November 2007
BOARD BRIEFS
Office of Public Information, Mamaroneck Union Free School District/
914-220-3070
§ School Board Recognition Week. The board was honored with a short performance by the Swing Choir under the direction of Dina Madden and thanked by Dr. Fried and Susan Lewen, president of PT Council, for their tireless efforts on behalf of children.
§ MHS Student Report: Jodi Miller and Elise Geithner, filling in for Charlotte Gardiner, reported on events at the high school. The Chinese Club visited a 7-year old Chinese orphan in the US for surgery from a bus accident and is raising money to help her. Fall sports ended with great results. Junior Kelsey Grad was one of 3 local players to earn a spot at the NYS Tennis Singles Tournament. Sophomore Maddy Darland had a successful diving season. Boys and Girls Soccer and Field Hockey team all made it to the sectionals. Mark Sterner addressed the entire student body about the dangers of alcohol and drunk driving based on his personal nightmare with alcohol. Peer leaders have been preparing for their first visit to Hommocks on 12/5. Student Council held a Carnival for Mamaroneck Flood Victims. Over 600 people attended and, thanks to a matching grant, $6757 was donated to Habitat for Humanity for local home rebuilding. Student Council and the MHS Habitat Club were honored by Habitat and the local Commerce Bank for their efforts. PACE’s Fall play was a great success. The next show, Kinesthesia, a dance show choreographed by students, is 12/5 – 12/8. Battle of the Classes overwhelmed the halls of the school last week culminating in an evening of fun team building games like tug of war and bucket stacking. Student Council held its first student forum of the year for students to discuss issues at the high school with the administrators. The Powder Puff game between senior and junior girls is 11/20. COAST will hold its first dance of the year on 11/30.
§ Tax Certioraris: The board approved these court-ordered tax certioraris: $80,401.58; $40,331.64; and $16,344.25.
§
The Board expressed its thanks as it accepted these grants:
$30,000 for the Small Treasures Program from an anonymous donor;
$5000 from Robert and Christi Gebhart for the MAS Pre-K Program.
§ School Related Professionals (SRP) Recognition Day: The board honored the over 300 SRPs who work in our district as bus drivers, school nurses, custodians, secretaries, teachers aides and assistants.
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Student Honors: Seniors, Hannah Fleischmann, Anne Giles,
Julie Spielvogel and Audrey Wachs represented MHS at the 14th Annual
High School Women Artists Exhibition at The College of New Rochelle.
One hundred thirty students have been named AP Scholars by the College
Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level
Advanced Placement examinations. Seven students qualified for the
National AP Scholar Award by earning an average grade of 4 or higher on all
AP Exams taken, and grades of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams:
Robert Cross, Carolina Kupferman, Peter Lucak, Adam Reid, Andrew Rothaus,
Randall Spock and Sophie Wharton. Sixty-one students qualified for the
AP Scholar with Distinction Award by receiving an average grade of
3.5 on all AP exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these
exams: Suzanne Baumgarten, Abigail Benudis, Zachary Berger, Matthew
Berman, Zoe Birnbaum, Eric Brandley, Daniel Carlyon, Julia Carrier, Sarah
Chapin, Alison Charny, Emma Chiappetta, Samantha Cipriano, David A. Cohen, David
Z. Cohen, Robert Cross, Robin Cumella, Liana Diamond, Timothy Dolan, Laura Fayer,
Betsy Feuerstein, Abby Freeman, Eric Goodman, Jennifer Halket, April Havranek,
Maria Ionio, Chloe Jansen, Shira Korn, Carolina Kupferman, Benjamin Linden,
Peter Lucak, Jonathan Miller, Jonathan
Morgenstern, Anna Moser, Samuel Muffly, Carol Peterson, Tara Quinn, Jocelyn
Rand, Adam Reid, Ellen Reifler, Benjamin Reiter, Charles Roberts, Andrew Rothaus,
David Sadowsky, Anita Sambamurty, Hilary Samuelson, Caroline Schweitzer, Hillary
Scudder, Steven Shafran, Rebecca Sobel, Joseph Spinner, Randall Spock, Elizabeth
Springer, Charlotte Turovsky, Ethan Vaisman, Evan Wallach, Rose Weisburgh,
Sophie Wharton, Caitlyn Williams, Marian Williams, Russell Windsor and Adrienne
Zable. Twenty-one students qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor
Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken,
and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams: David Atterman,
