By Andrew Coen
Sam Donato has served for the past two years as Lawrence's interim assistant superintendent for business. Deirdre Gambino, who has been a business administrator in Malverne for the past 18 months, will assume the top business post in Lawrence in two weeks.
Gambino will officially begin in the district on Dec. 8, and undergo a seven-week transition period with Donato, who will stay on until Jan. 31. I am very excited about the opportunity, said Gambino. My goal is to provide effective and efficient business operations to support the educational programs.
Gambino's first appearance at a Lawrence school board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 16, at Lawrence High School.
Gambino, a trained accountant, was an assistant business administrator in the Levittown school district prior to her stint in Malverne. She has a lot of experience, so I expect she will bring a lot of dedication to the job, said Donato.
Donato began his two-year stint as District 15's interim assistant superintendent for business on Nov. 19, 2001, as the district was struggling with a $2.9 million budget deficit. Donato will be leaving behind a surplus, he said. Once the problem was identified and laid out for action, the plan was followed, he said. The major fiscal problems that the district once faced are now over, I can gladly say.
Gambino may still have her work cut out for her, however. The Lawrence budge went down to defeat twice in June, forcing the district to work with a contingency budget.
Before arriving in Lawrence in 2001, Donato served as assistant superintendent for business in Hempstead Village and Port Washington, and as a business administrator in Mineola, where he has lived since 1957.
Donato said he has enjoyed working with the Lawrence administration over the past two years. There is a very high level of professionalism in Lawrence, he said. It's good to be able to work with a group of dedicated individuals.
As for the future, Donato said he has an interesting offer from a private industry, which he's not sure he will take. Donato would like to spend much of his post-Lawrence time with his wife, 12 children and 22 grandchildren. My wife asked for me to have at least the entire month of February off, so we can spend time with family, he said.
The Lawrence Board of Education unanimously approved the hiring of Gambino at the Nov. 4 school board meeting.
