West Hempstead school board member earns top honors from state

West Hempstead Union Free School District board member Martin Kaye earned top honors last week from the state for his exemplary work as a public education advocate.

The New York State School Board Association on Feb. 17 awarded Kaye, who also sits on the Nassau BOCES board, a Master of Boardsmanship Award – the highest honor bestowed by the NYSSBA’s Leadership Development Recognition Program – for his efforts in expanding his knowledge of education and developing skills in school district governance, according to Nassau BOCES spokesman Ray Andreasen.

To qualify for this distinction, Kaye completed NYSSBA’s School Board Institute program of eight intensive courses on leadership of New York school boards. He also spent many hours participating in workshops, conventions and academies to strengthen his abilities as a board member.

“Well I was extremely pleased because of all the years I’ve put into public education as a board member, it was very gratifying that I would get this award,” Kaye said in an interview with the Herald. “What can I say? It’s an honor and I’m not really playing it up, but I’m very pleased.”

When asked for his reaction to the news that Kaye received the award, West Hempstead Schools Superintendent John Hogan said, “It couldn’t be more deserved. Mr. Kaye has been on our board now for 18 years and has always been an outstanding board member, putting the interests of the students and the children always first, and at the same time taking care of the ... issues that the residents have as well.” Calling Kaye a “good guy,” Hogan went on to say, “It’s truly a pleasure working with him. He’s very committed to the district and to its progress.”

Kaye joined the WHUFSD board in 1991, when all four of his now adult children were attending district schools. Already involved in their academic lives, and at the time filling the position of cub master for Boy Scout Troop 240, Kaye decided to take part in education in his community. “I enjoy working with kids and I felt I could make an impact,” he said.

Prior to that, Kaye, a resident of West Hempstead since 1977, spent a few years working as a teacher himself, first at a junior high school in the Bronx, where he grew up, and then at a high school in Queens. He left his teaching position to pursue his business goals, but, he said, “I still always was attached to the kids in the community.”

So much so, in fact, that sitting on one board wasn’t enough. Last year, Kaye was urged to run for a position on BOCES’ nine-member board. He did and was elected in August. “Between these two functions ... I’m out three to four nights a week, and it’s a lot of commitment and time, but I’m loving it. I really, really enjoy it.”

For Kaye, who is now semi-retired, there is little more rewarding than achieving the goals and meeting the high standards the West Hempstead school board sets for itself. “We come out with goals and objectives that we want for our community and our kids and we’re really on the same page,” the 64-year-old said. “We do have differences, but yet we work together as such a great team that we’ve managed to have a lot of our people remain.”

Calling the environment in West Hempstead warm and nurturing, Kaye said he is pleased with the way the school board operates. “You must make a personal sacrifice for a non-paying job,” he said. “But the most important thing is that you have to be on the same page as your fellow board members and you have to check your egos at the door, and just work for children. That’s the whole purpose of what we do.”

The school board’s next group effort is creating a manageable budget for the 2010-2011 school year, which it will begin doing after a proposed budget is presented on March 2. “We’re facing challenges like we’ve never had before, but yet we’re going to try to prevail if we can and keep the quality of our program right up there,” Kaye said. “It’s very tough. This is the toughest period of time that I remember. ... The budget cuts are going to be monumental and we need to find a way to balance our budget, as well as programs.”

But, Kaye has faith in his fellow board members. It is because of them, he said, that he received the award: “If credit is to be given – I know it’s a personal achievement for me after all these years – but it’s my own team, my own board that helped me along the way to be a much better board member ... because it’s a real team effort that gets a winning combination.” He added, “It’s not me personally, although I am really honored. It’s part of a team effort in our own town and I was granted this award to recognize me personally, but I think it recognizes West Hempstead as well.”

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