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H ook S ch ool P T A C au ses C on troversy F or W arrin g B oardContinued from Page 1superintendent position and to request the acting principal at P.S. 27 to initiate \association. The continued division on the board itself also was in evidence on each controversial issue as six members continued to vote similarly, with one to three of the same people abstaining.%u201cMany or most of the important business of this board is conducted at secret sessions,%u201d said Chris Jackson from the audience. Jackson ran unsuccessfully for a position on the board earlier this year. %u201cPublic School 27 has been an issue for some time yet this board chose to deal with it in closed session,%u201d he continued. %u201cIt should have been discussed at regular public meeting.%u201dAt the November 2 executive session, the board voted six to one with two members abstaining, to request Vigirnia Bartoletti, acting principal of P.S. 27, %u201cto initiate a democratic procedure to constitute a legitimate parents association at P.S. 27.%u201d The school has long been site of considerable unrest, highlighted by lack of funds, thefts and conflict between teachers and parents.Board president Scala cited the %u201congoing problems%u201d at the school which have been %u201cstonewalled,%u201d illegal by-laws of the parents association, and lack of required yearly elections for officers of the PA. He said that since the acting principal has requested relocation, the board must appoint a new principal, but cannot do so until a legitimate parents association is established. %u201cWe more more than patient,%u201d says Scala, who had written a report outlining the history of the problem at the school. %u201cWe%u2019ve had numerous reports and letters, anyone who wants to know background for our decision, please take a report.%u201d The three page documents were made available after the meeting.Chris Jackson disagreed with the board%u2019s action, saying it was %u201cimmoral%u201d and %u201cillegal.%u201d Jackson, accusing the board of inflaming racial tensions between blacks and Hispanics said, %u201cthe black and Hispanic community are allowing a board of non-Hispanics to pull their strings.%u201d There is one Hispanic member, Felix Vasquez, on the board.Jackson called on the board to %u201cat least hold over their actions until after the holiday,%u201d and said that, if he had to, he would see the%u00bb %u00bb A n r t l t T A / l m ( < 1 7 a / ] o i >o 1 A A i i n f **U M U V i W W V i l v u u t * W U V * I M W W M A %u2022 %u2022Questions were raised not just about the actual decision that was made but on the way in which it was made. Charging that the board %u201chid%u201d from the parents in taking action at P.S. 27, Jackson said the reason was %u201csome of those issues would have generated adverse public opinion.%u201dScala countered, saying that the decision had been made in executive sessions, which %u201care public%u201d and %u201care regularly scheduled one week prior to public meeting.%u201d He added, %u201cIt%u2019s not a hearing, but the public is invited.%u201dParents in the audience responded by saying they weren%u2019t aware the issue of the Red Hook school was going to be decided on the Nov. 24 date. Norman Fruchter, secretary of the board, said the releasing of agendas was better on this board than on any previous board. Although he admitted, %u201cThere are more things we could do to be more public,%u201d Fruchter said that the board%u2019s method of conducting business is the %u201csame as every board across the city. These sessions are open,%u201d he repeated.RnnrH rnpmhpr P e g g y R nffalano alsodisagreed with decision-making process, saying after the meeting, %u201cthere aren%u2019t nine members on this board, there are six. I had no input on the report on 27.%u201d Scala said the report was his point of view only.Another issue which caused heated discussion but was not resolved concerned Public School 38 in Boerum Hill where parents from the Brooklyn Arms Hotel have been embroiled in controversy with the PA and teachers at the school for the past several months. The last meeting of the PA, attended by a large number of Brooklyn Arms parents who have children at the school, had to be broken up by the police.Scala said he had received a letter of complaint on December 10 from some parents at P.S. 38 and had passed it on to Dr. Jerrold Glassman, district superintendent, to investigate.Glassman said he would visit the BrooklynArms Hotel on Dec. 22 to speak with those parents at their home. %u201cI thought it would be better for the parents,%u201d he said. Glassman also said he would meet with parents and teachers at P.S. 38 and those who had supervised the PA elections. The Board will hear the results of Glassman%u2019s investigation and then decide what action to take, Scala said.Although most of the regular board meeting agenda items discussed were approved