MEET THE BAUMANN SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS
SCHOOLS
112595 Bedford
school district has nothing to hide-
By Bruce Dennis
Your Nov. 19 editorial, "Closing out 'voodoo' accusers sells district residents short," was, in my view, unfounded.
You are quite correct that the Bedford Central School District has nothing to hide when it comes to it's curriculum or teaching practices That is why members of my staff and I have made ourselves accessible on a continual basis to your reporters as well as those from other media. We have answered all questions posed to us and have met and spoken on this issue with many hundreds of people who live both within and outside our school district, including clergy of all denominations, without regard to their location.
To claim, then that restricting our Nov.20 meeting to district residents would create a "love fest" or make it look "as if we have something to hide" truly puzzles me. The two women who have made the search for Satan in Bedford their live's work are parents or grandparents of children who attend Bedford schools. 'They have told local reporters that district residents are "split down the Middle" on the issues they have raised. Yet, as reported in your own newspaper following our meeting, "only a handful of the "more than 800 people (who) packed Fox Lane High School" last Monday evening "supported (Mary Ann) DiBari and (Ceil) DiNozzi." (Actually, the number in attendance was closer to 1,000 overflowing our high school theater, which seats almost 700, and spilling over to our commons area, where almost 300 others watched the meeting on four television monitors.) I believe the meeting's actual turnout demonstrates the genuineness of our original intention: not to limit debate, but only to make certain that members of our school district were not displaced by outsiders.
The colloquia was open to all media specifically so that a broader audience could be aware of what took place. The New York Times, PBS, WWOR television and other local and regional outlets were welcomed. We also videotaped the meeting for subsequent broadcast on area cable. Even on Thanksgiving eve, I agreed to participate, along with Mrs. DiBari, on a live national interview phone-in program on CBS radio to address what your own newspaper, in an Oct. 3 editorial, called a "vile attack" on our school district.
As required by state law, we do not permit residents from other districts to vote on our school budget or to run for seats on our Board of Education. Why, then, without any direct experience about what occurs here, should we permit them to debate the truth about what happens in our public schools?
In the Nov. 17 Bedford/Pound Ridge Record-Review, Mrs. DiBari said all she needed was "just 15 minutes to get the truth out" at our Monday evening forum, but she didn't think she'd be permitted the time because she felt that "censorship" would be imposed by the district - an odd charge from someone whose total preoccupation seems to be restricting the study of literature, science and history in our schools to material which passes her bizarre litmus test. However, feeling somewhat chastened after reading your editorial last Sunday, I phoned Mrs. DiBari later that,, morning and told her that I would gladly waive the speakers' time limit at our meeting and provide her the 15 minutes she had requested. In addition, I invited Mrs. DiBari to have her clergyman from St. Mary's Church in Ridgefield, Conn., accompany her, along with nine other guests of hers and Mrs. DiNozzi for whom I provided passes.
As is our school system's regular practice, we did not sweep a controversial issue under the rug, but instead held it up to the light for all to see. That's why, our district, its board, staff and administration have been so overwhelmingly supported by our residents, as well as by groups such as the multi-denominational Northern Westchester Clergy Association which publicly expressed its belief that the Bedford schools are, "functioning with wisdom and sensitivity" in our curricular and instructional practices
I'd encourage you, then, to ask district residents if they felt "sold short"', by Monday night's meeting.The writer is Bedford superintendent of schools.
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