School Board Candidate Dr Tanya Dragic

GSCD PTA To Host Candidate's Night

GSCD PTA COUNCIL PRESENTS CANDIDATE NIGHT!

The PTA Council at Greenburgh School District presents Candidate Night on 5/1/19. Please join us at Woodlands HS Cafeteria to hear the candidates talk about who they are and their platform. The candidates are: Milena Din Tanya Dragic Brezetta Griffith-Bullock Lloyd Newland - Incumbent Ashley Pineda David Warner - Incumbent The public will have an opportunity to ask questions in writing. Upon entering the cafeteria, you will be given an index card to write your question. Council will pick the most relevant questions. The moderators will then read the questions to the candidates. There will be no verbal questions taken on the floor... We look forward to seeing you on May 1, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. - 8:30p.m. at Woodlands HS Cafeteria. Annual budget and board election is May 21, 2019 at Woodlands MS from 7:00a.m. - 9:00pm. Exercise your right to vote! Thank you.

Happy Easter

Happy Passover

Tarrytown's 2018 Small Business Person of the Year Revealed!

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By Chuck Casto

After two months of nominations and voting, we’re delighted to announce that there’s a winner for Tarrytown's 2018 Small Business Person of the Year! The winner is Donna LoPinto of Print This!, Inc..

Competition criteria focused on local SMB role models, who are dedicated to helping other small businesspeople succeed. After an extended round of nominations, top nominees advanced to the finalist stage, where local Alignable members voted for their favorite candidate. "I am honored and thrilled!  Thank you so much to the entire Tarrytown-area business community," said LoPinto. 
Tarrytown’s winner has received a personalized badge to celebrate this achievement. The badge can help drive more prospects, visibility and recognition on our Alignable network for the rest of 2019 and beyond. We encourage each winner to share the badge on other social media, blogs, and external sites, as well.

We were thrilled with the massive response we had after announcing this contest, which was held in 1,400+ communities across the U.S. and Canada. Special thanks go out to all participants, including more than 30,000+ nominees and voters.

Stay tuned for the 2019 version of this competition early next year.

Breakfast With Easter Bunny

Continued Subterfuge

ABG has just recently discovered that the suspension of a Woodlands teacher accused of alleged inappropriate conduct may not be true. Our sources informed us that the issue was over a grade the student received from the teacher who works/worked at the school. We have yet to be able to verify this information with theGreenburgh Central School District Board or Superintendent Chase. And if it truly was over a grade, why the subterfuge? Didn’t we have enough of that during the school consolidation proposal that was overwhelmingly defeated by a 2-to-1 vote?

You’ll recall that the teacher who works at Woodlands Middle/High School in Hartsdale, was placed on leave on Thursday, April 4. Greenburgh Central School District Superintendent Tahira A. DuPree Chase said in a statement, "The matter has been referred to the proper authorities, including the Greenburgh Police Department. However, please know that the District places the utmost importance on our students’ safety and well-being and that all of our actions in this matter have been for the purpose of ensuring the health, safety, and welfare of our students," she added. But was safety really the issue?

The superintendent went on to say that while many may have questions, she cannot provide further comment as this was turned over to law enforcement and that it is a personnel and student matter. We see another executive session in the School Board’s future. As you know, they usually adjourn to executive session in the middle of their Board meetings, leaving those taxpayers from the public in attendance for up to an hour wondering if they will return and continue. Executive sessions are primarily used to discuss personnel issues. And, while we find the Town Board's meetings reprehensibly convoluted to the public they supposedly serve, at least they hold their executive sessions at the end of their meetings - especially when the audience is in a particularly hostile or disagreeable mood based on the Board’s actions.

The Greenburgh School District recently came under fire for almost secretly crafting a scheme to allow the current school buildings to deteriorate to further their agenda of creating a unified, one-location Warburg campus where the Woodlands High School campus now exists. On top of being derelict in executing their required duties, they rebuff claims that they put the children's lives in jeopardy. Yet their plan was touted by the School Board and Administration as necessary because the new classrooms would affect the students’ learning performance. If that were really true, then well-maintained classrooms would have been vital. 