unanimously by the board members, two were subjects of dissent along previously drawn lines of division. The board approved by a vote of 6 to 2 to implement a feasibility study for an alternative elementary school in District 15. Dr. Glassman was asked to appoint a teacher/director to study planning, curriculum, and recruitment for the districtwide program to be housed within a host school. The director would be responsible to a host principal and would be paid by the hour for the period of January 1987 to June 1987. A limit on funding at $2,000 was proposed and the annex of IS 88 in Park Slope was meniContinued on Page 6Discussion Continues Over Superintendent%u2019s PositionAt Community School Board 15%u2019s monthly meeting at PS 32 on Dec. 18, questions were raised concerning a decision made by the nine-member board during a closed session on November 24. Board member Rev. Francis Manzo and PS 136 Parent Teacher%u2019s Association head Joseph Algerio voiced concerns about the decision to advertise for the position of superintendent and echoed support for a renewed contract with Dr. Jerrold Glassman.Although the November 24 vote was not made public, Rev. Manzo made his feelings known at the Dec. 18 meeting, prior to Dr. Glassman%u2019s monthly report. %u201cIt wasn%u2019t pleasing, it wasn%u2019t fitting, and I thought we should not advertise,%u201d said Manzo. Dr. Glassman%u2019s %u201cstyle of leadership%u201d is a %u201cmatter of opinion,%u201d he continued, adding, %u201cHe has done an excellent and creditable job.%u201dManzo%u2019s comments drew applause from some 200 in the audience, and were echoed by Joseph Algerio of PS 136. %u201cI would like Dr.Glassman to be renewed bacause of his experience in the past,%u201d he said. %u201cTo have someone else come in at this point would be ludicrous. We%u2019d be hurting our children.%u201dDr Glassman, who was appointed five years ago, has a contract that expires in July. He has served as a District 15 deputy superintendent and superintendent for a decade and if he continues for one more year, will be eligible for retirement benefits. Glassman, who oversees 25 schools, has confirmed he will reapply for the superintendent%u2019s position.Ads for the job, which pays $85,000 per year, appeared on Dec. 7 in the Daily News, New York Times, El Diario and Amsterdam News. Notice of the opening was also circulated in Board of Education offices throughout the city. Applications must be postmarked Jan 9 and thus far ten resumes have been received, according to Board 15 president Phil Scala.Although the board decided to place the advertisement, it is not required to conduct interviews and could still continue or renegotiate Glassman%u2019s contract. However, according to George Greenfield, personnel director for District 15, %u201cThe board is expected to go through the interview process.%u201dA list of applicants will be made public after all the resumes are received on Jan. 9 and the board will meet with PTA leaders after the holidays to set up criteria for reviewing the applicants. Interviews are expected to begin at the end of January or in early February. As with all personnel decisions, final choice will be made in a private session by the board, Greenfield says.Among those who are believed to have answered die call for a new District 15 Superintendent is Anthony Alvarado, former NYC Schools Chancellor. Neither Board President Phil Scala or Greenfield would discuss the identity of any of the applicants, but Scala says, %u201chis chances are as good as any one else%u2019s whu applies. I%u2019m not going to shoot him down or beef him up.%u201d-%u2014M.J.N.P o st O ffice M ak es C hristm as L etter P erfect F or N eed y K id sContinued from Page 1to see the spirit is still alive and well.It%u2019s there on Carl%u2019s face as he stands in the center of the room on the fifth floor of the Post Office building on Cadman Plaza East clutching his Learn and Play doll, and Joyranna%u2019s eyes as she looks at her dream dancer doll. Operation Santa, the Post Office%u2019s annual Christmas gift to needy children throughout the borough, is in full swing.All of these children have written letters to Santa. Some of them for years. Always asking for the same things. A doll. A game. Even a tree.They%u2019ve all m et Santa before, too. But they%u2019ve never walked away with their arm s laden with gifts, or their stomachs full of cookies and milk and chocolate balls. They sit on Santa%u2019s lap and whisper their innermost secrets into his ear, tug at his beard, press amended lists into his hands. They kiss him. They hug him. They say thank you. They say I love you. And finally they say Merry Christmas, and leave the party singing %u201cRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer%u201d at the top of their lungs.IN ITS 15TH YEAROperation Santa is in its 15th official year at the Brooklyn Post Office, although the concept started several years before that when postal workers answered the letters and bought gifts for the needy children on their own time.Charles Mazzarella, who ran the program for 14 years, was ill this year, so other postal workers, including Ed Sheehan (Santa) and Peter Laddomada, took over the program this year.