Friday, July 26, 2019
Vol. 95, No.44
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Fence around St. Paul’s prompts inquiries, concerns
25 WINS AND COUNTING
BY RIKKI N. MASSAND
At the July 2nd meeting, Board President Angela Heineman commented that each of the five school board trustees receives monthly reports about enrollment by-grade levels, as district administration instantly records the student population data and totals.
As eight-foot-high fence around the perimeter of the St. Paul’s property was erected in mid-July, several residents inquired about the initial scope of work planned for the 1880s building. At the Village Board of Trustees’ meeting on Thursday July 18, a contingent from the Garden City Historical Society (GCHS) including past president Brian Pinnola, and treasurer Maureen Dellacona, the former of whom delivered a photographic essay on conditions inside the St. Paul’s main building to the trustees and to the audience in attendance. Village trustees said that Pinnola was out of order because he turned to face the audience and did not solely direct his comments to the Board during its meeting. But several people at the meeting applauded the position he and Historical Society members took, at a time when surveyors, inspectors, construction crews and equipment are being assembled behind the exterior fence, out of sight from the average Garden City resident. Deputy Mayor Robert Bolebruch said the public comment period was reserved for residents to speak to the Board “and not to give a presentation.” As Pinnola continued to speak, Mayor Theresa Trouvé said his time spent holding up photographs and addressing audience members “was not in keeping with what we do and the themes that we carry out here at Board meetings.” Pinnola argued that this halt to his public presentation was incorrect, and he said the law governing municipal meetings does not prohibit speakers from addressing audience members and guests present at a Board meeting. The Historical Society told the Board it would like to remain proactive and hold the project consultants accountable, potentially to meet with GCHS to discuss findings and ways the antiquities, features, artifacts and irreplaceable “treasures” of the historic building will be managed and worked around during stabilization. During the July 18 meeting, members of the Board of
See page 32
See page 30
Congratulations to the Garden City “A” Swim Team on locking down its 25th consecutive win, a streak that began five years ago. Above, Coach Matthew Giordano poses with some of the swimmers. See pages 46-47.
School District vigilant on class sizes BY RIKKI N. MASSAND
After the reorganization portion of the Garden City Board of Education’s July meeting, the subject of class sizes, especially in the younger grades, was addressed by School Board President Angela Heineman and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kusum Sinha. Last December 11 at a school board meeting at Garden City Middle School, during public comments a half-dozen parents urged district leadership to allocate time, staffing and resources towards
lowering class sizes in the younger grades. In November 2018, Hemlock School parent Victoria Bucci initiated a Change.org petition addressed to the “Garden City Board of Education and Administration” asking to make the reduction of class size in all primary and elementary schools a priority in the budget discussions for school year 2019-2020 (which technically begun July 1, 2019). The petition last December collected over 400 signatures online. It specified class size goals par-
ents were suggesting City schools: “we are class size not exceed in Grades 1-5, and 18 Kindergarten.”
for Garden asking that 22 students students in
Monitoring of Enrollment
GCHS honors seniors for academics, arts, service PAGES 40-41 The Roaring Twenties brings changes to Garden City PAGES 42-43