Budget proceedings, term limits, school board communications with the public, and teacher contracts were only some of the issues discussed and debated at a recent Meet the Candidates Night.

The event was held last Wednesday night, May 4, at the Bryant Library and was sponsored by the United Civics of East Hills and the Roslyn Heights Civic Association.

In attendance were the four candidates for the three open school board seats: Jeff Borowick, Meryl Ben-Levy Waxman, Jeffrey Sapper, and incumbent BOE member Clifford Saffron.

Up to 30 local residents attended the event, a number that was greeted with disappointment by several of the candidates, with some of them declaring that apathy was returning to the school district, after the embezzlement scandal thrust Roslyn into the national spotlight.

As always, budget concerns were a main topic of discussion with candidates called for top to bottom review of all budget items.

Jeff Borowick said that an ideal budget would "tighten certain areas" while evaluating certain programs. He said that additional savings need not be "on the backs" of the teachers and school employees. "It's there," he said of certain savings, adding that consultants could be used to evaluate both the transportation and special education budgets.

Meryl Ben-Levy Waxman also called for an extensive "line-by-line, school-by-school, budget-budget" evaluation, one that results in the "most quality for the quantity we're putting into [the budget]." She also said that the district might see what it can do regarding action from state and local legislators. Referring to state, local, and federal mandates, Ms. Waxman observed that "so much of our budget is beyond our control." In fact, only 20 percent of the entire budget is the domain of the school board, she said.

Jeffrey Sapper has been chairman of the Citizen's Audit Advisory Committee. He said his committee was under pressure to act on a draft of the 2005-2006 budget, the one that will be voted on May 17. For future budgets, he said the district could save money through a curriculum review, by getting teachers involved in the process, and to see how classes are performing. In addition, he said the board should look toward outside sources for funding, including grants. Such funding might help with energy costs, Sapper said. For example, he noted that power companies might assist with solar energy sources to alleviate spending in that area.

Cliff Saffron, the only candidate who currently sits on the board, said that at least $3 million could be saved from the transportation budget alone. Saffron noted that a school bus regularly drives by his house, which is located only a half-mile from the high school, even though his daughter, who attends Roslyn High, rarely takes it. Saffron recommended bringing together various budgetary committees earlier set up by the board to see how they might review the budget. Citing recent successes such as Bulldog Boosters, Saffron said the board should come up with ways to raise money. He said holding car washes, bake sales and other fund-raisers would both raise money and be a "good lesson" for local students. "We do some of this [fund-raisers], but not enough," he said.

One of the liveliest exchanges took place over how the board has--and should--communicate with the community.

Jeff Borowick said he was all for sharing information with the community. He criticized the failure of the central administration to give "meaningful information" to school district residents, a problem that he claimed extended to current board members. "I am the strongest advocate for publicizing information [on school board activities]," Borowick said.

Jeffrey Sapper said the current board has made a "pretty good effort" in getting information to the public. For now, the essential information of school board business remains accessible to the public, he added.

For his part, Cliff Saffron praised the hundreds of local residents who volunteered their time to serve on the various committees which helped to shape this year's budget. He said the current board has "opened our door" to the entire community and that board meetings have been "open and honest," allowing for a dialogue between those on the board or in the community who agree to disagree on district policies. "We have an open boardroom door," he said. "But we can always do better."

Finally, Meryl Ben-Levy Waxman declared that she had "three things" to say on the subject. One, that "Jeff Borowick is the number one advocate in Roslyn for transparency;" second, that Cliff Saffron "has kept his campaign promises" on open government. Finally, in response to remarks made at the meeting, she said that she "[has] never suffered a 'brain freeze'" as a result of pouring through school district information. "As much as we have done, we can do more," she said, echoing Cliff Saffron's assessment.

In addition, all of the candidates favored term limits for school board members.

Cliff Saffron joked that his eight months on the board left him "very much" in favor of term limits, adding also that it would be "very healthy" to having change on the board. New members, he said, would bring "new thoughts, new views, and new perspectives." He thought that two, three-year terms would be an appropriate limit.

Jeff Borowick claimed that the district's current problems "probably" would not have happened if term limits had been in place. Term limits would have brought about the changes on the board that would have "stopped the compliancy," he said. He, too, championed the "fresh ideas" that new members would bring to the board. Borowick said that he also supported a two-term limit. However, he said he would allow for a gap of one term before a former incumbent could run for the board again.

Adding that "fresh air is always welcome," Ms. Waxman supported the same two-term limit. She said that the district should stick to its at-large campaigns, which itself relieves the district of the "attacks and aggression" that comes from one-on-one campaigning. The problem for the district, Ms. Waxman said, was simply recruiting people to run for "this thankless job." She noted that only 30 people out of the 14,000 eligible voters in the district had even bothered to show up for the debate. Roslyn, she added, is in the midst of the "worst [education] scandal" in America. "Where are the parents?" she asked. "Where are our neighbors?" She said Roslynites need to encourage people to participate in school district affairs or else the day may come when there won't be any candidates for a board election.

Jeffrey Sapper acknowledged that when he ran for the board in October 2004, he had opposed term limits on grounds that if the public is not happy with how a board member is performing, then they can vote him out. Sapper said he still feels that way, but now he supports term limits. Echoing Ms. Waxman, Sapper said the community was "becoming passive" again. He, too, wondered what would happen if a vacant seat becomes available and it is uncontested. If the board goes down the road to term limits, it should watch the limits it sets, and also what happens when a seat becomes vacant.

On the question of the teachers contract and possible givebacks to district teachers, the candidates praised the work teachers do, but were not ready to renegotiate the current contract.

Ms. Waxman noted the challenges faced by the current financial situation, but also tax, insurance, and benefit issues, which may "only get worse in time."

Jeff Borowick said he hoped for a non-adversarial relationship between the board and the teacher's union, but said that it would be "hard to have givebacks when you enter into something in good faith," adding that a dialogue between the board and the Roslyn Teachers Association needs to be restored for the long range health of the district."

Jeff Sapper also doubted that the board could break a current contract, even though he, too, said he would seek a "fair and understanding" relationship with teachers.

Cliff Saffron said that his current board membership limited his ability to address certain matters that are currently being addressed in the board's executive sessions. He did note that Roslyn School District teachers are the third highest paid in Nassau County. A problem, he added, is that such a salary is not tied "in a meaningful way" to performance. He also said that in the past, teachers' contracts were negotiated without the board having any counsel on the matter, a situation that won't happen again.