%u201cI think we%u2019ve had the best response ever from the corporations this year,%u201d says Laddomada. %u201cThey%u2019ve really come out to help us. They%u2019ll come in and pick out a letter and buy all the presents for the family. Either the corporation will arrange for pick-up by the parent, or the post office will handle the delivery.A set of gifts for one family inolnrfeH twoCabbage Patch dolls and an assortment of games and money to buy Christmas dinner. %u201cA lot of companies come in here every yearasking for letters,%u201d says Laddomada. %u201cAnd they are happy to help. It really makes you feel good.%u201dFeeling good is what Operation Santa is all about. The bills are entirely paid through private donations by the postal workers, and money goes to sending return letters to all the children who write in with an address, and creating a party for the neediest children, complete with toys, candy, games, and a chance to chat with Santa himself.%u201cThe letters just tear you apart,%u201d says Sheehan. %u201cThese people have so many problems, and all they want is just a little Christmas joy for them and their families. The parents who write in just want a little something for their kids, and their children who write always remember their brothers and sisters.%u201d%u201cI%u2019ve been on drugs for 17 years,%u201d writes one woman. %u201cAnd I never before realizedthat there was a Christmas. I%u2019ve been off drugs for 30 days now. I don%u2019t have a tree or even a light to start Christmas with, I don%u2019t ask for much, just a few minutes of joy on my children%u2019s face for Christmas.%u201dAnd another: %u201cGod sent someone to give me the address of Santa Claus. I don%u2019t wish for nothing but happiness this Christmas. My son needs a kidney. Please try and give him one. God bless you.%u201dAnd still another: %u201cI have always tried to make Christmas time for my grandchildren, but this year I need some help. I have cancer, so could you please send something for my son, Nunzio, and my five grandchildren?%u201dSheehan says the letters serve to instill Christmas spirit in all who are involved in Operation Santa. %u201cYou just see the joy on their faces and that makes it all worth it. I have been Santa for 25 years, and I have a collection of cards from some of these kids who write to thank me, or give me the cardswhen I visit them. They are handmade cards and they are my most precious possession.%u201d Christmas morning, in fact, Sheehan will be donning his Santa suit and visiting the children%u2019s ward of the Presbyterian Hospital in Brooklyn.%u201cThey are very surprised to see Santa,%u201d says Sheehan, who has no children of his own. %u201cBut to make all those kids happy %u2014 and Santa can do that %u2014 is the best feeling in the world.%u201dHe says the most memorable letter he ever received from a child is one that couldn%u2019t be helped, however. %u201cShe was just a little girl, and her daddy died that year. She didn%u2019t want anything for herself. Just a daddy for her mommy, so she wouldn%u2019t cry her eyes out every night. That type of honesty gets to you. You just have to help these children.%u201d PRICES AND WHERE TO BUYAnother letter he has in his collection is quite different, however. %u201cI got a four page letter from a little boy. Four pages, and he had every item cut out with the price, and where to buy it. It must have been 60 items.%u201d Sheehan chuckles. %u201cYou know that this child is probably not needy if he has the time to cut out all the things he wants for Christmas.%u201dBut for the children who are needy, Operation Santa will continue to put smiles on their faces, many of whom are gathered in this room decorated for a party. Postal workers stop by throughout the day, to help open gifts, share a glass of milk, or listen to a laundry list of what else they hope will be under uie tree. %u201cThis time of year, here, makeseverybody happy because we do this. Because we can help these children, who still believe in Santa Claus.%u201dAnd that, perhaps, is the real success of Operation Santa. It proves to the sometimes too commercial world that Santa does exist. That he may take many forms, or wear many hats, but he is still alive in the spirit of good works that for an hour one December afternoon put a new light in the eyes of Carl, and Janella. And smiles on the faces of children that may not smile again until next Christmas. When again they take pen in nana and write, %u201cDear Santa ...%u201d A crew of delighted kids pose with Santa (Ed Sheehan), new Brooklyn postmaster LindaSanchez, and Operation Santa coordinator Peter Laddomada. (Phoenix/Garrity Photo)December 25,1986, THE PHOENIX, Page 5