Kathryn Bass, Cassandra Castorino, Derek Cederbaum, Alice Egan, Timothy Johanson,
Kristen Lau, Alexander Leaf, Madeleine Lloyd-Davies, Mollie Lobl, Jeremy Luskin,
Elizabeth Mazzucchelli, Julia Miller, Lydia Ohl, Douglas Robertson, William
Roth, Megan Ryan, Joseph Schwartzman, Kimberley Shonborn, Nathaniel Turnbull and
Kelly Warren. Forty-one students qualified for the AP Scholar Award
by completing three or more AP examinations, with grades of 3 or higher: Anna
Abelson, Ana Badimon, Katherine Cahn, Daniel Cohen, Will Cohn, Philip Comerford,
Erin Devine, Rebecca Dion, Steffi Duarte, Nicholas Dunn, Rebecca Futterman,
David Garabedian, Sara Goldschmidt, Gordon Granger, Brian Haber, Cesar Jumpa,
Samuel Kahler, Mohammad Kamaly, Charles Kaplan, Emily Kaplan, Jonathan Katz,
Donghyung Ko, Elizabeth Maguire, Stephen Marsh, Victor Mathieux, Eileen McGarr,
Geoffrey Miles, Alvaro Mon Cureno, Sean Morrow, Teresa Rafferty, Emma Rauschkolb,
Ciaran Reidy, William Rohman, Jacob Ron, Jaime Roque, Andrew Sawyer, Zachary
Silver, Khalifa Sy, Wesley Szamotula, Alice Urmey and Garett Weinstein.
§ Staff Honors: MHS teachers Geri Brause and Janet Rogow and Hommocks teacher Chris Ward were selected for the 2007 edition of “Who’s Who in America’s Teachers”.
§ Report from Dr. Fried on several topics: A ceremony honoring veterans was held at the Kemper Memorial on 11/13 thanks to the organizing efforts of Mary Cronin, MHS social studies teacher, and community member Jan Northrup. Dr. Fried reported that two Hommocks guidance counselors were administratively reassigned. As Dr. Fried explained to parents in a letter, the health and safety of students is not at issue. While matters such as this will spur much speculation and curiosity, it is a personnel issue which means that the district is bound by state education law as to what information can be shared with parents and the community.
§ Board Committee Reports:
§ Communications Committee: Richard Marsico reported that as part of their outreach effort, board members have been attending events at the schools and invite parents and teachers to talk to them. The committee is holding a focus group with community members to find out how effective the district’s communication vehicles are and how they might be improved.
§ Policy Committee: Several new policies were adopted including one regarding the manner in which substitute nurses are hired which will result in financial savings for the district.
§
Report by Michael Jacobson of Study Session of November 6.
The Building Committee discussed their preliminary recommendations for projects
in the district’s 5-Year Capital Plan. The district has over 1 million square
feet of building space, about half of which is over 100 years old. The committee
and LAN Associates, an architecture and engineering firm, divided proposed
capital projects into three categories: (1) those items which address a critical
need and/or relate to health and safety; (2) those items that need attention in
the medium term; and (3) aesthetic or longer term improvements to the physical
plant. The building committee is recommending that the board address items
within the first category.
Almost half of the projects are energy related, including a new boiler and HVAC
system at Hommocks and a new boiler at Central. Much of the other work involves
hallways, bathrooms, roofs and brickwork at all of the schools. The committee
has been working with Meryl Rubinstein, Assistant Superintendent for Business
Operations, to explore alternative ways to finance these projects such as with
the use of Energy Contracts. This option, which is used widely by school
districts and municipal governments, will be more fully explored.
The building committee will make their final recommendation to the board on
November 27 at a special study session. The board will then need to make a
decision as to which projects the district should undertake, when and how those
projects would be financed.
The board discussed the cupola, which sits on top of the Post Road building of
the high school and is deteriorating badly. Money was allocated for this project
in last year’s budget but more study was required before the work could begin.
LAN Associates presented the board with two alternatives: (1) rebuild the cupola
out of wood at a cost of $350,000; or (2) replace the cupola with a replica made
of aluminum and fiberglass, similar to the one atop the Weaver Street firehouse
in Larchmont, at a cost of $150,000. The board decided to proceed with this
second option.
