President's Platform: Keeping Success Going in North Babylon
Written by Selina Durio, NBTO President
Many may recognize some but not all of the names on my short but far from comprehensive list above. In my 40+ years in North Babylon as a resident and then as an employee, I have had the honor and pleasure (most times) to work with each and every person listed above. They were, and many still are, what I consider to be leaders within the North Babylon community. Some of these exemplary leaders have passed on and left behind legacies of service that most of us could only hope to emulate. Through their work with the PTA, School Board, NBAC, and various other North Babylon groups the people above, and countless others, have helped create a climate of volunteerism and service that we must find a way to foster in our youth.
More importantly, the countless volunteers we have in North Babylon are much needed role models for our youth. In this issue of the NBTO newsletter you will see examples of volunteerism from community residents (Ms. Longmcleod) to staff members (Mr. Shingler and Barbara Brown). There is no way to quantify the value of volunteer service, except in the joy and pleasure we get in seeing the results when our youth succeed and our community flourishes. But, we have a problem – our current economy and state of affairs have put us in a position of not always having the resources to provide the services our youth need. Over the last school break one community group took students on a number of educational outings, everything from visiting colleges to holding cells. Our youth need this type of exposure to know that there are options other than the street.
As chronicled in our March and May newsletter, our Academic Team is flourishing and winning awards. Our science and math students are competing successfully against more affluent schools. Our music, art, and theater programs are second to none. In short, North Babylon has always had a strong academic base, but more often than not much of the publicity is focused on our considerable athletic achievements, while our academic achievements are often ignored. Yet our graduates go on to be everything from teachers, to doctors, to sanitation engineers, to laborers, all professions needed in our society.
My point is that we are succeeding in North Babylon as a community with all of our dedicated volunteers and pro-education advocates and we are succeeding in our educational endeavors. We need to keep succeeding and the current budget proposal accomplishes that. The current budget proposed by the Board of Education would preserve ALL of the wonderful programs we have in North Babylon. These programs, from the Academic Team and the Mathletes, to the athletic teams, to our award winning music and theater programs are essential to the continued success of our district. While the loss of staff has put us in a tenuous position, we must not forget our purpose – to educate the whole child. This budget helps us to do that.
We must note that while we support the proposed budget and strongly encourage all residents to get out and vote yes, we do NOT support the proposed proposition to change the procedure used for the election of Board of Education members. The current process, put in place just this year after a proposal passed last year, simply has not been given a chance. Reverting to the previous process, without even giving the new process a chance, gives incumbents more of an advantage than they already have.