries, pensions and benefits of the administrators and teachers. These monies have already been negotiated into contracts in which we have NO input. Since these contracts have to be honored no matter what, your property taxes will continue to increase, regardless if your property value has decreased. Your tax rate will simply be increased so they can bill you the increased taxes. Nice scam, huh? (Cont'd below)
And the cherry on top is that (and, c'mon, you've always known this) you realize you don't really own your property in America. You RENT your property from the government. Even if your mortgage is 100% paid off, you can LOSE that property if you miss a few property tax payments. More accurately, your property can be STOLEN from you by the bureaucrats who live off your productivity. As one Long Islander (a Woodbury resident) commented in a letter to Newsday on May 14, 2012: "In the 64 years that I have been a Nassau County taxpayer, I have paid about $500,000 in school taxes and never had a child in the schools." Wow! Each of us should think about that. Just how much have we paid in school taxes over the years? Think about all the delayed retirements (if any at all), home repairs and repairs that can never be made due to this corrupt tax. It's way past time to break out of this brainwashing matrix and reclaim our communities from these opportunists!
5. remember at all times that he/she is one of the team; 6. ABIDE BY ALL BOARD DECISIONS ONCE THEY ARE MADE AND ASSIST IN CARRYING THEM OUT EFFECTIVELY; 10. assure the opportunity for high quality education for every student; The board had passed the approved budget so that the community could vote "YES"
voices her concerns nor do they like her attitude. Ok thats fair enough- however, while her delivery maybe something your not used to or appreciate do not let it detract from her message or from the fact that she unlike so many others is willing to voice her opinion and rattle a few cages to get people to take notice. Sometimes you need one or two or more people on a board who are not ESTABLISHMENT to look at things from a different perspective. Every SD has these issues, people who have been on boards for years dont like newcomers telling them they have been doing it wrong for years, even if it something simple like following roberts rules of orders or adhereing to open meeting regs. there might be a method to her madness , look beyond the personality and look to the issues she is addressing. there may be substance there that needs ot be addressed. NO issue is a time waster. Contrary to beleif EVERY SD is a business and you need processes and rules and regs in order to run the business of education effectively. If the foundations arent in place and followed then you leave yourselves open for issues far greater then a woman who is by all accounts trying to insure WH improves . Something everyone wants. Again while her methods may be grating her INTENT is to make changes for the better isnt that what EVERYONE wants? Perhaps this board needs to invite NYSBA to help them move forward.
http://www.nyssba.org Go take a look ....