Tempers Flare Over "Stop the Cap, Close the Gap" Rally

A rally planned for Thursday at the Pulaski Street School caused dissension at a Riverhead board of education meeting Tuesday night.

The "Stop the Cap, Close the Gap," rally is meant to address state funding of education and will be held on Thursday on the front lawn of the Pulaski Street School at 4 p.m.

Parents and others in the Riverhead School District community are urged to wear red and bring families and signs; it has been suggested that kids and teachers also wear red to school on Thursday.

The rally was organized in a number of school districts to highlight the fact that New York State has "significantly reduced its role in funding our schools and passed the burden on to local communities. The combination of reduced state aid and the cap on local funding will force schools to continue cutting the quality of education. It is imperative that we speak up for our children’s future," a release announcing the event said.

At Tuesday night's meeting, Barbara Barosa, president of the Riverhead Central Faculty Association, which is hosting the event, said she was "sorry" that Riverhead School Superintendent Nancy Carney did not mention the "pro-education" rally in her message during the meeting.

"We're trying to make the public aware of the lack of funding coming from Albany," Barosa said. "With many mandates sent to the districts, including new testing and new APPR regulations, the tax burden has shifted to the local taxpayer."

Barosa, who said she believes the community should be aware of funding issues, said that Long Island has lost $2.7 billion over the past years in state funding.

The only way for Albany to hear about the problem, she said, is for community members, parents, teachers, administrators and others to make their voices heard. "I would encourage anyone who would like to stand up and be counted let them know that what we are getting from Albany is not fair. More of the burden is being switched to us, the taxpapers, this year. I hope we can count on your support."

PTO Executive Council past president Laurie Downs said she thought the rally was meant to be aimed at saying no to the state tax cap.

"One issue is the cap, but there are other issues as well," Barosa said.

Downs countered that the tax cap is a union issue.

"It's a public education issue," said Barosa.

Riverhead Board of Education President Ann Cotten-DeGrasse said times are difficult. "We have to work together," she said. "Everyone has to put their shoulder to the wheel to find a resolution to the problems we're facing."

Downs disagreed. "The people of New York fought for that cap because we want relief from our taxes," she said. "We're happy with it. If it's a rally to remove the cap, I believe board members should not be there."

Cotten-DeGrasse said the event is "a pro-education rally," as pointed out by Barosa.

"That's not what she said last week," Downs said.

In other board of education news, BOE members were honored in a Board of Education appreciation evening. BOE members were treated to dinner, dessert, and gifts, presented by the faculty associations and union. Gifts included barrels of harvest produce from local farmstands.

"Truly, these are extraordinarily challenging times to be member of the BOE, between budgetary issues, state mandates, new evaluation systems, new testing, all around new common core standards and, most particularly, having to make very difficult decisons that often times, you don’t want to make as a BOE member or educator," Carney said.

She added, of the BOE, "Their hearts are all in the right place. Each and every person cares most about the students. I truly commend them."