Why do we need 126 school districts on Long Island? (Plainview: house, college)

[Smash255]

Originally Posted by llama8

I wonder if consolidating HHH and Wyandanch will really bring equality. Wyandanch kids will still be zoned for their school and HHH would still be zoned for its school. Making it one district won't do anything. Even if Wyandanch schools get more money, the education, test scores, and culture of the school won't change. It's not the name of the district..it's the people in it. I don't think consolidation would equalize anything. It would cause animosity and create more beaurocracy. Consolidation made the city schools become some of the worst in the nation. I don't want that happening on LI.

The only way to equalize would be forced integration...making half of hhh go to Wyandanch schools and vise versa. That would mean busing kids farther and I hate to say it...a lot of people moving out of HHH since it would be unfair.

Statistically, forced integration leads to white flight. Not my opinion, but a historical fact. I wonder if wealthy families in HHH would really stay and allow forced equalization to happen? Also, would it really become equal?? I doubt that the curriculumn and teachers at Wyandanch are bad...it think the culture of the people in that district don't prioritize education. I also think it is a class issue, not a race issue. Elmont is doing quite well in scores and Elmont Memorial had an intel semi-finalist this year!!!

I don't think its fair to say that the people in Wyandanch don't prioritize education, it is more a $$$ more than issue than anything else IMHO. That is not to say that more $$ or a more even distribution of $$ will solve all of the problems, however its not exactly a coincidence that the worst performing districts on LI are the ones in the poorest areas.

[longislandmike]

Originally Posted by Smash255

I don't think its fair to say that the people in Wyandanch don't prioritize education, it is more a $$$ more than issue than anything else IMHO. That is not to say that more $$ or a more even distribution of $$ will solve all of the problems, however its not exactly a coincidence that the worst performing districts on LI are the ones in the poorest areas.

The people that are in Wyandanch are there for a reason...because they are not in the more affluent areas.

It may not sound pleasant, but I'm sure they know that, so why parse words.

[nbres]

Originally Posted by llama8

I wonder if consolidating HHH and Wyandanch will really bring equality. Wyandanch kids will still be zoned for their school and HHH would still be zoned for its school. Making it one district won't do anything. Even if Wyandanch schools get more money, the education, test scores, and culture of the school won't change. It's not the name of the district..it's the people in it. I don't think consolidation would equalize anything. It would cause animosity and create more beaurocracy. Consolidation made the city schools become some of the worst in the nation. I don't want that happening on LI.

The only way to equalize would be forced integration...making half of hhh go to Wyandanch schools and vise versa. That would mean busing kids farther and I hate to say it...a lot of people moving out of HHH since it would be unfair.

Statistically, forced integration leads to white flight. Not my opinion, but a historical fact. I wonder if wealthy families in HHH would really stay and allow forced equalization to happen? Also, would it really become equal?? I doubt that the curriculumn and teachers at Wyandanch are bad...it think the culture of the people in that district don't prioritize education. I also think it is a class issue, not a race issue. Elmont is doing quite well in scores and Elmont Memorial had an intel semi-finalist this year!!!

I never mentioned forced bussing as a way to equalize education.

What is needs to be equalized is spending per pupil.

Long Island needs a fair tax system that will pay for it all at a reasonable cost. We need to move away from the regressive and often irrational property tax system we now have to a rational and progressive tax system.

This can best be achieved through school district consolidation.

[nbres]

So how would a consolidated school system work.

Lets make Nassau County a single Consolidated school district and eliminate the 60 or so current districts currently operating.

First of all things would not change much on the elementary and middle school level. Kids would still go to their local schools as they do now. There would be no bussing. But the spending per pupil would be equalized throughout the system.

Where would the change be felt the most. Well here are a few things.

1. Special Education Services - duplicative services could be consolidated. There could be greater specialization for particular disability areas becasue economies of scale would be created. This means every parent of a child in need of services will be able to get those services for their child.

2. Transportation
there would be a single bus fleet serving the entire district. Also, the use of public transportation could be incorporated by giving students free metro cards. Parents of course could still drive their kids, or heaven forbid, make the kids walk to school.

3. High Schools - elimination of some and the expansion of others. Students could apply to any high school because the high schools could be more specialized. For example Herricks might have an exceptional science program or Syosset might have a great music program or Bellmore might have a great sports program.

4. Administration - elimination of many administrative positions. There would be one superintendent for the entire district and many supporting assistant superintendents.

5. School Taxes - eliminate the school property tax and replace it with a county wide progressive income tax. Everyone pays what they can into the system and everyone gets the same spent on their children.

[nbres]

longislandlouise
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Question Northport Schools and Special Ed for Autism
What does everyone think of Northport, NY?
Good and bad
Schools? Elementary? Ocean Avenue Parent reviews? No Pre K only Kindergarten right?,
Special ed? Autism? Special classes for autism 6:1:4 or 8:1:4
Inclusion classes for learning difficulties (Dyslexia/LD)?
Things to do with kids?
Summer sailing, horse riding, Indoor swimming pool
General niceties of the town etc.

