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Fog/Mist Lynbrook BOE hosts reorganization meeting
Belmont new president, deadlock on VP
Lynbrook’s school board held its annual reorganization meeting on July 7, swearing in a new board member and electing new officers. One office remains open however, as the election for the board’s vice president ended in a 3-3 tie and will need to be resolved at the board’s next meeting on August 12.
The meeting began with the swearing in of Lesli Deninno, who began her first term with the board after being elected in May, and Robert Paskoff, who began his ninth term. Fellow election winner David Yaker, new to the board, was not present at the meeting and will be sworn in at a later time.
William Belmont was unanimously elected president after being nominated by Heather Hanson. He said that after eight years on the school board, he felt comfortable stepping into the role, and promised to work to keep the district in the good hands of its board members and administration.
“It’s a very interesting time in education right now,” Belmont said, citing the increase of testing and the change in the teacher evaluation process brought along by common core. “We need to take back local control over our schools.”
The election of the board’s vice president, however, would not be as simple. Robert Paskoff, the outgoing president of the board, and Ellen Marcus, who previously served as vice-president, each received three votes after being nominated by Heather Hanson and Deninno, respectively. Paskoff received a vote from Alicemarie Bresnihan, along with votes from Hanson and himself, while Belmont casted his vote for Marcus, joined by Deninno and herself, leaving the tallies deadlocked.
Both Hanson and Deninno touched on the passion and commitment that Paskoff and Marcus had each shown when asked to defend their nomination.
“He’s enthusiastic, he’s opiniated and that is exactly what we want of all our board members and our residents,” Hanson said. “He sets a great example for the level of engagement we all should be showing.”
“She’s been vice president before, so she has the experience in the position,” Deninno said. “She also has been a big to help to me as I’ve started my time on the board.”
