HUFSD Parents Stage 'Sick-Out'

Dozens of school-aged children ran about the front lawn of Town Hall Monday morning. It was not a holiday. Rather parents purposely kept them out of school to rally agains numerous safety and security issues surrounding Jack Abrams Intermediate School on Lowndes Avenue.

Prior to the rally, an email was sent around to parents outlining the plan of action. It read: On Monday, April 12, we are taking part in a "sick out" to send a message to the administration and the Board of Education that the safety of our children needs to be of utmost importance. We are keeping our children home in demonstration of our belief that children are not safe at JAI and we are imploring the district to do something about it.  The numbers of children that are home from school Monday will be the numbers of children that may ultimately leave the district either by moving or attending private schools.  We are unhappy with the lack of progress of any concrete evidence that our children's safety is of any importance to those who can make the change.  Every child in this district deserves to learn in a safe environment.

Many parents, mainly mothers, did respond to that call to action. They kept their kids home from school, came to Town Hall and chanted and carried signs with sayings such as: "Enough talk. We want action," and "Honk for our safety."  They did appear to receive much support from those driving by via their vehicle horns as well as shouted encouragement and applause.

Michelle Kustera, parent of a kindergartner who will eventually be at Abrams, said that the crowd was not representative of all who had kept their children home as part of the so-called lock out. "I know ten our of 25 kids in my daughter's class were kept home," she said. "Some just couldn't make it here but wanted to show their support. We want to send both the Board of Education and the Town Board of Huntington we are not going to go away. We are going to continue to demanding safety at JAI as well as in the community. It's like we have School District #3 and then there are little small sub-districts within that. We want all of SD #3 to be safe."

Dozens of parents are expected to appeal to the school board tonight, at a regularly scheduled meeting, according to parent Meryl Otis-Kessler. "The number one tenet of te Board of Regents is the importance of safety. Safety first, then learning," she said. "We've been fighting this for ten years. Still, today, our kids can't play on certain areas of the playground where the fields are. Instead there are police officers there. On the one hand, the kids feel safe because the police are there. But on the other, they don't feel safe because of why they have to be here. We need a solution."

The parents began rallying strong early last month, following a March 11 shooting near Abrams during school hours. Their concerns made their way to the Board of Education members, who directed district administrators to look into options to move the students.

At a March 22 board meeting, Superintendent John Finello listed the options, which include swapping buildings with Town Hall, a former school building as well as having a split-day session at Woodhull Intermediate School, which would result in some students attending class until 7 p.m.