New York officials said they will oppose President Donald Trump’s executive order to replace what he calls "radical indoctrination" of "anti-American ideologies" in public schools with "a patriotic admiration for our incredible nation and the values for which we stand." Michael Gormley reports in NEWSDAY that in an apparent reference to gender-altering operations and separate sex restrooms, Trump said schools are “steering students toward surgical and chemical mutilation without parental consent or involvement or allowing males access to private spaces designated for females.” The order also targets teaching about structural racism and "white privilege."

A day after Trump issued the order, New York officials said they are ready to resist it.

The president "lacks authority to disregard acts of Congress," said J.P. O’Hare, spokesman for the NYS education department.

"We are reviewing the recent executive orders," O’Hare told Newsday in a written response. "This review is informed by our belief that state and local control remains the bedrock of our nation’s education system, and this principle will not be enhanced through federal curriculum mandates.

"We remain committed to ensuring that schools are safe, welcoming environments for all students, which is a bipartisan issue," O’Hare said. "We will continue to work with the Legislature and governor to ensure that our schools remain devoted to truth, excellence, and free inquiry."

In New York state, education policy is set by the state Board of Regents, who are chosen by the State Legislature. Under law, local school boards have great latitude in what is taught in schools.

***

Median teacher salaries have risen to $130,000 a year or higher in 34 school districts across Long Island — up from 24 a year earlier, a Newsday review found.

And a majority of the region’s school systems — 72 of 125 — report median salaries of $120,000 or higher. That number is also up from the previous year’s figure of 64.

John Hildebrand and Michael R. Ebert report in NEWSDAY that payroll numbers show that Long Island's school systems maintained their longtime position as among the highest-paying, not only statewide, but also nationally. Teacher representatives in the region said the salary levels reflect high living costs in Nassau and Suffolk counties, as well as in similar suburban counties such as Westchester.

But state and local finance watchdogs questioned whether the rise in teacher pay was resulting in higher academic achievement for students. Recent national assessments, for example, showed middling results for New York students in math and reading. Andrea Vecchio - a founder of Long Islanders for Educational Reform, a regional advocacy group focused on school-finance issues – tells NEWSDAY, “If we keep rewarding failure, we’re going to get more of it,”

The salary medians, also known as midpoints, were based on records covering more than 37,000 full-time classroom teachers in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Figures were for the 2023-24 school year, the latest available, and were provided by the state's Department of Education.

Among more than 650 districts statewide, five of the 10 top-paying systems were located in the Nassau-Suffolk area.

The highest-paying districts on Long Island, and their median salaries, included: Cold Spring Harbor, $150,089; Syosset, $146,892; Jericho, $146,105; Commack, $143,402 and Three Village in Suffolk, $142,041.

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The East Hampton Town Police Department’s 2025 Citizen Academy is now accepting applications, with the Spring 2025 session scheduled to begin on March 5. CHRISTOPHER WALSH reports on 27east.com that a 10-week program, the Citizen’s Police Academy gives participants firsthand insight into how the town’s police officers perform their duties and serve the community. The goal is for graduates to leave the academy as more informed citizens with an insider's view of local law enforcement functions and operations. The free, interactive 10-session program will run one to two times per week from 6 to 9 p.m. between March 5 and May 14. The course is open to those who live in East Hampton Town, are 17 or older and have a valid driver’s license. Applicants will be subject to a background check. The application submission deadline is Wednesday, February 26. Those seeking more information can call 631-537-7575, extension 542.

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The Town of Southampton on Wednesday filed court papers seeking to stop leaders of the Shinnecock Indian Nation from continuing to build a gas station on Sunrise Highway in Hampton Bays. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that the town's motion for a preliminary injunction, which seeks a court hearing on Feb. 19 in State Supreme Court in Riverhead, follows its Dec. 20 filing of a lawsuit that seeks to block tribal leaders from building the travel plaza. The nation has said the gas station/travel plaza is essential to its economic development and is being built on long-held tribal land over which the Town of Southampton has no zoning authority.