The full study session report is available on the website,
www.mamkschools.org
§ Field Improvement Plan:
BACKGROUND: Seven years ago the
district, recognizing the need for more playing fields, proposed a plan to add a
varsity playing field by moving the Kemper Memorial in front of the high school.
Although the district won the legal right to pursue that plan last year, the
board chose instead to look at other alternatives including the use of
artificial turf and lights. Last November the board proposed two alternative
plans. Bill Aniskovich of the design consultant firm WBA Group performed an
engineering study and developed cost estimates. The board Fields Committee has
been working closely with the three municipalities and the Fields For Kids
organization to look at field capacity of all district and community fields.
The plans have been revised and refined with input from the district athletic
department and many community members active in the youth sports leagues. The
full presentation is posted on the board page of the district website.
THE NEED FOR MORE FIELDS: The board
presented evidence of the real need for more fields, showing how both district
and community fields are at full capacity. Sixty percent of the district’s
interscholastic programs are held on community fields. As importantly, the
fields are in sub-standard condition causing many cancellations of games and
practices. All of this against a backdrop of an increase in school enrollment
and a strong growth in athletic programs. Nineteen school districts in
Westchester have installed artificial turf fields.
OBJECTIVES: Any field improvement
plan by the district (1) must increase field capacity so that more
interscholastic teams can be accommodated on school property and (2) must
improve the playing surfaces for use by physical education classes, recess play,
interscholastic athletic programs and community athletic programs. Any district
plan must address current and anticipated needs for fields.
ALTERNATIVES: The board outlined its two alternative plans, Concept B and C,
which have been under consideration since early last year. The board then
examined how the different proposals, including improvement to Flint Park by
Larchmont Village, would help the district to achieve its objectives.
CONCEPT B
would add artificial turf to the high school football field, Memorial
Field. At Manchester Field, which is the baseball field that sits between the
Palmer and Post Road buildings, a turf field for fall sports would be added.
Lights would be added to both fields.
CONCEPT C would also add artificial turf to Memorial Field but would reorient it
so that a regulation-sized track could fit around it without encroaching on the
Kemper Memorial. This would allow two turf fields for fall sports to be added to
Manchester, the baseball field. Lights would be added to both fields.
WBA PRESENTATION: Bill Aniskovich presented the full scope of the work involved
in accomplishing both concepts and the cost estimates for each. Under Concept B
the improvements to Memorial Field would cost $2.9 million and Manchester Field
would cost $1.96 million.
Under Concept C, the improvements to Memorial Field would cost $4.223 million
and Manchester would cost $2.89 million. In addition, a small field at Central
School was studied to see if artificial turf would improve its usage and that
cost would be $680,000.
NEXT STEPS: There are still many questions to be answered before the board can
make a decision about whether and when to move forward and with which plan. This
project will require a State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR). The board will
be discussing financing options for both fields and the capital projects at a
special study session on November 27 with the discussion to continue at the
December 4 study session, both in the high school tiered classroom.
§
Safety of Synthetic Turf: Michael Jacobson addressed the
recent controversy concerning the safety of artificial turf and his own
conclusions based on his study of the available information. In the last few
years, most artificial turf fields have been made with recycled rubber tires.
The tires are processed into crumb rubber that is used as the infill material to
cushion the playing surface. While there is no question that the tire in-fill
contains certain volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, these compounds
exist in nature and are common in other daily activities. The salient questions
for any authority considering a field with this infill: Can the compounds be
released, in what quantities under what conditions and what are the
ramifications? Mr. Jacobson reported that the studies themselves are remarkably
uniform in what they conclude; the interpretation of the results is where there
is some controversy.
The district will post links on our website,
www.mamkschools.org to the scientific studies that have been done for
the community to read themselves. Mr. Jacobson pointed out that one benefit of
reading the actual studies is that you see the precise questions asked of the
research and the conclusions that were reached.
Another fear voiced by some is that synthetic fields can cause the MRSA
infections. There are currently no studies that show a causal link between
synthetic fields and MRSA. There are also no studies showing that there is
significantly greater abrasion risk from the newer turf fields.
The district has a responsibility to and will continue to investigate the
currently available information
about the safety of this type of artificial turf but it is only one of many
issues to consider when it comes to finding new field space.