Highlights From Oct. 18 Wantagh Board of Education Meeting

The following recap of the Oct. 18 Wantagh Board of Education meeting was submitted by School Information Liaison Debbie Pinciotto. 

 After the board members concluded with the business of the agenda, the following issues were addressed:

• Board President Michael Cucci introduced former Forest Lake principal Maureen Goldberg as acting Superintendent of the district. Mrs. Goldberg has an extensive education background and has served as principal in our district for 17 years.

• Goldberg introduced Laurance Anderson as the interim principal of Forest Lake Elementary School. Anderson was an assistant principal and principal in Westchester County in his early career. For 22 years he was the principal of the Jacob Gunther Elementary School in North Bellmore until his retirement in 2005. Since then he has held a variety of administrative positions in the private school sector. Goldberg added, “Mr. Anderson brings a rich background and thorough knowledge of education to our district.”

• Assistant Superintendent for Instruction, Dr. Maureen Appiarius was congratulated for having her paper entitled, “The Influence of Foreign Language Instruction at the Elementary Level on Student Achievement in English Language Arts and Mathematics” selected for publication and presentation at the 12^th Annual International Business and Economy Conference (IBEC) in Caen, France in January.

•Board President Michael Cucci reported that the third meeting of the declining enrollment and full day Kindergarten committee will be on Oct. 22. The charge of the committee is to formulate a long-range feasibility plan for possible implementation of a full day kindergarten program and to project future student enrollment in our district.

• Interviews of interested citizens for the newly chartered Audit Committee will be conducted next week. In an effort to be more transparent, the Board of Education has modified its state ordered Audit Committee charter. The new charter now includes 3 community members and 2 BOE members. The committee will meet approximately 6 times per year with all district auditors.

• Cucci announced that in lieu of the past Budget Advisory Committee format, changes are being considered in an effort to achieve greater community participation. The school board plans to offer residents budget workshops and/or smaller town hall-type meetings. It is the board’s intention to honor the state imposed 2 percent tax cap.

•Ralph Spagnolo of the Wantagh Foundation for Educational Excellence spoke of having to cancel the last teen night because there was not enough parent volunteers to chaperone. Parents interested in volunteering for upcoming teen nights can contact Spagnolo at 781-5055.