East Meadow Makes History: Voters Approve Full-Day Kindergarten

This was supposed to be impossible. We heard it in various forms, over and over again: Full-day kindergarten in East Meadow was a pipe dream. The older generations would deem it unnecessary. The young families were too busy to get involved. Child-free people wouldn’t care. Everyone would think it was too expensive. There was no way to organize the population of school district this large. It would never happen.

It wouldn’t stop some people from trying.

The word “never” can cause strange side effects; for certain people, the word just serves as motivation to push themselves harder. These are the people that refuse to give up, no matter what the odds. Fortunately for us, Jodi Luce, Wanda Small, Tara Iliopolous, Stacy Rosenfeld-Vanwagenen fall into this category.

People need to know that an issue exists, so Stacy started a Facebook group, named simply, “East Meadow Parents for Full Day Kindergarten.” The original purpose was to encourage community members to get involved, and the four women led by example. They were all mothers with full-time jobs and young children, but somehow scraped together the time and the energy to go to PTA and Board meetings. They wore bright yellow shirts that were impossible not to see. They learned their way around the politics and vocabulary of school districts. They spoke to business owners within the community and real estate agents that had their fingers on the pulse of the town. Even they agreed; we needed this.

The group grew. Each day, a diverse mix of people asked to be added. Ages, professions, and personalities varied widely. All were interested in the full-day kindergarten program for different reasons, though maintaining our property values and quality of education were common threads. There were differences of opinion as the members discussed and debated, but we all had a the same goal: East Meadow schools had a good reputation, and we wanted to keep it that way.

In early spring, it was official: full-day kindergarten would be put to a community vote. The bad news: It would be presented separately, and proponents would have to vote for both propositions. “It looks like something out of the Florida voters guide,” lamented one member. And then, another sizable impediment: the kindergarten proposal would break through the tax cap, necessitating a super majority to pass it.

The kindergarten debate started to spread, both in person and on social media. My husband and I designed a flyer, and had it replicated at the local Staples. Other group members did the same. Slowly we worked our way through the neighborhoods. I wrote articles for East Meadow Patch blog and Kveller.com; professional writers published pieces for Newsday and the East Meadow Herald. More people became aware of the issue, and the group kept growing.

A dedicated group member took apart an East Meadow map, and then listed every single street. Broken down by area, it was easy or group members to “claim” different blocks and disseminate information. Block by block, we continued to make our way through the town.

Record numbers of voters turned out to cast their ballots, and still the work wasn’t done. Group members distributed flyers to those going in to vote, then headed to the Campo Center to be there for the results.

The votes were tallied, one elementary school at a time. One by one, it passed, though some more closely than others. Barnum Woods was counted last. In one of the widest margins I’ve ever seen, it passed. There were a large pile of absentee ballots, but the “no” votes they contained could not undo what have been achieved. The impossible was suddenly our reality. In the words of the newly elected board member Melissa Tell, “It was the kids that won today.”

Ms. Tell is right, but those children wouldn’t have their victory without some very specific people. Jodi, Tara, Wanda, and Stacy: thank you for being our fearless leaders. Thank you to our husbands. You were our partners in juggling our family responsibilities so we could have time to fight for this. Thank you to Robin Steinberger and Gail Glanz for being our flyer-making superheroes. Thank you to Maureen Manis, for keeping a running list of areas that needed to receive flyers. Thank you to Melissa Tell for being a strong voice for both the Opt-Out and Full-Day Kindergarten movements. Thank you to our senior members, most notably Nancy Widman, Susan Weiss, and Donna Buthman. Thank you to all the members of our Facebook group for distributing flyers, displaying signs, and engaging neighbors throughout this process. Thank you to the East Meadow Teachers Association, PTA, and elementary school principals for your support.

But mostly, thank you, voters. We are grateful to all 4000+ of you. Thank you for looking around at our community, seeing a need, and doing what needed to be done. Thank you. Thank you.