Letter to the Editor: Reddan Running for NHP-GCP Board of Education

My name is James Reddan and I am running for a seat on the New Hyde Park-Garden City Park Board of Education. My beautiful wife Kimberly and I have three beautiful children Courtney, James and Kelsey Courtney is a fifth grader at Garden City Park School and the Secretary of the Garden City Park Student Council; James is in the third grade at Garden City Park and our Kelsey is 2-1/2, she goes to play group once a week.

I was born and raised in Garden City Park, grew up on Fifth Street right down the block from the school my children attend. I attended kindergarten at Garden City Park School, went to Holy Spirit Grammar School and Chaminade High School, attended Adelphi University and Touro Law. Prior to graduating from Adelphi University I served in the US Army during for Operation Desert Storm, the Persian Gulf War and have been honorably discharged.

Currently, I am employed full time as a civil engineer for the Town of Hempstead and have a small private practice law firm. The district is faced with two daunting tasks: First, provide a quality education for our children during tough economic times while keeping class sizes down and secondly, providing safe and secure schools for our children. As parents we expect that the school district will provide a quality education, we also expect that educational services such as special education, math enrichment, library, science lab, odyssey, music and art be continued. This year’s budget does that with the exception of canceling Science lab for first and second grade.

If elected to the board of education I will work with the other members of the board to create a fine tuned budget. I am committed to maintaining the level of excellence we all have come to expect while keeping the tax burden to a minimum.

Secondly, the district is responsible for providing a safe and secure learning environment. The safety of our children is among the most important issues facing the district. The tragedy in Newtown, CT and the terrorist bombing in Boston have changed the paradigm. The peace of mind and that sense of safety that we all treasured as children have been shattered.

As a child the idea of a madman going into school intent on shooting innocent children never entered my mind. These tragic events must alter the focus of every school board. Proposition Two on this year’s ballot proposes using $400,000 from the capital reserve fund for school safety projects including the purchase and installation on a district wide basis of various security protocols such as panic buttons and a one button school wide lockdown button. This year on Tuesday May 21 I ask that you vote yes to Proposition No. 2.

In closing, providing a quality education is the primary responsibility of the New Hyde Park-Garden City Park School District, part of the social contract by which we abide. Along with the educational issues facing the district, the safety of our children must be paramount.

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