Kerman Re-Elected as School Board President; Connors Voted Vice President

Dr. Jeffrey Kerman was elected to his second term as school board president on Tuesday, while Bill Connors was elected as the school board vice president, a position he held during the 1995-96 school year.

Both were voted in 6-0-1; each abstained from their respective votes.

Kerman and Connors were both elected to the board for the 2011-2012 school year after having served previously. Kerman served from 1999 to 2005, while Connors was on the board between 1995 and 2006. Connors is the longest-serving president in the history of the Three Village Central School District, having held that role for 10 years during that time frame.

Connors said he is excited to return to the position of vice president.

"This is a very good group, a very cohesive group," he said. "We're working with some wonderful people here."

He said he will continue to apply his background in higher education and school finance. 

"That's one of the reasons I decided to run for the board...I hadn't planned to, but we're in very challenging times with tremendous financial constraints," he said. "I thought that my background in academics as well as budget preparation, I could bring something to this district."

Kerman said his goals for the upcoming school year are passing the budget once again, making sure every student in the district receives a great education, and working to maintain consistency of the educational experience.

"The fiscal constraints of the tax cap make it very, very difficult to maintain the educational standards that we have become accustomed to and that we are striving very much to maintain and even get better if we can," he said. "We will work very, very diligently ... to save every dollar and put it where it has to go."

Trustee Susanne Mendelson has been elected to serve on the executive committee of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, which consists of nine representatives from each county. She previously worked with the organization last year at a roundtable discussion of educational issues with the state's education commissioner.

In addition, trustee Jonathan Kornreich has been selected to serve on U.S. Rep. Tim Bishop's Educational Advisory Committee.

"It’s an avenue for two-way communication so that the Congressman can let us know what issues he’s dealing with from an educational standpoint in Congress, and give us a chance to ask our questions," Kornreich said. "It’s a way for him to keep his ear to the ground."