Syosset Schools Boat-Rocker Speaks Up

When Ed Adrion was told that people upset with the Syosset School Board election process feared speaking publicly, he wasn't surprised.

He thinks back to 2005, when the then-school board candidate would come home from his job on Wall Street. His wife was already none-too-pleased with him running, and what happened to his then-elementary school kids confirmed her concerns.

"A couple of times they would come home from school and say the kids had teased them," the 47-year-old Adrion remembers. "'Your daddy wants to cut spending and do all these crazy things with special education and he wants cuts in school lunches.' I don't know where these kids who are in the fifth grade are hearing all this. They're certainly not reading this in the newspaper or getting it online. They're getting it from the parents."

Adrion says he was merely concerned about taxes. He knew some people would disagree in an area where many residents specifically move here and put up with the taxes because of the school system's academic rankings.

He just doesn't understand why he had to become persona-non-grata.

"I remember going to meet-the-teacher nights, and people weren't too happy to talk to me. ...," Adrion says. "They were very unsettled about having someone come in and asking questions and getting involved and not being one of the usual PTA [types] that they want to promote to the school board."

In Adrion's mind, separate organizations are there for checks and balances.

"They were so linked together," Adrion says. "There was no separation. [Superintendent Dr. Carole] Hankin wanted as much money as possible, and the school board said, 'OK, we'll give you as much money as you want.' They weren't really being responsible to the taxpayers. I always said somebody has to mind the store."

Adrion lost in 2005 and has since distanced himself from school politics. But he still objects with what he feels are tactics that tip the scales when it comes to voting.

Syosset Patch received several complaints Tuesday about video presentations playing near voting areas that promoted the school system. Many have also taken issue with voting taking place on "curriculum night," when presentations are made to show parents a school's accomplishments.

"I started going to the school board meetings a year or two before I ran," Adrion says. "They would do whatever the spring play was, they would have [students] do a little show before the school board meeting. I got up numerous times and said I thought it was inappropriate. It's great that the kids are doing these things, but I don't think you should be there using the children as props in order to validate how great the school system is. Let that stand on its own."

He later added, "The curriculum night thing is basically school propaganda in a polling place."

Syosset Patch obtained voting information distributed from the Syosset Council of PTAs supporting the budget measures and promoting the incorporation of voting and curriculum night. Adrion feels part of the problem is that the PTA and school board are so intertwined.

"In order to get on the school board, you have to go through the whole PTA ranks," Adrion says. "You've got to work your way up. So there's very rarely someone from the outside who comes in that's not brainwashed with the whole PTA mentality."

After Adrion's defeat he says several people approached him and thanked him for speaking up. He hopes someone else steps to the plate in the future.

"You have a number of people who don't know how to coalesce their feelings and attitudes into action," Adrion says. "That's what I thought I would capture, because back then it was very rampant as far as discontent."