(The following is a letter delivered at a recent Roslyn School District Board of Education meeting that the author would like reprinted in The Roslyn News.)

Last night I had the pleasure of attending, along with many of you, the Martin Luther King Scholarship Dinner. It was a delightful evening where there was much talk of compassion, caring community service and character building.

So before I begin my remarks, allow me to quote Martin Luther King. He states, "Our lives begin to end when one becomes silent about things that matter. Although I've never been accused of being silent about things I feel it is absolutely crucial that I speak about the following, because it matters so very much to me to my family and in a broader sense, to the community at large.

So, I stand before you this evening to ask you two things- first, why are you suing me and secondly to ask you to consider dropping the lawsuit against me.

For the benefit of those that don't know me, I ran for a seat on the Roslyn School Board in May of 2000. I considered it both a responsibility and a privilege as a resident of this community to participate in a way that would best serve my fellow residents. At the time I was elected, I was an at home mom who had none the less had a particular knowledge (expertise) in the area of reading (an absolutely essential ingredient for a successful education for all children). Prior to serving on the board, I had helped to implement along with the Roslyn teacher's center some important changes in the approach to teaching reading in the Roslyn School District that are still in place today. I participated on all levels in the area of special education. Recognizing that not all needs are educational I created, with the help of the Roslyn Teacher's union and the home school coordinator a clothing closet for gently used clothing to assist the residents who were in need of such services. The point being, I was always willing to do my fair share and honestly it brought me great joy.

Shortly after being elected but before I was sworn in I was offered a position as the director of a learning center. Concerned that it might somehow be a conflict of interest, since some Roslyn teachers were being trained in methodology taught at the center, I made an appointment to ask Dr. Tassone if he in fact thought it might be a conflict of interest, because if so, I would not take the position. He told me that he would check with the district's attorney and get back to me. He called me into his office and assured me he had checked with the attorney and that there was no problem.

So in July of 2000 I was sworn in as a member of the Roslyn School Board. My entire family was in attendance to celebrate the occasion. It was the same family that sits with me this evening whose financial future is in jeopardy because this current board has chosen to sue me.

My stay on the board was brief. In the spring of 2001 (8 months after being elected) a certain school board member raised a concern about my involvement at the learning center and my role on the board. It was a result of seeing my picture in The Roslyn News at the center's ribbon cutting. This members concern I was told was not about a legitimate conflict of interest but rather what the community's perception might be. So Dr. Tassone checked with the attorney once again and this time there was a piece of law stating that there could in fact be a conflict of interest. The board spoke about some possible options to allow me to continue. But I decided to step down. The point being when I learned of the law, I abided by it. So with much sadness, I resigned from the school in the spring of 2001. A total of 8 months.

That is the entire story of my involvement with the Roslyn school board. That is until Sept of 2005...when I got hand delivered a 17- page summons notifying me that the current board of education has named me in a lawsuit to the tune of $11,000,000.

I understand we are all reeling from the theft that has taken place in this district, however I do not understand the rational behind suing a board member who served a total of eight months on the Roslyn school board in the year 2000 -2001.

I know they say that crime does not pay but in this situation Dr. Tassone gets to make a plea bargain in exchange for a brief jail term so that he may regain his freedom and enjoy his pension while I must dole tens of thousands of dollars to defend myself for serving my community. To think that my family too has been a victim of this outrageous theft, the largest of it's kind in New York State and now I must burden them further with attorney's fees that we cannot possibly absorb. It feels like a triple hit for my family- first our tax dollars get stolen by some criminals- then I must pay an initial bill of $20,000 in order to answer this summons (and I have been advised that if this lawsuit continues, it could cost me upwards of $100,000), and finally this board will now use my tax dollars to sue me!

Please understand, like you, I am completely in favor of having justice served and so let those criminals who committed a crime be appropriately punished along with anyone who may have benefited from this scandal. Alan Hevisi has provided that list for us. But also note, I did not commit any crime nor was I involved in any collusion. I wasn't even on the board in 2002 when the complaint says the board first learned of the theft. It goes on to say when this theft came to light; there was a failure to report. It's a none issue for me...I couldn't report what I didn't even know about!

My husband and I have always taught our children that justice prevails, but it has been a difficult lesson in our household lately. It has been suggested that by including my name in the lawsuit this board is" throwing the baby out with the bath water." And you might say "that's unfortunate, but you have to do this in order to have the greater justice served". But let me caution you, in the words of Dr. King, " Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Three of my boys have had to take a required course here at Roslyn high school entitled "Community Service". Hopefully my children have learned about community service long before they enter high school by the power of example not only from their parents but also their extended family. I hope that we don't have to add a chapter to the syllabus entitled "Community Service and Liability/Litigation. Dr. Brenner, our Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction spoke at length about community service and character education as qualities to be held in high esteem and will serve as a guideposts in his work of educating our youth. But what can I say to my children about community service these days when their mother is being sued for just that. It does not make sense to them. It does not make sense to me and hopefully upon reflection, it won't make sense to you either.

In closing, I want to let you know that not only have my family and I been residents of this community for over 20 years, but we also conduct our livelihood in the village of Roslyn. My husband Albert has his cabinet shop in town. My sister in law Diane is the local baker in town and my brother is a local restaurateur. And most of them came here with me this evening. My father and mother in law who helped us all get our start here so many years ago drove from Cooperstown today to be here as well. I cannot tell you how stressful and frightening this has been to my family and I ask you with all due respect to look at the facts and please drop this lawsuit against me.

You know, it's a funny thing. I'm no longer at that learning center because last year I got diagnosed with heart failure and despite some recent good news (for which I am very grateful) this lawsuit continues to hang like a dark cloud over our household. In June of this year, my heart got put to the test---my mother died. Now you must be wondering why I am telling you about this, it's because my mother was also a vibrant member of this community. She was the gray haired woman who worked at the bakery who also had a quick and a kind word. And how do I know that? Because so many members of this community came to pay their respects, not because they knew me, but because they knew my mother. It touched me deeply. After all, what do we have in life? We have our faith, our family, our friends and our community. So I've had many challenges this year in things that were out of my control. And this lawsuit feels like it might be another one of those things. But I can tell you this: It is not out of your control. So I ask you one more time to please drop me from this lawsuit. Thank you.

Carol Margaritis