District Hits Some Back-To-School Bumps

By Stephanie Petrellese

As students headed back to school on Tuesday, Superintendent Dr. Robert Feirsen acknowledged that there was a problem with the revised student transportation policy and the printing of the school calendar.

In July, the board officially adopted the changes to the student transportation policy, which affected the transportation status of 118 students. The superintendent had emphasized that the policy change was necessary because the policy was not consistent with New York State law at the primary and elementary school levels.

Dr. Feirsen had recommended that the transportation department revise routes to end the busing of students who live less than one-half mile from Hemlock, Homestead and Stewart Schools, with the exception of the areas he proposes be designated as Child Safety Zones.

At Tuesday evening's Board of Education work session, Dr. Feirsen said that "things went pretty well" the first day the policy was implemented at Hemlock, Homestead and Stewart, the three schools primarily affected by the change. He thanked the Garden City Police Department for assisting at Homestead, where the drop-off zone had to be expanded.

However, Dr. Feirsen did acknowledge that an unanticipated problem occurred at Stratford School. When David C. Murphy, Jr., the district's transportation supervisor, was conducting his final routing with updated GPS software, he discovered that there was a section of the Village that should not receive busing under the newly revised policy. Twenty-two students who live on a section of Brixton and Kilburn Roads running north and south from Stratford Road, as well as two homes on Stratford Road, were affected.

"I'm sorry. I apologize. I didn't foresee it," said Murphy. "I don't have an excuse, I really don't. It was totally unanticipated."

Murphy hand-delivered letters to those families affected and has been trying to assist them in any other way possible.

School Board President Colleen Foley applauded his desire to help the families who received last-minute notice that their transportation was being taken away. "I do appreciate your efforts with trying to help us with parents who are upset and appreciate your time in making this better," she said.

"It's unfortunate that this happened, and I think we would have preferred it not happen," Foley continued. "But I'm also pleased that the response to it is trying to make it better. That's all we can really do at this point is to go forward and to make sure that we have all of our t's crossed and i's dotted, and we will from this point."

Another problem the school district encountered was with the printing of the annual Calendar and Parent Guide. The superintendent said on some of the calendars that were delivered to residents the colors were not vibrant, the photos were not distinct and in some cases the writing was blurred.

Residents can see the way the calendar should have looked by clicking on the "Quick Link" PDF file found on the district's Web site, www.gardencity.k12.ny.us. Dr. Feirsen said residents can also call his office if they would like to trade it in for a better copy.

"It wasn't the printer's best work," he said. "We want it to be the high-quality work that we expect from ourselves."

Catherine Knight, the district's coordinator of public information, discovered the problem. She had signed off on a sample copy provided to her by the printer, which did not have problems. The issues surfaced after they had been mailed, and as a result, there was no way to determine how many calendars had problems.

"It was a disappointment," she said. "It paled by comparison to what it should have been, and even the printer admitted so."

The Glen Cove-based printer was the lowest responsible bidder, so the district was legally required to hire the company for the job. The district is now negotiating with the printer for a discount.