In Mrs. Strow's fifth grade class at Old Mill Road Elementary, Alexa O'Kane and her peers studied the earthquake in Haiti during their "current events" classroom activity, in which students bring in news articles to discuss.

Alexa, 11, took issue with luxury cruise liners which continued to sail and dock at private beaches near the areas hit so hard by the January 12 earthquake.

"They could be donating instead," she said. "They could be in danger while they're there, too, because there could be an aftershock."

Alexa turned her thoughts into a written response as part of the North Merrick School District's "Hope for Haiti" Superintendent's Challenge, and was one of eight students invited to present their projects at Tuesday night's Board of Education meeting. 

More than half of the district's approximately 1300 students participated in the activity, in which Superintendent David Feller and members of the central administration pledged to donate $1 towards Haitian relief efforts for each entry they received from students. 

 "I think it really gave students an opportunity to express their feelings and show their empathy," Feller said. "That was really gratifying and heartwarming."

"Hope for Haiti" raised close to $1,700 for the American Red Cross, UNICEF, and Doctors Without Borders, with supplemental donations coming from teachers, parents, board trustees and even students themselves.

Together with previous school-based events, including a UNICEF drive at Old Mill Road, a "Heart for Haiti" day at Camp Avenue, and a "Helping Hands for Haiti" project at Fayette, Feller said the amount of money raised by the district for Haiti was $5,334.

The project asked students to draw a picture, research facts, write a letter or take a stand on issues related to the earthquake, based on grade level.

Mary Conroy, whose sons Paul, 11, and Daniel, 9, both read their "Hope for Haiti" pieces at Tuesday's meeting, thought the Superintendent's Challenge made for a great character building exercise.

"I was very pleased to have them think about such important issues," Conroy said. "It was a way for them to look outside themselves and see how fortunate they are."

Both Paul and Daniel Conroy expressed strong feelings of sympathy for the victims of the earthquake.

"We have so many things in life here in America. I had so much to write about," said Paul, a Camp Avenue fifth grader.

Added third grader Daniel:  "I think it was a disaster. I was blown over to see what I saw on TV. I felt very sorry for them."

School board president John Rossi applauded the students' participation in the project.

"While this is not one of those things that can be quantified on a spreadsheet, it speaks to the level of education in this district," he said.

In other school board news:

As budget preparations are underway across Long Island for the 2010-2011 school year, Feller said a number of school boards have begun sending letters to Gov. David Paterson asking for legislation that would give districts an option to increase the amount allowed by a contingency budget should its proposed budget fail to pass.

Feller described the legislation as a way to enable districts to use an average of the consumer price index (CPI) over the last five years rather than the current CPI. The current CPI, which is negative, would produce a contingency budget increase of zero percent over the previous year's budget.

"Many schools are concerned about the implications of how debilitating that could be," Feller said.

The board voted to take part in the letter writing campaign but resolved to modify the letter it would send.

"The board is supportive with modifications," Rossi said, adding that the district's final version will propose the addition of "a sunset clause that allows us to modify whatever is decided at this time."

A first draft of the letter obtained by Patch states:

"Should our budgets fail and the contingency formula were applied, there is only one way we could meet our obligations: we would need substantially to reduce staff...and substantially to reduce programs. We would need to dismantle the foundations of excellence in our districts. Moreover, the cuts required by the contingency formula are so deep that it would be virtually impossible to get back what we had lost."