DOE IS MUM ON METRO CAMPUS

City Council Member Melinda Katz (in front of table) addressed the Forest Hills Community and Civic Association (FHCCA) last Tuesday, Oct. 13 on the topic of the Metropolitan Campus schools, which are expected to open in 2010. Shown seated at table are (from left to right) FHCCA President Barbara Stuchinski, Sergeant at-Arms Dorie Figliola, Nathan Horton and Rebecca Rawlins from the Office of Portfolio Planning and FHCCA Executive Vice President J.R. Nocerino. The future of the Metropolitan Avenue School Campus was the topic of discussion at the Forest Hills Community and Civic Association (FHCCA) session attended last Tuesday, Oct. 13 by two Department of Education representatives, but residents hoping for assurances that new seats would be reserved for local children had their questions left unanswered.

Located at a site off the intersection of Metropolitan Avenue and Selfridge Street, plans for the school campus were first undertaken in 1993. Long delayed by, among other things, the remediation of contaminated land, the two-school campus is finally set to open in September 2010.

While it is known that the campus will house both a 1,000-seat high school and a 700-seat I.S./H.S. serving grades six to 12, the process of choosing leadership and enrollment qualifications for each school is still ongoing. Desiring to insure that the community has a say on these matters, FHCCA President Barbara Stuchinski invited Nathan Horton of the DOE’s Office of Portfolio Plan- ning (OPP) to pay a visit to the Forest Hills civic.

Talking about process

To the disappointment of most attendees, however, Horton was only willing to speak generally about the process of choosing leadership for the schools, and not about the specifics of how the schools would be zoned.

“We plan the instructional space,” Horton said of his office. “We bring new schools team leaders—principals and so forth. I can’t talk to you about construction, and I can’t talk about enrollment.”

At the time of the Oct. 13 meeting, Horton stated, OPP had selected finalists for team leadership of both new schools, and had scheduled a meeting for Monday, Oct. 19 at which the candidates would present their educational visions to community members as well as OPP personnel, and receive feedback on their plans.

In the weeks to follow, the candidates would have a chance to modify their proposals, after which OPP would make recommendations to the chancellor, who would make the final decision.

Having finished his presentation, Horton took questions from the audience. But while he tried to engage residents in a discussion of educational philosophies, attendees were far more interested in talking about zoning.

A school for the community

“What I want to know,” said the mother of a middle-school aged girl, “is whether the school will be there for us next year. Will [my daughter] be able to go there, or do we have to make other plans.”

“For me to speak on enrollment would not be wise,” Horton responded, noting that there is a new school registration process, which allows parents to apply for schools that were officially opened after the normal registration process closed.

He also noted that it is typical for new schools to open one grade at a time, and that the I.S./H.S. is expected to open with pproximately 100 each of sixth and seventh graders, and to expand upward one grade every year.

“How will these schools be zoned?” another resident asked.

“By the time we have leaders chosen we should have enrollment info,” answered Horton. “But I don’t want to tell you one thing now and have it turn out to be not the case.”

“I understand it’s not your fault,” retorted one meeting-goer. “But every question we have, you don’t have an answer.”

One attendee who was unwilling to accept Horton’s vague answers was City Council Member Melissa Katz, who described how she and other elected officials had fought to make sure that the campus would serve area children.

“That high school was meant to alleviate overcrowding at Hillcrest and Forest Hill (high schools),” she said. “It was meant to alleviate local overcrowding, not citywide overcrowding.”

Echoing Katz’ sentiments was Karen Koslowitz, who was a Council Member when then plans for the campus were first laid, and is running to replace Katz in the Council next year.

“I plan to stay very involved in this,” said Koslowitz.

Katz noted that the past agreement was that the high school would be locally zoned, while the I.S./H.S. would be zoned for the district.

But when Horton was asked if this zoning would go through, Horton again refused to say.

“Is it possible that we could be shut out of this school?” one resident asked.

“No,” answered Stuchinski. “We’ll shut the school down first.”

Monday night meeting

According to Katherine Thome, who co-chairs Community Education Council 28’s task force on the Metropolitan Avenue schools, the Monday, Oct. 19 meeting was a success.

“The DOE went on record as saying that the high school was still planned as locally zoned for parts of districts 24 and 28,” she told the Times Newsweekly in a telephone interview. “And the I.S./H.S. is going to be a District 28 choice school, meaning that kids can apply and there will be a lottery process to see who gets in.”

Thome added that residents probably would not be able to apply for seats until school leadership is selected, which is expected to happen in November.

“What happened on Tuesday night wasn’t [Horton’s] fault,” said Thome. “We invited him to speak abpout the leadership process and to publicize the Monday night meeting. It was never supposed to be about zoning.”

Stuchinski, also reached by telephone, was not as positive about the Oct. 19 meeting. While the civic leader was pleased that the DOE had gone on record saying the high school would be for students living in the proximity of the school, she was disappointed with the team leadership presentations.

“We wanted academic excellence and college prep,” Stuchinski said. “Yet three of the high school proposals were for arts programs, and the fourth was for a medical program that’s not going to work.”

If necessary, she added, her group would fight to get the school the community wants.

“We’ve been after this for so long,” Stuchinski said, “because we want the best for our kids that we can possibly get.”

Other news

State Sen. Joseph Addabbo was on hand for the meeting, but if the state legislature has his way, he may not be attending FHCCA meetings in the future.

Addabbo, who chairs the Senate’s Elections Committee, noted that four different state senators represent parts of Forest Hills, and predicted that the area could be affected by redistricting to take place next year.

“If given the chance, I’d certainly love to represent Forest Hils,” he said. “But I think that you would be better served with one, or maybe two senators representing the area.”

In response to a question on the closures of St. John’s and Mary Immaculate hospitals, Addabbo said he believes “the governor could have found a way to keep the hospitals open while forcing Caritas out.”

FHCCA Executive Vice President J.R. Nocerino asked residents to sign up to volunteer for It’s My Park Day. Scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24, Nocerino is seeking residents to take part in a cleanup of Pebblestone Park.

Nocerino also reminded residents that Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and that the annual FHCCA Halloween Walk will set out from the Maspeth Federal Savings parking lot located at 101-09 Metropolitan Ave. at 1 p.m. on Oct. 31.

Representing Rep. Anthony Weiner, Avi Fink told civic members that the congressman is appalled that the Social Security Administration has not allowed for cost of living increases this year, and is fighting to get increases for area seniors.

The Forest Hills Community & Civic Association generally meets on the second Tuesday of each month at Continental Post 1424, located at 107-05 Metropolitan Avenue. For more information, visit fhcivic.org.