The Garden City Board of Education meeting on November 15th moved along quickly and relatively quietly.

Superintendent Dr. Stephen Leitman congratulated High School student Debbie Chiang, who was recently named as a Siemens-Westinghouse semifinalist and regional finalist in the science, math and technology competition. Dr. Leitman wished her success this weekend when she makes a presentation at Carnegie Mellon University.

Dr. Leitman also thanked State Senator Kemp Hannon for his $100,000 grant for fencing and shrubbery for the Middle School fields. The school district is currently negotiating with the Episcopal Diocese to purchase the fields.

Dr. Leitman congratulated Middle School Principal Peter Osroff for his warmly received presentation on middle school restructuring at the recent National Middle School Conference in Minneapolis. “People from all over the country came to listen to his presentation,” said Dr. Leitman. Osroff will give his presentation to the School Board at a work session on December 13th. Research at the middle and high school levels will also be discussed.

Dr. Leitman reminded residents that the varsity football team will be playing Elmont in the Nassau County finals on Saturday, Nov. 20th at 4 p.m. at Hofstra University. In other sports news, Dr. Leitman announced that the school district and village have been working together on an intramural program. A basketball and volleyball intramural program will begin on December 7th on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons in the St. Paul’s field house.

Dr. Leitman announced that the Superintendents’ Association will be meeting with New York State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi to discuss the auditing process. According to Dr. Leitman, the comptroller’s office is reneging on a previous agreement to report both good and bad auditing procedures and is just reporting what districts have not been doing well. Hevesi announced several months ago that every district in New York will be audited in the next five years. The state is looking to restore public trust after incidents involving financial improprieties in several Long Island school districts.

School Board President Kenneth Monaghan congratulated John Powell, assistant superintendent for business and finance, for his statistical analysis work. Garden City was only one of two districts on Long Island where the proposed tax increase was accurate. “I’m not saying that anyone is ever happy to get an increase in their tax bill, but we don’t like it to be a surprise,” said Monaghan.

School Board member Dr. Nancy Fredericks asked residents to support the district’s Adult Continuing Education program. The program director is always looking for ideas. On November 5th a group visited the Chocolate Festival in Manhattan. Trips are planned next year for Ireland and Russia. For more program information, call 478-1070.

Resident Lauren Davies asked Powell how the district can fit 565 more students, which was the figure the district provided to the consultant who was studying the public-zone changes. Powell admitted that he made an error when he provided the figure based on how many students the district is legally allowed to put in a classroom per square foot as opposed to the district’s class size policy. “I looked at the square footage numbers, checked with the architect and that’s the number I came up with,” said Powell.

Monaghan said the Board has discussed space issues with the village and property owners’ associations. “They know we’re tight on space and that we don’t have a certain space out there that would accommodate that many students,” said Monaghan. He said the Board will “close the circle” to make sure the village Board of Trustees is aware of the issue.

Monaghan said the board is looking at class sizes at the high school and it is on Principal Hank Hardy’s agenda to see if more space is needed. He hopes to get an answer this year, and said other options, including adjusting class schedules, are also being looked at to accommodate increasing enrollment. Monaghan said according to a demographic study done five years ago, the high school is growing less quickly than anticipated but is expected to peak at a higher number than previously thought.

High School junior Scott Volpe asked the board to consider instituting a varsity boys volleyball team for the spring season. According to Volpe, the total cost, including coach, uniforms, officials and miscellaneous expenses such as equipment and league fees, will be approximately $10,000. He said he spoke with Principal Hardy and Nancy Kalafus, district director of physical education and athletics, who approved the idea. Volpe also has a petition with 200 student signatures. “We are looking forward to adding another team to the list of scholar-athletes at the varsity level, adding to our already stellar ‘School of Distinction’ recognition,” said Volpe. Monaghan responded that the Board will discuss the issue at the Dec. 13th work session and will make a decision at the Dec. 20th meeting.

The board accepted a gift from Exxon Mobil to purchase cardiovascular equipment for the health and wellness center at the Middle School. Physical Education teacher Wendy Logue had applied for the $500 grant as part of the company’s Educational Alliance Grant Program. Harvinder Singh, owner of Mobil on the Run on Stewart Avenue, matched the grant with his own money.

“The corporation provides its dealers with the opportunity to thank the customers that support their businesses by investing in the education of their children.” said Exxon Mobil representative Roland Zeh. “In an effort to emphasize the importance that he personally places on giving something back to the community as well as stimulating a relationship with the members of the community, Mr. Singh has matched this grant with a donation of his own.” Dr. Leitman thanked Zeh and Singh for their gift and Logue for applying for the grant.