Parents Ask Tough QuestionsLevy Says No Easy Answers

Fighting back tears of frustration and anger, Debra Artis stood before a room of nearly 500 Queens parents and educators to tell new Schools Chancellor Harold Levy that her daughter has difficulty passing her all-Regents graduation requirements. Desperate to know what the imminent future holds for her child, Artis pleaded with Levy to put into place programs that would keep her daughter from failing or dropping out.
Undeterred, Levy candidly told the St. Albans resident "Its a huge system, and a difficult problem."
Disappointed with his response, Artis bluntly told the chancellor "These kids have to pass the Regents now, while youre trying to establish programs."
Such was last Wednesdays Town Hall meeting at Francis Lewis High School in Fresh Meadows. Tough questions for the new leader of the Board of Education, but no easy answers.
The first in a series of community meetings to be held in each of the five boroughs, Levy stood tall as he handled questions ranging from special education to condom distribution. The meeting was broadcast live on New York 1, which also accepted E-mails from viewers which were then answered by the chancellor. "My job is to make education perform at a higher level," said Levy. "And, I will take risks to do it."
In power for over five months, Levy summed up his no-nonsense, business-like attitude towards education when he expressed his three major priorities while in office. With over 11,000 of the citys 78,000 teachers uncertified, the chancellor said first and foremost, teacher quality must be improved. "I want graduates from the finest institutions with degrees in teaching," said Levy.
Levy added that one of his top orders of business would be major evaluations of each school districts superintendents. The chancellor had requested that the superintendents, including Queens six district leaders in attendance, submit the names of their five worst performing principals. "They must be brought up or brought out," said Levy.
However, the subject on the lips of many concerned parents was what is destined to be the citys largest summer school program ever. Beaming from ear to ear, Levy told the anxious audience that although there are 16,000 teaching slots to fill, the board has received over 23,000 applications.
Denise, the parent of a special-education child questioned Levy on what programs he has in place for children with special needs. "I believe in Continuum," said Levy, referring to an upcoming special-education integration program. However, the chancellor noted that the city pays a high monetary cost for these programs. He said the city spends $1 billion on 300,000 high school students, while allotting nearly $2 billion for nearly 150,000 special education students.
High finance, and its effect on school overcrowding proved to be one of the meetings critical issues. Levy said that of the $11 million he asked for in capital funding, he received $7 million, enough to build 23 new public schools.
Although the money is more than the Board of Education has ever received in a capital budget plan, Borough President Claire Shulman said Queens will need help in reducing classroom congestion. "We are treating this as an emergency situation," said Shulman, who meets regularly with Queens Board of Education member Terri Thomson in her "War Room" to discuss finding additional property. "We need your help in finding more sites."
Last week, despite community protests, the board secured the property of a former Edwards supermarket in School District 24, the most crowded in the city. "Its outrageous that every child does not have a seat," added Levy.
Responding to questions about AIDS education and condom distribution, Levy skirted through any potential controversy by saying "The Board of Education is the policy making body and I will support them. Ive been careful not to take positions you might call political issues. Not because I dont have views, but because its a distraction from the key issues at hand, which are reading, writing, and arithmetic."
One disgruntled parent told the chancellor that after withdrawing his son from private school due to financial reasons, he was unable to enroll him in district 26, one of the best in the city, due to overcrowding. To his dismay, he had to send his child to District 27, whose reading and math scores traditionally fall lower than district 26. "Theres no room in the good districts," said the parent. "Things havent changed."
Levy, confident and steadfast, said "It will take time. Its not going to happen overnight. But, it has happened, and it will work."