By:Rebecca Shalomoff
After serving 12 years on the Lawrence Board of Education, Gale Srulevich announced at the board's July 2 reorganization meeting that she will be resigning at the end of this month.
She said that she will not be able to complete her fourth term on the board because she is moving out of her Lawrence home and leaving the district for personal reasons.
"I'm sorry that I won't be able to fill out my term," she told fellow board members and the public at the July 2 meeting. "However, it's time."
Srulevich, who held the board vice-president position last year, would have been up for re-election in May 2002. She has been a member of the Lawrence board longer than any other current trustee.
"During my 12 years here, I have tried very, very hard to bring our board of education some sort of asset by participating in all different levels of education, " she said.
A legislative aide for the Nassau County Legislature, Srulevich has a wide range of experience on the state and local level. She is on the executive committee of the Nassau-Suffolk School Board Association and on its legislation and finance committees, co-chair of the legislation committee. In addition, she is on the Blue Ribbon Committee of Charter Schools.
On the state level, Srulevich is an alternative representative to the New York State School Board Association Area 11 (Nassau), President's Council and served on the state board's ad-hoc committees for early childhood education, as well as its federal relations network representative.
Her local activities have included being a member of all the Lawrence schools' PTAs and she served on the PTA's Central Council executive board as secretary, chairperson, and on its guidance committee. Also, she served on the curriculum, discipline and budget committees, as well as the demographics committee and universal pre-K committee for Lawrence Public Schools. Both her sons, Jordan and Ben, are graduates of Lawrence High School.
Srulevich has served on Nassau-Suffolk's BOCES advisory committees, which she will participate in even after she leaves the Lawrence district. Srulevich said she will continue to be a Long Island resident, probably somewhere on the North Shore.
"She is a true advocate for all students. I think she was genuinely concerned about the total student," said Diane Johnson, Lawrence's curriculum director for guidance and support services.
"From the moment I came onto the board, she welcomed me with open arms," said trustee Kathy Raquet-Barry. "Her passion for the children and schools is contagious."
Srulevich said she is staying on the board until July 31 so she can participate in the selection of a new assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. Dr. Mark Rosenbaum, who held the position for nine years, was appointed as superintendent of schools by the board in June after superintendent Dr. Paul Kelleher announced his retirement.
The application deadline for the assistant superintendent position was last Friday. More than 30 people applied for the post, board president Frank Argento said. During the coming weeks, the board will interview applicants and decide who will fill Rosenbaum's vacant seat.
As for replacing Srulevich, Argento said that the board has yet to meet and discuss what they will do. He said the board has three options: to appoint a new trustee, to leave the seat open until May or to run a special election some time soon.
"I served on the board with Gale for six years," Argento said. "I am happy that she served the community so well. We wish her all the best in the future."
Srulevich closed her farewell comments to the board and audience by describing the function of a school board: "It's all about the children and that's all it is about," she said.