I am thinking of moving there have heard some things said about the schools being very good, but cant find any parent reviews online?
Would be interested in some feedback both good and bad?
Particularly general education in Ocean Avenue elementary but also the education for special ed. Special Classes for autism in district age 5th grade. My son has autism and needs a special class an inclusion class is too big for him needs to be in a small more precise programme of 8:1:4 or 6:1:4
The schools tell me they have these programmes but I am interested in any parent reviews/unbiased reviews. Have looked at great schools .net but nothing on there.
Would appreciate any feedback.
Thanks


Thanks

This is exactly what I'm talking about. Why should parents have to worry about what each district offers in terms in special education. If there was a consolidated system than special education services would be available to all - regardless of where they live or income.

[OhBeeHave]

Interesting letter to the Editor in today's Newsday. It addresses consolidation and taxes, and looks at the ridiculous number of special districts we have on LI.

Looking to Va. on consolidation

Calls for consolidation invariably spark cries of alarm that services will deteriorate......

We compared Long Island with the suburban counties of Fairfax and Loudoun in Northern Virginia. Demographically quite similar, the two regions differ most in their government structure. Northern Virginia has a total of 17 government entities, compared with Long Island's 439. This streamlined structure enables the Virginia counties to allocate resources more efficiently and rationally - and spend 31 percent less per capita than Long Island.

Fire protection is a good example. Long Island, while only 1.3 times larger in area and 2.2 times larger in population, has 6.6 times as many fire stations and 7.7 times as many fire engines. Yet the insurance industry's ratings for fire response times and number of calls show no significant difference. In fact, the Northern Virginians are more satisfied with their local services than Long Islanders by virtually every measure.
<cut>

Nancy Rauch Douzinas

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by nbres

I never mentioned forced bussing as a way to equalize education.

What is needs to be equalized is spending per pupil.

Long Island needs a fair tax system that will pay for it all at a reasonable cost. We need to move away from the regressive and often irrational property tax system we now have to a rational and progressive tax system.

This can best be achieved through school district consolidation.

Look into Vermont. They attempted to equalize spending per pupil, setting a statewide established rate. Affluent districts are donor districts while poor districts are receiver districts. Robin Hood rides again.

It has done little to bring marginal districts up to par. Meanwhile most residents are getting the old 'It's for the kids!' as the impetus to agree to tax increases year in and year out. Who benefits most? The teachers.

Taxes are increasing up there at rates which parallel Long Island. The only difference is that the people aren't making anything close to what is being made here.

http://www.bos.frb.org/economic/nepp...eppcdp0701.pdf

[AlexisT]

Competition in high schools is not an unmitigated good. I've lived in two places (NYC and London) with competitive school admissions, and it was hell. Generally speaking, having good zoned schools results in the best outcomes. In competitive admissions, the clued in parents manipulate the system to the disadvantage of less knowledgeable parents and children. What would happen on LI is that poor kids in Hempstead would still get a worse education than upper middle class kids from Syosset.

Also, even in larger districts, there will always be some variation in special education services because it's impossible to provide all services at every school and individual school administration has an impact. And we already have BOCES which does help.

I don't think you've presented any evidence that a larger district will necessarily result in administrative savings. Larger districts often develop more complex administrative structures. How much of Fairfax County Schools' budget is spent on administrative costs? What would be the short term costs of consolidation? Is a consolidated district going to achieve the same level of efficiency as a countywide district that grew the way Fairfax did?

[Walter Greenspan]

Any effort to consolidate two, five, ten or all 56 school districts in Nassau County (the same would be true for Suffolk County) would result in significant higher costs as the teachers in the new consolidated school district would all be paid using the contract from the highest paying school district, unless each of the consolidating school districts was first dissolved, thereby cancelling all existing union contracts, before forming the new, larger school district. which then would negotiate a new union contract.

[Jrprofess]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

Interesting letter to the Editor in today's Newsday. It addresses consolidation and taxes, and looks at the ridiculous number of special districts we have on LI.

In the spirit of full disclosure I am married to a teacher, but am told I can not send my letter to the editor until after she has her retirement locked up . And regarding the special districts, LI has an inordinate amount of PAID government employees compared to basically anywhere else in the country.

So being originally from Connecticut, I am not sure why, simply because the geography of Long Island happens to be given a life of its own, I need to have my school district consolidated with others to achieve tax savings? What if our spit of land and two counties were simply side by side in the middle of Georgia, or Indiana? Just like my own hometown school in Connecticut was side by side with a number of districts in Fairfield county...Why can't the locally controlled school boards go after this problem within their own districts. Address it at the next teaching contract...picket outside schools regarding paying more into healthcare, etc? I am not sure if "Long Island" were just two counties in the middle of some random state we would be so obsessed with each other's school districts and spending. In Fairfield County Connecticut the Brookfield schools did not know or care what Danbury, Newtown, Bethel or Southbury schools were spending per pupil. They concerned themselves with votes, reforms and spending issues in their own ACTUAL school district. Let's face it...there is zero chance that trying to get 100+ school districts to somehow agree on consolidation and efficiencies is going to work in what is a significant locally governed entity. Town of Smithtown has been fighting amongst itself to get their libraries up to federal code for the disabled, something that is in violation of the law at this point, for 7 years. And its the LAW! Sigh...

Local Tax PAC's within your own district would have more impact in my opinion. Rather than trying to solve every socioeconomic and spending imbalance through some even larger government entity than the smaller, and already inept school board.