The resident, Sal Mastropaolo, who spoke at last Tuesday's board meeting, cited an unnamed "reliable source" and also the claim was backed by a student.
On Oct. 27, the board publicly presented a slide show and a brief film to demonstrate the need for additional space in the district schools. The board has agreed to schedule a referendum on a proposed $122.9 million bond issue to add more space to all of the district school buildings sometime next year.
The film, which can be seen on the district's Web site as well as on YouTube, shows some of the overcrowded conditions that officials say demonstrate the need for the new space.
Mr. Mastropaolo, who attends most school board meetings, raised questions about two of those pictures.
"I heard from a reliable source that certain pictures presented at the last meeting were doctored to make the situations look worse than they really are," Mr. Mastropaolo told the board. "The first instance was an overcrowded closet, which is really a small room that is used for four English as a Second Language students, but almost 25 students were put in there for the sole purpose of taking the picture.
"The second situation was that all of the children were kept in, despite the fact that it was a very sunny day. They were kept in the gymnasium, and the gymnasium was partitioned off so that only half of the gymnasium had all the kids stuffed in it for the purpose of the picture."
In response, board president Angela DeVito asked for further details on Mr. Mastropaolo's sources.
"To the best of my knowledge, I personally don't have any knowledge that those pictures we put up were staged," she said, "and without any particulars of who has provided you with this information that cannot be looked into."
"It definitely should be looked into because I heard from a totally different party that even one of the students confirmed the fact that all the kids were kept in that day... So we're hearing from students as well," Mr. Mastropaolo said.
While he did not say who gave him this information, Mr. Mastropaolo did say the school in question was the Riley Avenue Elementary School, which school officials have said is among the most crowded schools in the district.
"This was presented to the public," he continued. "I think the board has a responsibility to present data truthfully to the public so that they can make wise, informed decisions when it comes to voting on the budget."
Superintendent Diane Scricca said she would look into it.
The board has yet to formally schedule the referendum on the $122.3 million bond issue, although officials have said they expect to do so in December, with the vote probably scheduled for February.
The proposal would make the Riley Avenue, Phillips Avenue, Pulaski Street and Aquebogue elementary schools into K-5 schools, with the Middle School becoming a grade 6-8 school and the Roanoke Avenue school being turned into an administrative building. The plan also calls for making additional athletic field space and for making a new artificial turf football field near the high school track.
The proposal met mostly with support during the public meeting in October.
tgannon@timesreview.com