Chancellor Hears Pleas To Ease Overcrowding At CEC 24 Town Hall Parents held signs and wanted answers about overcrowding in Corona from Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina at last Tuesday’s, May 27, Community Education Council District 24 meeting at P.S. 239 in Ridgewood. Farina is pictured in the left photo (center) flanked by District 24 President Nick Comaianni and District Superintendent Madelene Taub-Chan. (photos courtesy of Patricia Safina) a.m. lunch or to use the bathroom, said Quiroz, and sometimes the heat or air conditioning systems do not work. During heavy snow, she noted, students are cooped up in the cafeteria with only a half day of class. CEC 24 President Nick Comaianni pressured Fariña on the overcrowding issue as well. He has pressed past chancellors and elected officials for a new structure to be built where P.S. 143’s portable classrooms currently stand, but to no avail. Fariña told the crowd she would look into the school as soon as she could, and acknowledged the protestors’ neon orange and yellow signs. “We are starting on the road,” Fariña said earlier in the meeting, but noted that fixing New York’s overcrowding in schools does not happen overnight. She is planning on a walking tour of Corona to see what the area needs in terms of education, and her administration is looking for locations to alleviate the overcrowding. She asked that if anyone knew of an appropriate location to let her administration know. Comaianni reassured the audience that Fariña would indeed do something, claiming that her predecessors “weren’t real chancellors.” State of the schools In her address to the audience earlier in the meeting, the chancellor detailed her plan to get immigrants and new immigrant parents more engaged in their children’s schools. First, Fariña made clear that if contract negotiations are approved, starting in September, teachers will be allotted an extra 40 minutes per week for “parent purposes.” Teachers would use this time to schedule and hold one-on-one meetings with parents, opposing the traditional and limiting parentteacher conferences held only for a day or two. For September and October, the meetings will be gauged towards parents with children in the International Buddy Program (IBP) that pairs new students up with an already established buddy. Fariña said, “We should not wait for the middle of the year to have those conversations with them.” High priority will be given to meetings with new immigrant parents so they can quickly get accustomed to rules, regulations, and feel comfortable in their school’s community. Fariña hopes they will, as a result, become “more informed parents.” -CONTINUED FROM PG. 8- B’wick Man Guilty Of Shock Attack Following the attack, he fled from the scene. Officers from the 104th Precinct responded to a report of the assault; the victim suffered chest pains. During a search, police located Desmond later that evening in the courtyard of a nearby building. He was taken into custody on assault charges. The following month, a grand jury indicted Desmond for assault as a hate crime. Assistant DistrictAttorney Joseph T. Palazzolo II of the DA’s Gang Violence and Hate Crimes Bureau led the prosecution under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Mariela Palomino Herring, bureau chief, and Michelle E. Goldstein, deputy bureau chief. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 8- TIMES, THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014 • 30 Also, to aid in the acclimation, suggested schools will develop mentor programs in which new parents will be assigned a veteran parent of two or three years to show them the ropes. Fariña recollected her times in school when her parents, as new immigrants, didn’t feel welcome. “We really want to change the culture of schools and have parents treated well, and I’m committed to that,” Fariña said. Other issues Fariña touched on included ensuring accountability within the Department of Education, while limiting the vast layers of personnel, putting more trust in the principals and how they manage their school, reviewing the enrollment process, and she promised to look into a District 24 gifted and talented program that recently received cuts. Comaianni is looking forward to seeing the chancellor work. He said, “I think she’s workable.” Her ability is yet to be seen, Comaianni stated, noting that she thinks through her plans as opposed to her predecessors, who were quick to make decisions. “Former Chancellor Dennis Walcott was great as a person, but a rubber stamp as a chancellor,” said Comaianni, “I like what Fariña said.” Other news As for regular CEC 24 business, the council passed a resolution creating a zone for P.S. 315 which would reduce the zone sizes of P.S. 307, 16, 19, and 13 in order to create a zone for an elementary school at 96-18 43rd Ave. in Corona, slated to open for the next school year. Other events included a Middle School Parent Conference on Saturday, June 7, at 52 Chambers St. in Manhattan. It was also announced that several public meetings will be held by New York Lawyers for Public Interest focusing on toxins in schools. The Queens meeting will be tonight, Thursday, June 5, at 6:30 p.m. at the Queens Gateway School, located at 160-20 Goethals Ave. in Jamaica. Community Education Council District 24 generally meets on the fourth Tuesday each month at 7 p.m. at locations across the district. For more information, call 1-718-418- 8160. Report: Hynes May Have Broken Law In Campaign re-election campaign, Hynes reentered the race in October, running on the Republican and Conservative lines he had previously secured. Thompson again defeated Hynes in the November general election, ending the incumbent’s 24-year prosecutorial career. According to the DOI report, Hynes allegedly “used KCDA personnel and email resources in connection with his ultimately unsuccessful” campaign and exchanged “several thousand campaign-related emails with individuals both within and outside” his office, sometimes during normal business hours. Reportedly, the DOI subpoenaed and reviewed 6,000 emails sent to or received by Hynes “for the 18 month period preceding” last November’s election. Emails between Hynes and Kamins, according to the DOI report, also appeared to be political in nature, as the judge allegedly advised “Hynes regarding his campaign, and that he also engaged in communications with Hynes regarding matters actively being prosecuted by the KCDA and provided Hynes with legal advice.” Investigators also believe Hynes may have also enlisted KCDA employees to assist him in the campaign. The inquiry also found that between Jan. 1 and Nov. 26, 2013, the KCDA office issued checks to public relations firm Matz, Blancato & Associates in amounts totaling over $219,000 between 2012 and 2013 from a subaccount titled “Asset Forfeiture.” The checks were reportedly issued for what was described as office consultation services. “DOI’s investigation also describes possible criminal conduct with respect to the personal services Matz provided to Hynes, which services appear to have been paid for, at least in part, from KCDA state forfeiture funds,” the report noted. The DOI stated it would refer its findings “to the appropriate civil and criminal authorities” for further investigation. During his press conference in Ridgewood on Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Bill de Blasio cautioned against pre-judging Hynes and others accused of potential wrongdoing. “The charges that have been raised are very serious,” de Blasio told members of the press. “But certainly what has been reported is very troubling.” -CONTINUED FROM PG. 10- SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS MEANS MORE THAN WAVING FLAGS. Help Returning Soldiers By Donating To Local Veterans Organizations. HAVE YOU CHECKED YOUR CHILD’S HOMEWORK TODAY?
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