Island Trees School Board Recognizes Student, Staff Accomplishments; Shares Finance Update

The Island Trees Board of Education held a brief meeting Wednesday night, where the outstanding accomplishments of four high school teachers and one student were honored.

Senior Kina Higgins just saw her first fully-written play performed by the Island Trees Drama Club in November. According to Director of Fine and Performing Arts Peter Gibbons, Higgins' play, "The Average Lives of Wayton High," was the first full-length production in Island Trees history from a student playwright.

"It was story lines galore, and it all came together in the end with beautiful messages of tolerance and acceptance and anti-bullying," explained Gibbons. "The students were excited to be a part of the whole production."

Four instructors at the high school level were recognized for their efforts in the New York State English Council "Renaissance Faire" Program of Excellence. Dr. Susan Kelly, director of curriculum and instruction, commended Claudia Connor, Mary Kiernan, Maria Federico and Brian Higgins for their hard work and dedication.

"They have been recognized as one of two schools in the entire state to receive a program of excellence," said Kelly. "They have the dedication, innovativeness and the courage to do something different."

The board also got a positive financial update from district treasurer Michael Kearns at Wednesday's meeting.

"The cash balances are currently all in good standing," said Kearns. "They have all been reconciled in a timely manner. All of the old outstanding checks have been addressed - they've all been voided and some have been reissued."

Kearns also told the board of two simple precautions they began to use through the bank to protect the district's accounts.

"Our internal audtiors have recently made us aware that they detected bank fraud at one of their other school districts," Kearns said, adding that the accounts that did experience fraud were not reconciled in a timely manner. "They have suggested to us, and we since started to implement the process, of using ACH Debit Block and Positive Pay, two bank procedures that will help us prevent any fraud."

Island Trees resident John Fontana closed the meeting by confronting the board and present teachers about labor costs in a struggling economy. 

"There's no young couples buying homes anymore and seniors are freezing in their houses this winter," said Fontana. "If you want to preserve programs such as art and athletics, you're going to tell everybody that they need a significant increase in their property taxes. Any board that awards a salary increase should justify how a teacher can get a step raise."

Patricia Mahon, board president, answered by saying the board is in negotiations with the teachers union, a process that is not publicized, but they do keep the economy and needs of the community in mind.

"We will represent the feelings of the entire community in the process," said Mahon.