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Editorial Board's Next Step When PS 95 principal Doris Budow comes to school every morning, the computer that records the numbers of enrolled students, flashed the number 1,827. Trouble is the school was built for 900. Its leased annexes mean kids can go through elementary school without being in the same building two years in a row. But no one can really top Frank Gonzalez, the principal of PS 246, who valiantly presides over a ridiculous excuse of a school building. The school's classrooms are tiny and there is no gymnasium. Its computer rooms resemble closets. Like the deck chairs on the Titanic, the school's facade was being repaired while an evening school board hearing on overcrowding proceeded in the school lunchroom- the" auditorium" only holds 75. All this is nothing new, and it is simply sad that, at this stage, we have to "hear" what everyone in the room that night already knows so well: unless we don't really like kids and enjoy seeing them fail, District 10 is in desperate need of many more school buildings. But none- zero- are in the pipeline. Specifics were not discussed at the hearing, but an agenda can be hammered out from the issues that were raised with the continued participation of the school community in attendance. A federal school construction bill that would provide $1.5 billion is bottled up in the House of Representatives. The mayor insists on stores and sports in the armory while the community demands schools. The Board of Education approved slashing the school construction budget at the mayor's behest. These three sources of new school seats are a good place to start. At the end of the hearing, when few were left, parent Lois Harr, well versed in what it takes to move officialdom off the dime, said," None of this is going to matter if we're all talking to ourselves. What are we going to do [now]? March to Washington together? Sit in at [Congressman] Lazio's office?" Actually, that's not a bad idea. U.S. Senate candidate Rick Lazio has yet to sponsor the so-called Rangel bill for school construction, and he is now looking for a promotion to senator. What if the school board and District 10 administration sponsored a giant class trip for parents, teachers, principals, students and everyone else, to Lazio's Manhattan campaign office? Or what if they packed the next public meeting at Board of Education headquarters to demand the capital plan be amended? A good start would be for everyone to attend Councilman Adolfo Carrion's hearing on the Kingsbridge Armory on Oct. 26. This is not rocket science. We need- and have a right to- money for schools. We know who has it. Let's go get it. The board's job has just begun. Debate Disappointment State Senator Guy Velella's decision to pull out of the candidates' forum in Norwood on Sunday does a disservice to voters, not to mention the community residents who have been planning the event for over a month. The senator has been told by his campaign consultants, who likely know little of our neighborhoods, that it would be a mistake to give his challenger, Lorraine Coyle Koppell, a platform from which to introduce herself to voters. But Ms. Koppell will have an even greater one now that Velella won't be around to share the air time. We're more than a little puzzled that Velella, who has made some real contributions to this community- shepherding the Beacon School to MS 80 comes to mind- seems to be heeding his hired campaign hands more than the constituents responsible for hiring him. As a co-sponsor of the forum, we hope Velella reconsiders his decision.
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