Don Risucci

Board discusses report card; capital project

by Carolyn James

Dr. Donald Risucci, a school board member elected to the board last year, announced that he will be stepping down at the end of the school year. Risucci and his family are moving from the community of Plainedge to Westchester, where he is taking a new job.

"I had an offer for a new position that I just cannot pass up," Risucci announced at the school board meeting March 8. "This was a very difficult decision for me; this is a great community and it has been an honor and privilege to serve on this board."

Malaina Freedman

Risucci said he was proud of the accomplishments of the board during his tenure and that the district "was moving in a great direction and I am sorry I am not going to be here. Thank you for the opportunity," he told the public in attendance.

Maryann Karageorges, School Board President said she and the rest of the board were sorry to hear that Risucci would be leaving. "He has been an asset to the board," she said, pointing out that one of his contributions was to encourage the district to have students enter the recent Robot competition. "We had hoped to have more time together because he has been a great part of this team," she said, "but we will work him hard between now and the end of June," she added laughing.

Risucci’s departure leaves an opening on the Board. His unexpired term is up in June 2003. In addition, the seats of Trustees Tom Dolise and Michael Davis are up for reelection. Dolise indicated that he is seeking reelection. Those seats run from June 2001 to June 2004.

Anyone interested in running for any of the three seats must fill out a nomination petition. A petition can be obtained from the District Clerk at the administrative office, west wing of Plainedge High School, Wyngate Dr., North Massapequa. Petitions require the name and address of the signer, who must be a district resident. This year, 55 signatures are required on the petition to qualify as a candidate.

The Plainedge School Board is shown accepting a plaque in recognition from Jamie Bogenschutz of YES Counseling for the district's support of Commerce Plaza.

The deadline for filing petitions is Monday, April 16. For further information, call the Clerk at 797-4437.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Richman also provided the board and community with an update on the district’s capital construction project. Currently plans for the renovations are in the state’s hands, which must review and approve the plans.

"We have a very ambitious plan of completing the work for the elementary schools by September," said Richman, "so we are working diligently to make sure that everything is in place and that we will be on schedule."

Since it takes the state up to ten weeks to review and give approvals on the plans, the district has sent out informational bids to contractors advising them to review the bids and get back to them with ideas and suggestions on meeting and completing the job. Then, once state approval is received, the district hopes its formal bids can be returned quickly and that work can get underway. "Our aim is to shorten the time line by issuing these (bids)," said Jeff Burns, assistant superintendent of business administration. "We are looking for feedback from the contractors who can advise us about what we can do to expedite the work."

In addition to renovations and expansion of the district’s elementary schools, which will provide additional space for an all-day kindergarten program, the project calls for construction of a new middle school.

In other business, the board:

•accepted a plaque from Jamie Bogenschutz of YES Community Council for the district’s support of Commerce Plaza, a program that provides students with the real-life experiences of holding jobs and operating businesses. The program is in conjunction with YES;

•reviewed the district’s report card, which showed both strong and weak areas. Most of the district’s results were at or above the state average, but changes in curriculum for English Language Arts and mathematics have been implemented to address "disappointing scores in those areas for 8th grade students. "I anticipate that we will see substantial improvement in (these areas) as a result of these changes," said Dr. Lee S. Wilson, interim assistant superintendent of instruction.

•recognized the achievement of Malaina Freedman who was named a semifinalist in the 2001 Coca-Cola Scholars program. Only 1,997 semifinalists were designated nationwide from more than 16,000 applicants and selection is based on academic excellence, character, personal merit and commitment. Merit is demonstrated through leadership in school, civic and extracurricular activities, academic achievement and motivation to serve and succeed.

Malaina, who is president of the National Honor Society and president for the past two years of the English Honor Society, ranks third in her graduating class.She is active in the math honor society, foreign language honor society, the school newspaper, Key and Spanish clubs. She is also a member of the marching band and has starred in three productions of the Drama Club. Last year she was named an AP scholar and a National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar for her achievement on the PSAT. She also took first place in the Plainedge 11th grade New York State Mathematics Competition.