By Howard Koplowitz
Civic president Rick Duskiewicz said he was disappointed at the turnout of both his members and IS 109 parents at a civic meeting last month, where IS 109 Principal Shango Blake addressed the organization. Blake was invited to the civic meeting to talk about the progress made at IS 109 after Duskiewicz said it was a “rough school.”The civic wanted to convert IS 109 and the schools that feed into it Ð PS 33, PS 34 and PS 135Ð to K-8 schools so that their children could stay closer to the community with the children. But Duskiewicz said not enough members showed up at the December meeting and now the civic will not pursue its K-8 agenda.”I think it's pretty much a dead issue,” he said, unless more members feel the need to bring it up in the future.”If it was that important, we were hoping that more people from (IS) 109 would be there,” he said, noting that more of the civic's 183 members should have gone to the meeting. About a couple dozen civic members attended. It was unclear how many IS 109 parents were at the meeting, but its PTA president, teachers and a dean were there.”We needed the support,” Duskiewicz said. “They weren't there.” Blake could not be reached for comment, but he did not offer an opinion about the K-8 plan at the December meeting. He said he was more disappointed with how his school was being portrayed.Duskiewicz said the civic initially brought up the K-8 issue about 10 years ago. He said the construction of a new school on Jamaica Avenue spurred the discussion again last year because zoning boundaries would be affected.The civic is located in Bellerose, where some families are zoned for District 26 Ð a district known for having the best test scores in the city Ð or District 29, which also covers southeast Queens. IS 109 falls under District 29.Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 173.
