West Hempstead School Board Moves To Fill Open Seat

After much deliberation, the West Hempstead Board of Education passed a resolution Tuesday night to move forward in replacing the trustee seat that opened up when.

The issue came up at the end of the school board's special business/policy meeting on July 19, during which they explained to the few members of the public present that they had three options. They could leave the seat vacant or appoint someone to serve until the regularly scheduled elections are held in May or hold a special election, at a cost ranging anywhere from $3,285 to nearly $10,000. If a new candidate was elected they would serve the remainder of Brita's term, which right now is about two years.

Board President Walter Ejnes said he was "leaning" toward not holding a special election due to the cost factor, but Deputy Superintendent Richard Cunningham advised the board members to leave money out of the discussion for now.

"I think you should focus on the concept of what you want to do and not the cost," Cunningham said. "If you decide you want to [hold a special election] then we can talk about how much interest there might be and can talk about cost."

Trustee Rudolf Schindler was against the idea of appointing a replacement, saying, "Who am I to appoint someone?"

Fellow board member Cynthia DiMiceli pledged her support for holding a special election to find a candidate to serve for two years.

"I'm not ready to make a decision yet," said Ejnes, who explained that he wanted to explore all the options, including potentially appointing someone, first. However, he said having the conversation in a public meeting presented some problems.

"If we discuss appointments....we need to talk about specific people. Names may come up," he said, and suggested the board enter into executive session, where the public would not be permitted to witness the dialogue.

They voted 4-2 in favor of moving into executive session, and left the room for approximately one hour. When they returned they motioned to pass a resolution that would instruct the district's administration to contact potential board candidates.

The resolution passed, 4-2, with the support of Ejnes, Pamela Lotito, James Mariano and Carol Rilling, while DiMiceli and Schindler voted no.

The board did not elaborate on the decision, but Superintendent John Hogan spoke to Patch Wednesday morning, explaining that although the board has not decided which route they will take to fill the vacant seat they are "considering making an appointment."

"They have directed me to reach out to certain individuals to gauge their interest," Hogan said. "The board is still exploring its options and wants to see if an appointment is a viable option before making a final decision."

Also, during the meeting, the board made some changes to their policies and procedures, including one that will make meeting minutes available to the public sooner. They will now be posted on the district's Web site as soon as they are in a draft form, which could be mere days after the meeting concludes, although they would not be considered finalized until the board approves them at a later session.