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Mostly Cloudy District 24 board appoints new member
Former candidate made trustee after outgoing member moves
The Valley Stream District 24 Board of Education voted unanimously on Dec. 15 to appoint Markus Wilson to the trustee seat formerly held by Joseph Shipley, who resigned this month when he moved out of the district.
Wilson, an attorney for 25 years and a Lynbrook resident, had previously run for the District 24 board. This year, Melissa Herrera narrowly defeated him in the race for the seat held then by Paul DePace, who decided not to run again. Herrera won by eight votes, 313 to 305.
Wilson will serve as trustee for the remainder of the school year, and will be up for election in May 2021, should he choose to run.
“There is absolutely a lot that Mr. Wilson can bring to the school district . . . His legal experience, his prior New York City school board experiences, as well as being an active parent in the school district, will prove quite valuable,” District 24 board President Kimberly Wheeler said. “A fresh and new perspective of education is always welcomed. I positively expect that Mr. Wilson will help District 24 strive towards greater things for our children.”
Wilson will also be a member of the district’s newly formed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, formed on Dec. 15 in an unanimous board vote, with the goal of increasing diversity among teaching staff in a district where 86 percent of children are students of color and 95 percent of teachers are white.
“Running for office was something I always had in my head, and getting voted onto the board was a humbling experience that I was excited to share with my family,” Wilson said. “I haven’t participated in any board meetings yet, but I’m filled with nothing but excitement for what’s to come in the new year.”
Wilson is a parent of four children, two of whom attend the district’s William L. Buck Elementary School and two older children who graduated from Valley Stream schools. Over the past 10 years, he said, he has taken a more hands-on approach in the schools as his younger children have moved through the school system.
In his professional career, Wilson has worked as an attorney in a variety of roles, both public and private, getting his start in 1996 at the Bronx District Attorney’s office, and later the New York City Transit Authority and the New York City Department of Education, as well as a number of private practices.
As a new trustee and member of the DEI committee, Wilson said he hopes he can not only help balance the school budget during the pandemic to provide a solid education for District 24 children, but also bring more diversity to the district’s teaching staff.
“The schools are great, but it has been disappointing seeing the lack of teachers of color in this district. However, I think the board has definitely shown — based on the initiatives they have announced — that they are moving towards the direction of a more diverse teaching staff,” said Wilson, who is Black. “I am in support of District 24’s recent move towards diversity inclusion in the hiring process, and I want to make sure we are attracting and hiring people of color on the staff. My hope, along with the DEI Committee, is to partner with historically Black colleges to fill spots with teachers of color that are highly qualified.”
