The Great Neck Board of Education passed a resolution on March 16 that permits whoever wins the trustee seat previously held by longtime Trustee Donald Ashkenase in the election May 11 to immediately begin serving the term.
The resolution means that the new trustee will not have to wait to be sworn in at the board’s organizational meeting in July.
Whoever wins the seat held by Ashkenase will serve a three-year, 50-day term, rather than a three-year term, according to school officials.
Ashkenase, who moved to Great Neck in 1979, was first elected to the board in 1982 and was re-elected 12 times. He died earlier this month at 77 years old. His 39-year tenure as trustee was the longest in the school district’s history. He also chaired the board’s Financial Advisory Committee.
Since 1894 there have been 86 trustees, with two serving nonconsecutive terms. Including the current Board of Education, the average time served has been just more than seven years.
Of those 86 trustees, only 20 have served 10 years or more and only four have served 20 or more years: John A. Laressy from 1916 to 1940, Barbara Berkowitz from 1992 to present, Lawrence Gross from 1981 to 2017, and Ashkenase from 1982 to 2021.
Berkowitz, the board president, who announced she will seek re-election this year, said Ashkenase’s legacy will live on and touted his dedication to making the children in the school district a constant priority throughout his tenure.
“The sudden passing of Don Ashkenase has left everyone terribly saddened,” Berkowitz said. “Don had an incredibly analytical mind and could speak about the budget in a way that was way over most people’s heads, but above all, he had the biggest heart of anyone I know, and his number one priority was always the children.”
The district’s Board of Education election and budget approval will occur on May 11, rather than May 18, due to a conflict with the final day of the Jewish holiday Shavuot, which is celebrated seven weeks after the second Passover seder.
State law requires school districts to hold their elections on the third Tuesday in May but due to the conflict, the board asked for the date to be changed to May 11. The state approved the request last week.
“Our district values the voice of every voter and we strive to make the school budget process as transparent and accessible as possible,” School Superintendent Teresa Prendergast said in an email last week.
