The reorganization meeting of the Elmont School Board followed the customary format. District Clerk, Ms Lloyd, called the meeting to order, immediately welcomed newly elected members, and swore them into office.

Next on the agenda was the election of officers. On 5-2 votes Ragona and Ferrigno were elected president and vice-president respectively. Byer and Parker-Duncanson voted in opposition. Byer’s descent, she explained, was in part due to incidents of physical and verbal abuse she had experienced and the acceptance of said behavior by both officers. In her calm demeanor, Ms Byer described a late night altercation in the parking lot of Elmont Road School “They stood by as Jamie insulted, threatened and hurled profanity…” said Byer. She further stated that on the day following the parking lot incident she reported it to the district’s attorney, Nugent. According to Byer, a second incident involving Ragona occurred during a short recess of a regularly scheduled board meeting. Byer did not elaborate, but instead referred to a letter that documents the events of that evening. The letter is attached for your perusal. where Mr. Jaime abused her in the presence of both of the newly elected officers of the Elmont Board of Education.

What preceded the confrontations? Byer contends Jaime has been persistent and verbose in his derogatory actions toward her but acted out in this instance in response to her request to gather more information about the Gateway Youth Outreach (GYO) Dutch Broadway expansion plan. What is important according to Byer, who receives many complaints from parents about the program, is quality. “Many of our parents work multiple jobs and need cost effective, high quality after school programs for their children.” GYO, according to many parents, is a cheap last resort and for other parents it is their only option - a godsend. As president of the Elmont School Board, she supported a ‘quality first’ model. “GYO, an organization with dedicated overworked employees must improve services in its present offerings before it expands to other buildings”, said Byer.