Posted on 06/16/2004 11:39:57 AM PDT by NYer
ROSLYN, N.Y. (AP) _ This is an unlikely setting for a crisis in the public schools. Roslyn High sends 95 percent of its graduates to college, its SAT scores are among the best in the nation, and it was cited in a recent Wall Street Journal story on the some of country's finest public schools. Foreign language is offered to youngsters beginning in kindergarten.
For more than two decades, voters in this well-to-do Long Island community less than 20 miles from Manhattan have faithfully supported a generous school budget, funding whatever programs administrators thought necessary to keep the district's 3,000 students at the head of the class. Then came accusations this spring of theft and breathtaking avarice: school funds _ perhaps millions _ allegedly used to buy luxury homes, cars and other items, and tens of thousands of dollars in dry cleaning and gourmet food bills.
The scandal has led to the arrest of a former administrator and a voter revolt. ``Outraged,'' said longtime resident Carolyn Horowitz, who was in court when the one-time administrator was arraigned. ``The word would be `outrage.'''
The furor unfolded slowly. First there was an anonymous letter sent to the school board in February, alleging the former longtime administrator may have stolen much more than the $250,000 she repaid two years ago, when she was quietly permitted to retire. That led to an investigation by the district attorney's office and the indictment earlier this month of Pamela Gluckin, former assistant superintendent for business, on charges of stealing more than $1 million.
The school board now says it has found nearly $8 million in suspicious spending. Prosecutors say the money Gluckin took paid for mortgages on three homes, luxury automobiles and credit card debts. ``She stole from the programs of the children of the Roslyn School District and placed the school district into a great deal of turmoil,'' prosecutor Pete Mancuso said. ``You're dealing with someone who stole in order to satisfy her own needs for luxury.''
Her attorney said that she is innocent and that people will change their opinion of her once all the facts come out. Gluckin is free on $25,000 bail. Gluckin's arrest, it turned out, was just the beginning.
The superintendent of schools, Frank Tassone, has announced his retirement. He had been suspended by the board after it was discovered that $800,000 was paid by the school district to a word processing company that shares his New York City mailing address. Tassone has not been charged and has refused to comment on the allegations.
In the wake of Gluckin's arrest, Newsday has reported new allegations almost daily of school money that may have been spent on perks. One report said $33,141 was paid to a dry cleaner used by Tassone; $30,605 went to a gourmet food market near where Gluckin once lived; $187,377 went to car dealerships and financing companies; and $551,569 went to four companies owned by Gluckin or her husband. The district attorney's office is pressing ahead and more arrests are possible. The state comptroller is also auditing Roslyn's books.
The voters in Roslyn have responded. Last month they overwhelmingly rejected an $82 million budget _ the first time in 23 years that a spending plan was voted down. Officials conceded the theft allegations played a major role.
School board President William Costigan said that board members relied on the advice of an attorney and the district's independent auditor in deciding to allow Gluckin to retire quietly in 2002. ``Had the board known at the time ... that there was the remotest possibility that more district funds had been stolen, the board would have acted differently and would have pursued criminal charges at that time,'' he said.
David Ernst of the New York State School Boards Association said the scandal is a lesson for any school board member inclined to follow the lead of a dynamic superintendent. ``You can't be afraid to ask the hard questions,'' he warned.
AP-ES-06-16-04 1342EDT
More importantly, how did this affect women, minorities, and costal erosion on Long Island?
I have yet to see any school district submit a budget that was the same as or less than the previous year. Public school funding is like a giant sink hole. The more you pump in, the more they want. And when budgets are not passed, the first thing the administrators do is cancel sports and music programs.
``Had the board known at the time ...
David Ernst of the New York State School Boards Association said ...``You can't be afraid to ask the hard questions,'' he warned.
So basically no one was watching the store and now it's just an exercise in CYA. Typical government operation--here's a bag of money, call us when you need more.
Agree ... in our community nearly two thirds of property tax revenue goes to funding the local school system. State funding is drying up so the school district is beginning its pitch for more money from the community next year in the form of a tax levy. The latest blurb in the local paper, an article on the front page titled "School District to cut $1 million from budget" ... only to find out upon reading the article they were simply deferring certain expenses and pushing them a year or two down the road.
Last month they overwhelmingly rejected an $82 million budget
That works out to $27,000 per student, for those who are counting.
Thanks for the ping.
Following this story as I have, you get the flavor of years of NEA-Planned P'hood-type proselytizing having the intended effect: A bunch of "tolerant, morally neutral, non-judgemental liberals" who dared not "judge" another's actions, and were too "compassionate" to ask questions.
The school board is composed of a bunch of dupes who engaged in a conspiracy to shield thievery from taxpayers on the advice of a (gag) lawyer. They all belong in jail.
I'm betting the anonymous letter squealing on Gluckin was her husband who's got all that stolen money in secret bank accounts, a young, busty girlfriend, and a cozy condo in Boca.
....to learn how to steal from their future employers and end up as an Enron executive....
Graduation gift? .... using the taxpayer's dime ;-D
All this would change if people were allowed to vote for their school board.
The gift that keeps on (ahem) giving.........if he plays his cards right.
What's also telling is that the guy LIVED in Manhattan, and the two females also implicated lived in Westchester...it'salmost unheard for for a school superindendent to live that far away...I mean, it's the ultimate "community" position", in you will...most school districts don't ahve a legal requirement to live wiothin the district, but it's an "unwritten but clearly understood" requirement of the position..
I attended Roslyn schools from Grammar to High School. I am shocked...shocked!
Does anyone really think that a beauro-crappy like a school district actually uses those millions and billions "for the children"??
Put low morality and millions in cash together and you get the obvious.
Somebody call the Thought Police at once, and turn Ken in for hate crimes.
I remember several years ago Roslyn SD was involved in a case where they did not want a student to be able to start a Christian club in the school.
They fought these kids tooth and nail, and if I recall correctly (somebody correct me if I am wrong) they lost, upon which they disallowed a whole bunch of clubs in order to keep these kids from being able to have a club of their choice.
I am familiar with the Roslyn neighborhood. This does not surprise me at all. It is well, a super upscale liberal neighborhood full of Drs and lawyers. I could say more, but I won't. It is interesting to see they are having problems like this now.
While I supprt homeschooling, that does not in any way address the problems here.
Homeschoolers still pay taxes.
Those taxes were embezelled.
The real answer is to prosecute the guilty, instead of allowing them to retire.
Actually, Roslyn isn't a neighborhood, it's a conglomeration of multiple villages (Roslyn Heights, Roslyn Harbor, Roslyn Village, East Hills, North Hills...). A couple of those sections meet your definition but the whole runs the gamut from housing projects to multi-million dollar gated condo communities.
I went to school in Old Westbury, so I remember driving through Roslyn on a regular basis. I guess you know which parts I am talking about.
Yep, there are definitely "Gold Coast" sections in Roslyn but for the real "rich as hell but head up the ass" liberalism you can't beat Great Neck, eight miles west down Northern Blvd.
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