During this gestation period, we viewed classrooms in several similarly aged schools, such as Sacred Heart in Hartsdale, Pocantico Hills Central School in Pocantico Hills to find condition similarities to the Greenburgh schools. When it comes to student safety, we were told that the NYS Board of Education has safety standards that have to be met but that the Greenburgh schools were deficient. If this is the case, obviously these standards are simply recommendations. Otherwise, wouldn’t the NYS Board of Education intervene and make sure these safety standards were being met? Isn’t it always about the children?

Legacy dreams were openly discussed by the Superintendent and long-time Board members later on as resistance to their dream grew. Perhaps that was the issue all along: the dreams of the few were pushed regardless of the requests many people made, asking to slow the bus down and provide answers that had to be acquired elsewhere. It seemed they even "doubled-down" as opposition grew. An example at one of the meetings was made of a superintendent who made changes to his district from the west coast. Dr Chase said that person was his own "brand" when it came to the transformation he was able to perform. It seems as though Dr Chase might be trying to create her own brand - not for anything as noble as the children, the taxpayers she answers to or anything else.

During the entire discovery of, and resultant exposing of the consolidation plan that had been kept well-hidden from the taxpaying public and the information people requested, the questions that remained unanswered and the lacking nature of the presentations and subterfuge ultimately led to the downfall of the proposal. The fact that we saw the same Board members speaking out in favor of the proposition and one Board member violating the law and illegally sending an email pushing the proposal only later to apologize to say he used the wrong email account speaks volumes. Those Board members not in attendance speaks volumes as well. Now we wonder if the suspension of this teacher has to do with something else going on that we’re not being told. Security at the schools has been increased and their security programs have been reviewed by other school districts according to Superintendent Chase. Was this really a safety issue or an excuse to address a personnel issue of a different nature?

Our school district seems in turmoil and begging for real leadership, accountability and results. While teaching Mandarin and STEAM/STEM classes may be all the rage, getting our students English and Math proficiency up from 35% should be a priority. Truthfulness, openness, and a willingness to improve the buildings we own, improve the education our students receive and work with the community to effect a competent change should be their agenda. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh School District.  

Dwight “Doc” Gooden Grand Marshall At Elmsford Little League’s Opening Day Parade

Former Major League pitcher Dwight “Doc Gooden” (below center) talks to fans before the start of the ceremonial parade. This is the second time Gooden has been the Grand Marshall for the Little League’s parade.

Kevin Morgan Passes

Elmsford, NY - Kevin Patrick Morgan, 63, a lifelong resident of Elmsford, NY died April 4th, 2019 after a short battle with cancer. Born May 20th, 1955 to the late Alphonsus and Rosie (O'Reilly) Morgan, he is survived by his loving wife Nancy (Parks) of 40 years, son Kevin (Rhonda) and daughter Kristen (Rajesh) Kumar. Poppy to Evan, AJ, Julia, and Liam. 

     He was a decorated retired police detective in the Greenburgh Police Department, an Investigator for the legal aid society, Greenburgh Town Councilman, member of the Elmsford Rotary, and Leukemia And Lymphoma Society board member in which he won man of the year for his fundraising efforts. 

     Kevin is survived by sister Linda and his brothers Robert and Richard and many nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his sister Deborah and his brother Brian. Reposing, Hawthorne Funeral Home, 21 West Stevens Avenue, Hawthorne, NY, on Saturday, 2-5 PM and Sunday 3-7 PM. Funeral Mass, Monday at 10 AM at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Elmsford, NY. Interment will be at Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Greenburgh, N.Y. In lieu of flowers donations to Leukemia And Lymphoma Society

https://donate.lls.org/lls/donate

Published in the The Journal News on Apr. 5, 2019

Dwight "Doc" Gooden 2019 Grand Marshall