A new leader on the East Meadow school board

Marcee Rubinstein named E.M. Board of Education president

Posted

The East Meadow Board of Education has a new leader. At its annual reorganization meeting on July 5, Marcee Rubinstein — a 30-year resident, retired speech therapist and longtime volunteer for the East Meadow Kiwanis Club and other organizations — was elected president.

Rubinstein, who was re-elected to a three-year trustee’s term in May, said she was proud of the board’s achievements in recent years, including the publishing of a position paper de-nouncing high-stakes testing in New York; supporting the implementation of full-day kindergarten; and adopting a 2016-17 budget that falls within the state-mandated tax cap.

But at a candidates’ forum this spring, she noted that their work is not yet done. “I am so proud of what we’ve accomplished this year and the healing process that’s happened,” she said. “In these challenging times there is much to do, and these endeavors require the work of knowledgeable and experienced school board members.”

Rubinstein became a trustee in 2009, and retained her seat in 2010 in an unopposed election. She and her husband, Barry, a former board trustee himself, have two adult sons: Marc, an East Meadow High School alumnus; and Lonny, who has Down syndrome.

While raising her sons, Rubinstein said, she focused on advocating for both children with special needs and all others in East Meadow. Over the years, she has served in every office in the Parent Teacher Association, and was president of both the Special Education PTA and the East Meadow PTA Council.

She said she is still a proud member of every PTA unit in East Meadow, as well as the sports and music clubs at all of the district’s secondary schools. She also sits on the executive board of the Nassau Region PTA.

Rubinstein was instrumental in founding the Special Education Resource Center and Library, which hosts educational forums for parents. She said she also played a key role in bringing the Family Residences and Essential Enterprises Players — a theater arts group embracing the talents of performers of all abilities — back to the district to perform and work with students after a brief hiatus.

“The East Meadow community has always been receptive, resulting in standing-room-only audiences,” she said. “When they left to perform at a new venue, it really left a void in our community. With the support of Superintendent Leon Campo, Ms. Dobies and the entire East Meadow school board, we jumped at the opportunity to bring them back to perform.”

Although she recently retired after a 40-year teaching career, Rubinstein still works with people with special needs. She is a speech consultant for a group home for adults, and a co-adviser of the Aktion Club, a Kiwanis-based service leadership program for adults with disabilities. She has balanced her career and her tenure on the board with plenty of community involvement through the years: She is the secretary of the East Meadow Kiwanis Club and a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Carman Avenue Civic Association and the Council of East Meadow Community Organizations.

Rubinstein has served on many school board and district committees, and has been recognized for her work. She said she has been honored at EMPTA’s Founder’s Day twice, and received the Board Excellence Award from the New York State School Boards Association.

In 2016-17, she said, the board’s greatest challenge will be the search for a superintendent to replace Campo, who is serving on an interim basis. She said she looked forward to gathering community input through focus groups and surveys.

As an educator, taxpayer and board trustee, Rubinstein said, another one of her main concerns is fiscal responsibility. “We must always be mindful of the taxpayer, yet maintain the excellence and integrity of our academic programs and the importance of sports, music and art and social/emotional learning,” she said. “Our children are our most precious and valuable resource, and we must provide only the best for them now and for their future. … Community members should know that I have always been a strong advocate for all children and fiercely dedicated to this community.”

Rubinstein, who was the board’s vice president this year, succeeds Joseph Parisi. Parisi has been board president for the past five years.

At the reorganizational meeting, Joseph Danenza was selected as the new vice president. Matthew Melnick, a newcomer to the group who was elected in May, and Parisi and Rubinstein were also sworn in to their new three-year terms. Danenza also took the oath of office for the 2016-17 academic year.