Sewanhaka ed board elects new officers

Richard Tedesco

David Fowler was elected president and David Del Santo was elected vice president by the Sewanhaka Board of Education at the board’s reorganization meeting on Tuesday night.

Fowler, who was the board’s vice president, has been on the Sewanhaka board for eight years and has been a member of the Floral Park school board for 16 years. He replaces longtime board President Jean Fichtl.

“I’m very grateful to my fellow board members having the confidence in me to do it,” Fowler said.

He praised Fichtl for doing what he called a “spectacular” job as president of the board.

Fowler takes the helm as the board faces a crucial decision on a bond issue to make needed repairs estimated at more than $78 million at the district’s five high schools. 

“I think it’s needed for the future of the district and all our facilities and I’m excited about working with my fellow board members on that,” Fowler said.

Del Santo, a longtime member of the New Hyde Park-Garden City Park Board of Education, said, “I think it’s certainly going to be a challenge.”

At Tuesday night’s reorganization meeting, the board also formed a committee of four board members representing Sewanhaka’s elementary component districts. The committee includes Del Santo,  Joe Armocida of the Franklin Square school board, Michael Jaime of the Elmont school board and Laura Ferrone of the Floral Park school board.

Sewanhaka Superintendent of Schools Ralph Ferrie said the committee would review the work of Hauppauge-based Wiedersum Associates Architects which surveyed the schools and the ad hoc committee of district residents and make recommendations on the bond issue by the end of the summer.

“We can take community input from the development stage. The one thing is we want to get it right,” Ferrie said.

He said he anticipates the board will propose the bond issue in a late fall referendum.

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