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Parents and residents press board on civics cuts, program eliminations and transparency
Summary
Multiple community speakers urged the board to retain civics and twilight programs, asked for precise cost and savings figures, questioned reserve balances and FEMA accounting, and requested transparency on past decisions made during years of high state aid.
Several residents used the public-comment period to press the district for details and to object to proposed program reductions.
Alejandra Kosianovich said cutting civics courses was upsetting and asked who prepares the budget and whether board members weigh in: "This is the main reason why we had public education in The United States, to make informed citizens... We need those courses." Danielle Figuze Scaiola asked whether eliminating the 9th period "solves this issue" and urged the district to explain where unassigned fund balances are and whether they could be used; she also asked for dollar estimates of savings. Janet Blatt urged the district not to eliminate the twilight program and requested the precise costs of both twilight and the 9th period, saying "You are giving our children less."
Allison Fletcher, president of the Glen Cove Teachers Association, asked whether a FEMA payment of roughly $4.0–$4.2 million would be applied to this year’s budget and into which reserves; the district later clarified the FEMA payment is a receivable that clears losses on the books rather than money available for reserves. Other commenters asked about use of unassigned funds, timing of deficit discovery, and the district’s past decisions during years of extraordinary state aid.
