Mineola School Board Continues Club Advisor Debate

Despite recently having filled the positions for the chess and math olympiad clubs, the continued a discussion about how to avoid the sheer lateness of staffing such student clubs with advisors during its meeting on February 2 at the . 

As of that morning of February 2, there were and Superintendent Dr. Michael Nagler said that the district could investigate having parents run the clubs in the absence of teachers.

“I don’t know exactly how we would do that, I’ve never had this problem before,” he said, stating that the board could simply give the opportunity for children to play chess instead of a club setting.

“The problem is is that it’s February 2,” board president Christine Napolitano said, adding that the only way to enforce a deadline for clubs to have an advisor from the faculty would be to include it in the teacher’s contract. “If this , chances are it may happen again next year or if not the year after.”

Trustee John McGrath was of the opinion that a provision in the teacher’s contract was unnecessary and that the teachers would automatically cede their right to file a grievance by not filling the advisory position by the start of a term.

“I think we need to have something in place where if by the start of the semester when the club’s supposed to begin, we have somebody,” he said. “I think the contract is there to provide the teachers – our current staff – with an opportunity to take the work if they want it, if nobody wants it then they’ve waived their right to that work and I don’t think a grievance would be of any (consequence).”

Board vice-president William Hornberger suggested that in the absence of faculty becoming advisors for the clubs it might be an opportunity to partner with the district council of PTAs. Any parent would not get any club advisory position next year “because legally it’s their work,” the superintendent said referring to the teachers. The taking a club by a parent would also not constitute a past practice precedent.

“We rarely have a problem, I can’t recall a problem not getting an advisor for a club,” Dr. Nagler said, explaining that there could be an issue if a private company like Chess Nuts were brought in to teach the children chess.

Currently parents at the elementary level contract with Chess Nuts through the PTA, so the district and the buildings are not monetarily involved in the process. A potential problem could arise if the district were to pay for the company to come in for the , but parents at the elementary grades are still paying for the service themselves.

“There could be an issue with that,” Dr. Nagler said.

“The fact that we get complaints, even from elementary school parents or the union, that should not stop us from making sure that if we have an interest in a club that somebody’s there to guide the students,” trustee John McGrath said.