MEET THE BAUMANN SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS
SCHOOLS
Please Note that not a single presenter responded to my letter and No I did not PRESSURE anyone to drop out....If any did it was because they would not stand up to any scrutiny and of course neither Dennis or anyone else gave me ANY info on these people..-JPG
BEDFORD CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
THE FOX LANE CAMPUS • P.O. BOX 180
MOUNT KISCO, NEW YORK 10549
DR. BRUCE L. DENNIS
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
(914) 241-6010 FAX (914) 241-6004
Mr. Joseph P. Giardina
Mount Kisco, NY 10549
Dear Mr. Giardina:
I write in reply to your letter of June 12, 1996 concerning the Health Awareness Day conducted at Fox Lane High School on April 16, 1996. I have provided your inquires in italics, followed by the answers I have researched:
- The academic background and credentials of all 31 presenters along with their current main areas of expertise.
- How these presenters came to be chosen, and by whom.
- Which of the presenters were paid for their presentation? How much were they paid and by whom? By what criteria were the fees determined?
Attachment 1, with some handwritten comments of Mr. Kraemer's, lists all of the presenters for the Health Awareness Day, along with their discussion topics and sponsoring organizations. Nancy Kessler, one of the presenters noted on the list, was the event coordinator for this day. She was retained with grant money and prescreened each participant, all of whom she had worked with during previous awareness days in the Harrison and Pelham schools. We do not have resumes for these presenters, so I am unable to supply you with their academic vitae.
As noted above, Ms. Kessler handled the prescreening of the presenters. In addition, a committee consisting of drug council members from Mount Kisco and Bedford-Pound Ridge, parents from the Fox Lane Association, Fox Lane High School students, faculty and administrators organized the event and chose the speakers. I attended the final meeting of this committee personally.
information on the fees paid.
4.
What advisory body was responsible for overseeing that the standards for AIDS instruction set by New York State's Education Commissioner were met?I am aware of no directive from the state education department or the commissioner which requires that an advisory body must oversee the development of a health awareness day. The only state regulations I am aware of govern the development of a written curriculum for AIDS instruction. Nonetheless, the school administration, working with the three Bedford social workers, reviewed the program for the day to insure its propriety and communicated directly with the full committee. Additionally, parents of all high school students were invited to a program on the evening preceding the health awareness day to learn more about the program, and members of the local clergy, from all faiths, were invited as well. Finally, parents were permitted, in advance, to "opt their children out" of participation in the day's activities, if they so chose. I believe we have complied with and exceeded both the letter and the spirit of all regulations governing health instruction.
I have also attached Mr. Kraemer's March 20th reply to your letter of March 15, to remind you, and make the Board aware, that we have been over much of this ground before. Finally, I've enclosed a copy of a letter you sent to Marjorie Schlenoff, one of the potential presenters, which suggests you in fact had knowledge of the presenters before the Health Awareness Day even occurred. Further, we know from some of the presenters who canceled that you worked to pressure them not to participate. While this made it more difficult for us to provide the balanced presentation of these health issues which we believed to be important, we were nonetheless able to offer an informative and instructive day for our students which, based on the feedback we received, both they and their parents appreciated.
Bruce L. Dennis Superintendent of Schools
cc: Board of Education
Mr. Kraemer