School Board Votes to Change Tutoring Policy

Great Neck public school teachers will soon be disallowed the ability to provide private tutoring to students in their own building, according to a new policy unanimously approved Monday by the school board.

Beginning July 1, tutors will need approval from the school superintendent to override the new rule which continues to allow teachers to charge a fee to tutor students from other district schools.

The origin of the policy change came from administrators, not from concerns about individual teachers, according to board President Barbara Berkowitz.

Board members said the policy was enacted to help to ensure inappropriate actions cannot occur by teachers.

Many exams are either prepared by departments or made available to members of departments in order to assist in preparation of students and teachers classes which could create a conflict of interest in terms of the tutoring of students, according to the school board, according to the BOE.

Since its introduction in September, the tutoring policy has garnered a barrage of argument both for and against.

Great Neck Estates Board of Trustees member Howard Hershenhorn argued against approval of the new policy Monday.

"This policy is a direct assault on the integrity of the teachers," said Hershenhorn. "What you are saying is that we don't trust you to act ethically."

Berkowitz said the school board was not impuning the reputation of teachers.

"If we thought there was a problem with the teachers of this district then we would not still be allowing tutoring," said Berkowitz.

Hershenhorn suggested a code of conduct for tutors that will satisfy the needs of the school board regarding tutoring concerns.

Speaking in favor of the policy change, Great Neck North Principal Bernard Kaplan said any fiduciary relationship in which a teacher is being paid by a private individual and not by the school district for tutoring a student in that specific school community corrupts student-teacher interactions.

"We probably should have done this a long time ago, but we certainly must do it now," said Kaplan.