"My grandchildren are being shortchanged." So said Alvin Rosenstein about both the embezzlement scandal and a main reason on why he is a candidate for the Roslyn School Board.

A 22-year resident of Roslyn Estates, Rosenstein has seen his two children go through the Roslyn school system. He now has three grandchildren at various schools in the district.

"I am dedicated to maintaining the high quality of this system," Rosenstein told The Roslyn News. He lists his long career as both a psychologist and an educator as credentials for the job.

As far as the embezzlement scandal is concerned, Rosenstein called it a "question of oversight," adding that "we need a system in place that ensures an honest ethical balance."

On educational matters, Rosenstein said he was an advocate of John Dewey, the famed American educator.

"School is a place where the child learns the skills that will facilitate meeting the challenges of life," he said, summing up a portion of Dewey's philosophy. Education should not just stress the various disciplines, but also put an emphasis on the personal growth of the child.

A consumer psychologist, Rosenstein said he is also "an advocate of problem solving." That, he said, involves a clarification of what the problem is, understanding decision alternatives, and identifying relevant information to make decisions. "That's why my business was a success," he said of his methodology.

On whether the school board should take legal action as the embezzlement scandal enfolds, Rosenstein said the BOE should examine the issues, namely discerning what the costs of such a lawsuit would be and what options are available to them.

"If the state is doing a good job at reasonable costs, then we should go with them," he said of the ongoing investigation being conducted.

However, if investigators impose a time limit for getting insurance money or one for initiating lawsuits, then the BOE should proceed with a lawsuit, Rosenstein added.

When examining future budgets, Rosenstein said he would "impose the same stringent guidelines on the school budget that I imposed on my own business," noting that he has plenty of experience in operating a payroll.

In hiring a superintendent or a high school principal, candidates, Rosenstein said, should have a track record of excellence, while adhering to much of the economic and educational philosophy that he shares.

Rosenstein also said he would like to see a "diversity" of board members, including more women on the BOE. There should also be a diversity of professions represented on the board, especially lawyers, accountants, educators, and businessmen, he said.

A graduate of both the University of Illinois and the University of Michigan, Rosenstein achieved Diplomate status in Industrial Psychology.

"I established precedent as the first psychologist in the U.S. to be awarded Diplomate status through examination in the sub-specialty of Consumer Psychology," he said.

For over 35 years, Rosenstein has been a professor at Adelphi University. He has published and done extensive research on the subject of teaching effectiveness.

"I understand the educational challenges our excellent faculty and administrators face and will seek to help these dedicated professionals meet their educational goals," he added.

In addition to his teaching career, Rosenstein has worked as a business executive at several companies, including General Foods, Kenyon & Eckhardt Advertising, and The Psychological Corporation. He recently retired as president of Alvin J. Rosenstein Associates, a marketing research corporation, whose long term repeat clients have included The New York Stock Exchange, JCPenney, General Foods, Campbell Soup, and Burlington Industries.

"I know the value of a dollar and will seek to ensure that the Roslyn School District gets full value for every dollar spent," he concluded.

-Joe Scotchie

Describing himself as an "effective manager, a consensus builder, and [the] team player that this School Board desperately needs," Jeff Borowick has announced his candidacy for the Roslyn Board of Education.

Borowick claims that he is the one candidate who, in the recent past, confronted the district's former superintendent's administration on "misinformation about the school district employee benefits contract, his self-serving deceit, and his multiple breaches of fiduciary responsibility to the parents, the children, the taxpayers, and the employees of this school district."

Jeff Borowick and his family have been residents of Roslyn for 17 years moving here from Oyster Bay so that their children could benefit by having access to one of the finest school districts on the East Coast. He lives in Roslyn Estates, is married with three daughters, two who graduated from Roslyn High School, and one who is currently a freshman at Roslyn High.

Borowick is a certified public accountant, an attorney who has been admitted to the bar in five states, and a licensed employee benefits insurance agent. Borowick has spent the past 14 years as a regional vice president in one of the largest Employee Benefits Administration companies on Long Island, personally specializing in cost effective employee benefits solutions for affinity groups, collective bargaining units (unions), and large employers.

Borowick's involvement as a volunteer in the Roslyn community includes serving as a Roslyn Little League coach for ten years and a Roslyn Booster Basketball Club coach and board member for the past seven years. He is currently in his third year as president of the Roslyn Booster Basketball Club (RBBC). Borowick is in his seventh year as treasurer of Temple Beth Sholom's Men's Club, and is in his ninth year as a member of the Temple Beth Sholom Religious School Board of Education where he has been a contributor in the areas of school finance and budgeting.

Concerning the school district, Borowick has been actively involved in both the Budget Review Committee and Forensic Audit Committee. He said he opposed the first 2004-05 school budget because it was "fraudulent on its face," and because it failed to "satisfactorily protect our children's right to a guaranteed quality education."

He then worked with the deputy superintendent for business on a new budget, one that he said resulted in "millions in savings without cuts in quality."

Among the issues important to the candidate are what he calls "educational excellence."

"Educational quality combined with fiscal prudence will result in wiser/more effective allocation of educational dollars for the benefit of our children," he said. "It will also result in less waste, relieving unnecessary financial burden on taxpayers, and will severely curtail the polarization between diverse constituencies within our community that currently persists."

Borowick also recommends an immediate complete objective review of all current school district programs and policies by the new acting superintendent. He further recommends the establishment of specific target dates for the release of periodic reports summarizing the superintendent's findings and recommendations for the benefit of the community.

In addition, the candidate said that the school district's business and finances should be conducted in a transparent manner for the benefit of all constituencies in the taxpayer community. Towards that end, school board meetings, he added, should be more accessible to the community at-large. Borowick would recommend a required second monthly school board meeting, one with no pre-set agenda.

Borowick also advocates a long-range "Education/Business Plan" to address physical plant and maintenance issues, capital improvements, alternative sources for education funding, funding requirements for current school district employee contractual benefits as well as statutory retirement benefits, and the introduction of education program enhancements.

As far as recovering stolen funds is concerned, Borowick suggests a "cost vs. benefit" approach on a matter-by-matter and case-by-case basis.

In an effort to restore the district's "fiscal integrity," Borowick recommends the following steps:

* A complete independent objective review of all financial and internal control mechanisms by outside professionals with publication of any findings and recommendations

* An immediate institution of comprehensive background checks on all current and new employees

* The continuous, timely, comprehensive disclosure of school district financial performance in "Plain English" format for the benefit of all residents and taxpayers within our community

* The development of a Comprehensive Code of Employee Ethics required to be signed by all current and prospective school district employees.

Borowick also continues to demand the resignation of the three "old guard" school board members on grounds that they have "delayed" the district's ability to "return to the business of providing our children with the highest quality education."

-Joe Scotchie