By Nicole Falco
The board has not yet voted to appoint Bernstein, but will likely do so at its Jan. 13 meeting. The board will host a community forum at Memorial Junior High School on Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. to give the community the opportunity to meet with Bernstein and discuss educational goals for the district with him. The board notified various members of the school community in a letter dated Dec. 9.
According to Anthony Iadevaio, board president, Bernstein was named the board's finalist for superintendent of schools after it realized he was the "right person at the right time." Parents who attended the district's Dec. 2 Board of Education meeting questioned the board about its superintendent search, but got few answers. Iadevaio said the board was not able to discuss its intentions at that meeting because all discussions were confined to executive session.
Iadevaio said the board had solicited bids from nine search firms to handle a formal superintendent search. After speaking with representatives of various firms, Iadevaio said the board concluded that its chances of hiring a top-notch leader would be hampered by the flood of school districts vying for a limited number of able candidates.
Bernstein was offered the position in November, and after three weeks of negotiations, he accepted the board's offer, pending approval in January. The terms of Bernstein's contract can not be discussed until after his appointment.
"In the three- or four-month audition, the board has been pleased with what [Bernstein] has done," Iadevaio said. "He has presented long-range and immediate goals, and he has had experience in a central high school setting for 14 years and has had success.
"Why look any further if he's interested in coming out of retirement?" Iadevaio continued. "He's the right person at the right time."
Bernstein served as superintendent of schools for the Bellmore/Merrick High School District for 14 years until his retirement in 2000. Like Valley Stream, elementary schools in Bellmore and Merrick feed into one centralized high school district. Before that, Bernstein was deputy superintendent in Roslyn. Since retiring, he has worked as a consultant at the college level and as the president of an educational firm.
Bernstein was asked to join Valley Stream last summer, after Dr. Ronald D. Valenti announced his resignation. Valenti, superintendent from 2000 to 2003, left Aug. 31 to become superintendent of the Blind Brook School District in Westchester County. Valenti lives in that district, and was its superintendent from 1980 to 1988.
"Having been the interim superintendent for the past few months, I've gotten to know the school district well, and I understand the challenges that are before this high school district," Bernstein said in a telephone interview. "I do feel as if I can bring a certain level of experience and qualifications to the district when meeting its goals."
The challenges Bernstein alluded to include meeting the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act; creating a budget that meets the district's needs but doesn't drain residents' wallets; negotiating a new teachers' contract; and improving the district's performance on state exams.
Bernstein called the superintendent's position in Valley Stream an "exciting challenge," one that he is looking forward to. Though he had no expectations of coming out of retirement to take a permanent job, he said, "Having been a part of a school district again, I know I'm really intrigued about how to apply my experience to ... Valley Stream."
Bernstein said the fact that he has known two of the three elementary superintendents for some 15 years should make it easier for them to work together in the future to meet the community's educational goals.
Iadevaio encourages residents to attend the forum, and Bernstein said he is looking forward to discussing educational goals for the district with the community. "I really do hope that members of the community come out, because we really do want to talk about the education issues," he said.
