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iiiiiiiniiii niiiiPHOEN/X, Page ThreeilillllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllliIssue Will be Quality of Public Schools Here= N oo nan M u n is te ri M a ro n n a C lem ent B u ckw a lte rPanel Probes Slope SchoolsThe Park Slope public schools will be the topic for discussion at an open meeting of the Park Slope Civic Council, Wed., March 28, set for the Social Hall of the Garfield Temple (Congregation Beth Elohim) at Garfield Place and Eighth Ave. at 8:00 p.m.The program, sponsoredby the Civic Council%u2019s Education Committee, will discuss the quality and character of local elementary schools. Speaking will be the presidents of three parent%u2019s associations: MaryMunisteri of P.S. 321, and Jane Buckwalter and Anne Maronna of P.S. 282 and P.S.1111107 respectively. Rita Noonan will represent the Parent's Association of P.S. 39.Zeke Clement, the new principal of P.S. 282 will speak about the possibilities of making changes in the public schools of our community even thoughadministrations are often opposed to innovations in the educational system. The moderator for the panel will be Robert Potts of WNBCTV News, the parent of a child in public school in the, Slope, and a reporter who has covered education in the city for six years.A spokesman for theeducation committee of the Civic Council said: %u201c We hope that all residents of the community who believe j in the future of our neigh- j borhood and want to j preserve its stability will i come out on the 28th to i hear why we need our Park; Slope schools and they need ; us.\................................................................................................................................So. Brooklyn Agencies Join toFight Cutbacks in OEO Funding;Conference to Focus on New RulesBY CORRINE COLEMANWhile New York City ispreparing a federal suit tomaintain the national antipovertyprogram and to stop the breakup ofthe Office of Economic Opportunity (which had funds appropriated by Congress foroperation until June 1975) and staterepresentatives are seeking fundsto continue the arrangement iffederal monies are not broughtforth, local agencies are joining inthe opposition to the Nixon ordained changes. The SouthBrooklyn centers servicing thepoor, the blue collar and the lowermiddle class residents of the areaare gathering together to combatthe Washington rulings which gobeyond the demolition of OEO andthreaten to cut the already thincarpet from under the feet of theurban needy.Last night%u2019s meeting at the Dr.White Community Center at 200 Gold St. brought togetherrepresentatives from child carecenters in the Heights, Farragut,Boerum Hill and Fort Greeneareas. Aghast at the newguidelines which if effected wouldend the jobs and self respect ofmost of the working mothers whowould be forced to pull theirchildren from the pre and afterschool centers, the agency workersand mothers began what promisesto be a long term task of workingfor reversal.A weekend conference (Fii.,March 23, and Sat., March 24) atthe Boerum Hill YWCA on Atlanticand Third Aves. will also focus onthe new Washington guidelines andformulate an action program tofight the federal cutting down.Organized to assem ble neighborhood agencies towardsdeveloping %u201cNew Alliances forBrooklyn,'* the gathering, whichwas arranged before the recentNixon pronouncements will nowhave a dual emphasis.Organization of a steering committee to begin the fight againstWashington will go hand in handwith the originally scheduledThelm a M a rtinconcentration on the housing,education and drug abuseproblems in the South Brooklynarea.Thelma Martin, head of theSouth Brooklyn Community AntiPoverty Corporation will chair theYWCA meeting along with AileenWittenstein, former president ofneighborhood agency, ColonySouth Brooklyn Houses. Localagencies participating include theBrooklyn Heights Youth Center,Brookwood Child Care Center (atu s ic i c c u e s e tu p t ii F t . G ic c u c ) , Brooklyn Catholic Charities SocialAction Office, Colony-SouthBrooklyn Houses, South BrooklynCommunity Anti-Poverty Corp.,South Brooklyn NeighborhoodCoalition, Willoughby House, andthe host, the Third Ave. YWCA.City centers of higher learning,Cornell University Extension- ---------NT--------- \\r~ %u2014 i . n t i . . /-i_____i i u g i cu n , axcw lu ir v c u m -munity College and Pratt Institutewill also take part as will theFederation of Addiction Agenciesand the Housing Police CommunityUnit.Thelma Martin, contemplatingthe fate of the OEO-sponsoredSouth Brooklyn Community AntiPoverty Corp., envisions a terribleloss to the area when the 18delegate agencies it covers arephased out. About 354 jobs will belost and the monthly servicing ofover 1000 people will be stopped.She sees the perils of familiesrecently become self sustaining,forced back on welfare. Theirsense of defeat, Ms. Martin feels,will hover over an area downed bythe loss of programs which werebeginning to promote a sense ofhopefulness. She sees chaosemerging with the absence ofsummertime Neighborhood YouthCorps employment. The com %u00admunity undeservedly will bemissing manpower, outreach,education action, consumer andadult education programs, shewarns.The South Brooklyn Corp. whichMs. Martin has led for three yearshas been part of the area since1966. Though set up with a built-infailure principle, without sufficientfunding, with its priorities chosenbureaucratically, its guidelines setup for efficiency rather thanhumane purposes, it has nevertheless experienced many moresuccesses than failures, sheKolim racEnumerating some of the accomplishments Ms. Martindescribes the teenage programs atthe Red Hook Center, The TeenCanteen Action, United Fifth Ave.Coalition, House of Food %u2019NThought, Young Puerto Ricans,Economic Youth Enterprises ofRed Hook and the Colony-SouthBrooklyn Houses. Through theseLa Casa N eigh bo rhoo d Center,167 C o lu m b ia St.P ictured M a rie Doris V id a l, Ramon R e q u e ira andG e ra ld in e Librera.agencies, the kids have beenreferred to special classes, havebecome involved in recreationalactivities, community affairs andsocial ar Ron. Counseling and drugabuse prevention programs havebeen instituted. For instance, TheHouse of Food N Thought on 347Atlantic Ave., under the directionn ( f i i r t i s M in to r h a s n ln n a w ith f hf>above-listed services, providedjobs and training for the youths inthe area, has offered assistance tochildren in difficulties by acting asliaison with the schools, courts andother institutions, and has referredthose in need of other assistance toprivate and public agencies inSouth Brooklyn.part of working society throughtraining programs given at OurLady of Peace Church on CarrollSt., and consumer action isdeveloped at the Cuyler WarrenCenter in Boerum Hill-Gowanus,with a food co-op operating to servewelfare and low income families,Ms. Martin addsI T m n l n v m o n t n n n n r h i n i t i o c h %u00bb v A I%u2014. j------ _ri------------- %u2014 . .been furthered at the manpower,outreach, recruiting and referralPuerto Rican Waterfront Center onColumbia St. which is headed byTuffy Sanchez, a candidate for theDistrict 15 Community SchoolBoard.Fam ily planning and healthservices are provided at the SouthContinued on Pose