Earlier this month, the Shinnecock Nation received a letter from the U.S. Department of the Interior affirming that the 80 acres that constitute its Westwoods property in Hampton Bays are part of its legally protected, aboriginal sovereign land.

Separately, lawyers for Shinnecock leaders, including chairwoman Lisa Goree and other council members, last Friday filed a motion to dismiss the town's suit against the gas station, arguing they had not been properly served.

On Wednesday, Lance Gumbs, vice chairman of the Shinnecock council of trustees, called the town’s latest court filing a "modern-day land grab."

Gumbs said the nation has not stopped construction, nor has it stopped operating its adjacent billboard and monuments on Sunrise Highway which are the subject of an ongoing lawsuit by the state Department of Transportation.

Westwoods "has been affirmed as what we always said it was," said Gumbs. "It’s aboriginal restricted-fee land and not under the jurisdiction of the state or the town."

***

The Trump administration is considering a move to halt New York City’s congestion pricing program, according to multiple people with knowledge of the matter.

As reported in THE NY TIMES, the U.S. Department of Transportation is discussing whether to withdraw a key federal authorization that the tolling plan received from the Biden administration last year. Such a move would almost certainly touch off a legal battle between the state and federal government and could effectively kill congestion pricing in its infancy.

No final decision has been made but President Trump had vowed to halt congestion pricing when he entered office, saying it was harmful to the city’s economy.

The tolling program, which is meant to provide funding for public transit…including the LIRR…started on Jan. 5 after surviving a number of lawsuits seeking to block it and a last-minute suspension by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in June.

Ms. Hochul and Mr. Trump have spoken twice this week. They discussed a range of issues including congestion pricing, according to a person familiar with the matter, with the governor conveying to Mr. Trump that the program was showing signs of success.

President Trump told Governor Hochul that there would be no immediate action and that before any decisions were made they should touch base again next week.

There is little precedent for the reversal of a transportation project of this magnitude, transit experts said. New York’s congestion pricing plan, which first took shape more than six decades ago, is the first such program in the country.

Legal experts said that it was unlikely the federal government could directly scrap congestion pricing and whatever maneuver it employed to derail the plan would undoubtedly be challenged in court.

***

"Locals helping locals." That's the slogan for an event taking place tomorrow, meant to help workers laid off from Crescent Duck Farms in Aquebogue, where an outbreak of avian bird flu left owners with no choice but to cull their entire flock and quarantine the business. Lisa Finn reports on Patch.com that the fund-raising event is tomorrow from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at North Fork Brewing Co., 24 East 2nd Street in Riverhead. A raffle will be held, with prizes and experiences provided by local restaurants, hotels, vineyards, breweries and artists. Crescent Duck Farm had to lay off about two-thirds of its 75-person workforce after bird flu was confirmed at the farm Jan. 16, Crescent Duck Farm president and a fourth-generation farmer Doug Corwin told RiverheadLOCAL last week. Nearly all the farm’s employees have been working there for many years, he said. Crescent, founded in 1908, is the last duck farm remaining on Long Island, where duck farming once prospered with about 100 operating farms.

***

The Town of Southampton on Wednesday filed court papers seeking to stop leaders of the Shinnecock Indian Nation from continuing to build a gas station on Sunrise Highway in Hampton Bays. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that the town's motion for a preliminary injunction, which seeks a court hearing on Feb. 19 in State Supreme Court in Riverhead, follows its Dec. 20 filing of a lawsuit that seeks to block tribal leaders from building the travel plaza. The nation has said the gas station/travel plaza is essential to its economic development and is being built on long-held tribal land over which the Town of Southampton has no zoning authority.

Earlier this month, the Shinnecock Nation received a letter from the U.S. Department of the Interior affirming that the 80 acres that constitute its Westwoods property in Hampton Bays are part o...

New York officials say they will oppose Trump executive order for patriotism in schools

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