It is certainly nice to see the attention now being given to the successful Clarkstown transportation arrangement. After more than three years of work, meetings, phone calls, setbacks, negotiations, and persistence, something that many believed would never happen has finally become a reality.

And there is plenty of credit to go around.

Agudath Israel played a role. Senator Bill Weber and other elected officials played a role. Kol Yisroel and Shmulie Hartstein played an important role. Rockland BOCES, IMS Transportation, Clarkstown officials, Yeshiva of Spring Valley, and others contributed at different stages of the process.

Nobody should take anything away from any of them.

But now that press releases are being issued, articles are being published, and emails are circulating thanking those who helped, there should at minimum be an effort to acknowledge the people who were involved from the beginning until the very end.

For a handful of parents, this effort has now been going on for more than 40 months.

These were parents who quietly carried this issue from start to finish.

They did not issue press releases. They did not seek publicity. Most people never knew their names.

They were simply trying to solve a very real problem for their own children, their neighbors, and their community.

They made the calls. They attended the meetings. They communicated with the district. They followed up when things stalled. They worked through one obstacle after another. They sat down with the necessary parties again and again and continued pushing until an actual solution was reached.

There was no fanfare and no expectation of recognition.

But if we are going to tell the story of how this happened, that part of the story cannot be left out.

There is also a separate and extremely important aspect of this accomplishment that deserves recognition.

At the point when this issue required real leadership and a workable solution, Clarkstown Superintendent Dr. Marc P. Baiocco and Jordana Medici, Assistant to the Superintendent of Schools, stepped up to the plate.

They did not simply become involved and then leave the details to others.

They did not simply refer the parents to other people in their respective departments or within the district and consider the matter handled.

They personally engaged.

They met with these parents multiple times. They made themselves available after hours, early in the morning, and during the summer. They stayed in constant communication. They worked through problems as they arose. And they remained directly involved until the arrangement was finally completed.

That matters.

It would have been very easy for people in their positions to say that transportation belongs to another department, assign it to staff, and move on.

Instead, they took ownership of the issue and helped drive it toward a solution.

Regardless of whether someone believes that falls within the technical responsibilities of their positions, the level of personal attention, accessibility, and involvement they gave to these families deserves to be acknowledged.

Yeshiva of Spring Valley’s original communication described more than two years of extensive work, numerous meetings, discussions with multiple agencies, a formal bidding process, and several high level approvals. It thanked Clarkstown officials, Rockland BOCES, Clarkstown transportation personnel, COC, Agudah, IMS, and others.

A subsequent communication appropriately added Shmulie Hartstein of Kol Yisroel, acknowledging that he had been instrumental in many aspects of the work and coordination.

That acknowledgement was deserved.

But the same standard should apply to everyone.

No one needs to lose credit in order for the people who quietly did the work to receive theirs.

So appreciation is certainly due to Agudath Israel, Senator Weber and the other elected officials who assisted, Kol Yisroel, YSV, IMS, BOCES, Clarkstown, and everyone else who helped move this effort forward.

But particular recognition belongs to the handful of parents who were there from the beginning, stayed with it for more than 40 months, and saw it through to the end.

And separate recognition belongs to Dr. Baiocco and Jordana Medici, who, when a solution was needed, did not simply pass the issue along.

They stepped up to the plate, became personally involved, and helped get it done.

They may not all be the names appearing in the headlines.

But any complete account of how this was accomplished should include them.

A Clarkstown Central School District Parent

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