The New Hyde Park-Garden City Park school board finalized staff changes for the 2016 school year on Tuesday, swearing in a former trustee and appointing a new Garden City Park School principal.
After a two-year hiatus, Trustee Patricia Rudd, a former 15-year board member and one-time vice president, returned to the board after defeating parent Shamini Sivalingam for an open seat in May.
Amy Sullivan was appointed by the board to serve as principal for Garden City Park School.
She will start with a four-year probationary period beginning July 6, 2016 and ending June 30, 2020.
Rudd said children cannot be judged solely on a test and that her real passion is legislation, which led her to spend eight years lobbying for education in Washington and Albany.
“We need kids to go to museums, expand their minds with science, and not just teach to a test,” she said.
As a former member of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, Rudd said, she thinks local governments know what’s best for their students and that the federal government should return more control over education to the states.
Rudd was off the board for two years after moving to Michigan for work in 2014.
She works in retail operations for cultural institutions such as the American Museum of Natural History and Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, she said.
Rudd replaces board Trustee Joan Romagnoli, who served on the board for 12 years.
Sullivan thanked the district’s administrators and said she will work with the current staff “to uphold the greatness that exists at Garden City Park School.”
During this transition week, incoming principals are “learning the ropes of the trade” from retiring ones, district Superintendent Robert Katulak said.
Kautlak said he will provide a year-long mentorship program for all four new principals.
“I sincerely express my gratitude to our hard-working Board of Education, and thank all our constituents for their continued support of our schools,” Katulak said.
Also on Tuesday, Trustee David Del Santo said the Sewanhaka Central High School District’s five high schools will receive necessary updates due to expanding enrollment, including the installation of solar panels, pending an energy conservation bond.
“It would be the largest endeavor in Nassau County and will reduce the use of energy greatly by this district,” Del Santo said.
Other upgrades to security, parking lot lighting and wall panels at New Hyde Park Memorial High School will be complete within six months, Del Santo said. Fixes at other schools will take two years to finish, he said.
The school board also passed a resolution opposing the Long Island Rail Road’s plan to add a third track to 9.8 miles of its Main Line, citing possible busing detours and disruption.
Trustee Del Santo, an MTA auditor and an employee of Homeland Security abstained from the vote.
The next school board meeting will be held on Aug. 8 at 8 p.m.
