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Public Commentary Dear Editor: The July 25th issue of the Post contained a letter from Ms. Arlene Martin, the former president of the Massapequa School Board. Her recent run for reelection was not successful and her letter rebutted an earlier one from Mr. Gary T. Bennett. The School Board's integrity and that of Ms. Martin were both questioned by Mr. Bennett and his remarks about her were most unflattering. I too have been less than happy with Ms. Martin, but her very presence on the Board has been the cause of my concern. Public schools are the property of the community. They educate the people's children. They are financed by the people's taxes and the school boards that manage them ought to truly represent the parent, the taxpayers and the whole community. School boards negotiate all salary and benefit contracts with school unions, and these two items, salaries and benefits, account for as much as 80 percent of the entire budget in every school district. When someone who was a longtime member of the teachers' union becomes a member of a school board, this in my view, is a gross conflict of interest. Ms. Martin is a retired Massapequa teacher and a longtime member of their union. Was it lawful for her to hold this position? Certainly, it was. It is also entirely legal for Mr. Richard Krebs to be a member of the Massapequa School Board. (His wife teaches in this school district). Since the principle of conflict of interest is widely understood, why doesn't New York law forbid school board membership to persons closely associated with school employees? Perhaps this is the reason: In Albany, the Teachers' Union, the most powerful lobby in the state, regularly arranges large campaign contributions for friendly and compliant legislators. The union also plays a role in writing education laws, and those who seek reelection are well advised to avoid supporting any proposal the union opposes. During Ms. Martin's term as Board president, our school district enjoyed a long period of labor peace. New contracts were quietly agreed upon and quietly signed. When the current contract with the Teachers' Union was announced, members of the community repeatedly asked to receive a copy of it. And although the District was required to give it under the Freedom of Information Law, one full year elapsed before it was finally surrendered. In my view, it is a very liberal document. Here is just one example: A 55 year old teacher with a masters plus 60 credits could have received a salary as high as $111,166 this past year. This could have been for teaching 21 children in third grade. Benefits are generous. There are many ways to supplement salary and the working days in the school year add up to just nine months. Under the contract, the figure quoted above will rise to $115,280 starting in September, and $119,394 the following year. School taxes paid by many families now exceed their Federal Income Tax. It is literally true therefore, that the Massapequa School Board has more control over our pocketbooks than the President of the United States. In view of this, it appears that in the future, the people of Massapequa would be well advised to pay more attention to School Board elections and to carefully consider the background and qualifications of the candidates.
James E. Stubenrauch, Massapequa
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