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First round of search ends with no superintendent selection in NBSD; board to resume search in fall The North Babylon School District announced last week that it was going to conduct another search for a new superintendent after its final candidate had withdrawn his name from consideration. While the district did not say who the candidate was, several other sources indicated it was Island Trees Superintendent James Parla. Parla has since renegotiated his contract with Island Trees, and did not return phone calls for comment. The North Babylon School Board plans to begin a new search in the fall. In the meantime it has asked Acting Superintendent Dr. Joseph A. Laria, to continue in that capacity until a replacement can be found, a request he accepted. "I told this board when I first accepted this post that I was here for the duration," Laria told the public at a school board meeting last Thursday. "And I meant it. You have never made me feel like an 'Acting' anything; I will remain throughout this process and I will not bail out on you." Laria took over as head of the district last year when North Babylon Superintendent Dr. John Micciche departed hastily. Laria's contract called for him to receive $950 a day, a rate that cost the district approximately $227,000 to date. But the district is expected to negotiate a new contract with him, one that school officials said would likely result in an annual salary that is lower than the $950-a-day-rate. The contract was not immediately available for review. Laria was thanked by School Board President William Harrigan for accepting the extension of his post and said that the board was going to conduct another comprehensive and in-depth search for his replacement. In other business, the district responded to the release of a state audit that chastised North Babylon for a bookkeeping error made that placed $2.8 million in state aid into the 2004-05 school year budget. It should have gone into the 2003-04 budget. In a press release announcing completion of the audit, which was conducted at the request of the school district, Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said that the error caused the district to significantly underestimate the amount of funds available to the district for the school year. "Important programs were cut because the school district did not have a handle on its finances," said DiNapoli. "Taxpayers expect the school district to have an accurate picture of the school's budget. But taxpayers in North Babylon did not get that picture. The resulting program cuts were not fair to taxpayers, not fair to teachers and especially not fair to students." Michael Buzzeo, the district's superintendent for business, called the comments "astounding" and said the state comptroller's office had not outlined the facts accurately for the public. "The fact is that we found the bookkeeping error in 2004, when I first came to the district, and brought it to the attention of the state, asking that they conduct the audit," said Buzzeo. At that time, Buzzeo also made a presentation to the school board, saying the business office had to be revamped and that the district should hire a treasurer/accountant. The district had not had an accountant on staff prior to that. As a result, an accountant was put into place, a new independent auditing firm was hired, and the district made procedural changes to tighten up its accounting practices, all of which were outlined to the state in a response Buzzeo made in May of this year. He called the district's responses to the weaknesses it found in its system responsive and professional, and Comptroller's statements "old news." +The board recognized outgoing School Board Trustee Jim Newman, who has served for three years. Newman said his tenure was a tremendous learning curve. "It gave me an understanding of what it takes to be a board member, the challenges of doing the job and it has been a pleasure serving this community. I thank you for your support," he said. +The board recognized Rich Gabriel the district's system coordinator who Laria said has left the district with a legacy of having established a rich (technology) foundation. "We will not let you down, he told Gabriel. The district also welcomed Mark Garrison to the newly established position of director of technology, a candidate who brings experience in educational technology, a leader on Long Island who will bring us forward," said Laria. +Plans are underway to complete a plan for renovations in the district funded by the New York State EXCEL aid. Once that plan is completed, it will be presented to the public and a vote on accepting the aid will be held, likely in the early part of October. EXCEL aid is funded at the state level and does not have any financial impact on the local tax rate. +Several parents from Belmont Avenue Elementary School approached the board concerned about the number of students in third grade classes. With that grade now undergoing state testing, they wanted assurances from the board that an additional teacher would be hired, if needed. Dr. Laria said that he and the staff are monitoring the enrollment closely and would make a final decision in August. He thanked the parents for raising the point about the testing and said he would add that to the discussions.
The board's reorganizational meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 10 at 8 p.m.
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