By JUDY RATTNER
On May 19, as they vote on the proposed 2007-2008 school budget and for two library board trustee positions, school district residents will also select one person to fill the three year position on the school board that runs from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2010.
Doreen Cordova is a long-time resident of South Hempstead. Her two children attended Rockville Centre's public schools. Her daughter graduated from New York University and Georgetown law school. Recently married in July, she is the national director of Teach for America. Cordova's son graduated from the University of Colorado and is a pharmaceutical sales representative.
Born in Queens and raised on Long Island, Cordova received a B.A. in economics from Empire State College and a law degree from Touro Law Center. She says she has always been an active advocate and has volunteered her services at the Nassau Coalition Against Domestic Violence and at the SAFER Hotline, an advocacy group for rape victims. She also volunteers at NYLAG, doing pro-bono work for InMotion as a pro-bono attorney. She has taught religious education for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre. Cordova is currently the Executive Director and attorney at LI Advocates, Inc., in Syosset, a not-for-profit agency dedicated to helping children and adults with disabilities.
"I would like to keep the quality of education in Rockville Centre high, while being aware of tax dollars," Cordova said. "The Rockville Centre School district is one of the top districts in America and I will continue to strive to keep our schools as the best America has to offer. I'm committed to providing excellent educational opportunities for the success of each individual student."
Mary Koppinger is a school teacher who worked for 14 years in New York City schools. She has an elementary school license and a Masters degree in Emotionally Handicapped Children from Brooklyn College. She taught at the Active Learning Prep School in Rockaway, an Outward Bound school specializing in team building and expeditionary learning, and was the Dean of Students. She is trained in Peer Mediation and has been in the Who's Who Among America's Teachers. Koppinger has been a Paul Harris Rotary award recipient.
A former PTA president at Hewitt elementary school, Koppinger is currently on both the Hewitt and South Side Middle School PTA boards. She's a Compact for Learning team member at Hewitt, Chairman of the Reflections Committee and was on Hewitt's principal selection committee. She currently is the cub scout den leader for Pack 163, and was a soccer coach for the RVC Soccer Club and a religious teacher for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre. Koppinger has been on the board of the Newcomers Club, was New York State PTA convention delegate for Rockville Centre and has chaired the obstacle course game at the Hewitt Fall Fair for the last eight years.
Koppinger has two children in Rockville Centre schools, in third and seventh grade, and has lived in the village for 16 years. "I believe that all school board meetings should be recorded and televised on the School Channel," she said. "That way the residents who cannot attend meetings will have a first-hand knowledge of what is occurring at the school board meetings. I also believe that our precious tax dollars should support our children and their education first and foremost."
The PTA has scheduled a Meet the Candidates forum on Wednesday, April 25, at 7:30 p.m. in the South Side Middle School auditorium at 67 Hillside Ave.
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