New business administrator for Malverne schools

The Malverne Board of Education recently welcomed to the school district Tom McDaid Jr. who was hired as the new business administrator.

McDaid, whose appointment was approved at the board's June 15 meeting, replaces Raymond Neblett, who earlier this year had announced his retirement from the position, which he held for three years.

"We are very fortunate to have Mr. Tom McDaid as our new business administrator," said schools Superintendent Dr. James Hunderfund, adding that McDaid's track record as a practicing lawyer is "excellent."

Although Brooklyn-born, McDaid considers himself a Long Islander. He grew up in Rockville Center and attended South Side High School. He went on to receive his Bachelor's degree and paralegal certification from Adelphi University.

After completing his studies, McDaid worked days as a paralegal for Jackson Security and AIG insurance, while taking night classes at New York Law School. Despite the long hours and busy schedule, McDaid passed the bar on the first try.

Throughout the last year, McDaid has been working to obtain his School District Business Leader certification. He completed the one-year course at C.W. Post earlier this month and received the certification.

The Farmingdale resident and father of two is excited to be part of the Malverne school district community, he said. McDaid had interned with Neblett for ten months before becoming Neblett’s successor in the school business administrator position. When Neblett retired from his position, he recommended McDaid for the job. “I  was very honored that Ray recommended me,” McDaid recently told the Herald. “Ray did a phenomenal job for the past three years and I loved working under him and learning everything from him. It was ... an honor to replace a man that did very well with the budget over the past few years.”

As the school’s new business administrator, McDaid has a lot of work on his plate — but he's prepared for it. “We’re going to have a tough time over the next couple of years because we don’t know what exactly the state will be doing," he said. “Because of that we have to really look at the budget to see exactly what we’re spending and to make sure that we meet the needs of the students. ... We have to just double and triple check everything to make sure everything is going the way it should go.”

The business administrator's primary responsibilities are supervision and evaluation of all of the district's budgetary and fiscal operations, including supervision of account clerks. McDaid said he's prepared to take on what can sometimes be a big challenge — particularly in the current economic conditions.

"Being an attorney, you are very detail-oriented and you want to make sure everything is done according to the way it’s supposed to be done,” McDaid said, noting the importance of details in all budgetary and financial matters. “My analyzation of things, looking at it also from a different point of view, I think is going to be a tremendous asset to the district.”

But it's not only the work itself McDaid's looking forward to. It's also the district itself. “The community is very involved here in Malverne," he said. "That’s one of the things that I truly like.”

And that will go along way, according to McDaid, who noted that it's only with the community's cooperation that the district can continue to grow and improve. “The community wants results, and I want to continue to bring a cost effective way for the school to continue to receive the results that they are getting,” he said.