Seaford school board honors departing trustee

While the Seaford Board of Education took care of a few important financial matters at its June 2 meeting, it was the people who have made significant contributions to the district who took center stage.

The board bid farewell to one of its own, as it was Trustee JeanMarie Wink’s last regular meeting. After five years on the board, she did not seek re-election last month.

Wink, who was first appointed to the board in 2011 to fill a vacancy, was elected in 2012 to fill the remaining year of that seat, and won a full three-year term the following year. Her two children, Victoria and Christopher, are graduates of Seaford High School and were very involved in the music program. Wink was a leader of Encore, the parent-led instrumental music booster program.

She was a member of the board which negotiated the sale of the Seaford Avenue School and the intermunicipal agreement for the Harbor access road, hired the assistant superintendent for business and several assistant principals, settled contracts with six unions, and restored many programs which had previously been cut.

“She helped shepherd us through some very difficult times,” Superintendent Brian Conboy said, adding, “JeanMarie is a happy person. When you get to work with a happy person in very difficult times, it makes things so much better.”

Wink was presented with a plaque from board President Bruce Kahn. “She is dedicated, determined, compassionate and wise,” he said.

She will still remain involved in education in a big way as she is principal of East Broadway Elementary School. While it has a Seaford address, the school is actually part of the Levittown district.

“I did enjoy it,” Wink said of her tenure on the Seaford school board. “I think it helped me as a citizen of the community, but it also helped me in my own professional job.”

She said she will miss knowing the ins and outs of the district, but said Seaford is in good hands. Her sister, Janice Baldwin, will take her place on the board in July.

New Harbor principal

The district didn’t need to look very far for a new principal for Seaford Harbor Elementary School. The board appointed middle school assistant principal Thomas Burke to the position.

Burke, who came to Seaford two years ago after teaching in the Wantagh School District, will succeed Donna DeLucia-Troisi, who is retiring at the end of the school year. Conboy said that Burke, in his short time with the district, has stood out as a curriculum specialist and a strong advocate for children. “We’re happy to have Tom at the Harbor,” Conboy said. “He’s going to do a great job.”

Burke was joined by his wife, three children, parents and in-laws for his appointment last week. The district is now searching for his replacement at the middle school.

Finances and more

Overshadowed in the meeting were several financial decisions, including the approval of tax anticipation note borrowing, which will allow the district to fund its operations for the first few months of the 2016-17 school year before tax revenue starts flowing in. The board also added funds to several reserve accounts.

Conboy said that a new survey was recently completed for the Harbor access road. He said he hopes that is the last step in the planning process, and that the district can go out to bid for the project and begin construction over the summer.

Some changes are being made to the middle school schedule next year to provide extra instructional time in math for sixth graders, and to give seventh graders a full year of foreign language instruction, either Spanish or French.

Over the summer, all board meetings will be held in the air-conditioned music wing at the high school, beginning with the July 7 reorganization meeting.