Roger Tilles out as LI Regent

Daily Point

State Legislature to vote to elect Felicia Thomas-Williams; Tilles to serve as at-large member

Long Island is getting a new representative on the state Board of Regents.

The move would mark the end of Roger Tilles’ lengthy tenure as the Regent who represents Long Island’s Tenth Judicial District, 20 years after he joined the board.

State lawmakers are expected to vote Tuesday to elect Felicia Thomas-Williams, who retired last year after serving more than a decade as principal of West Middle School in Brentwood, to serve as the Nassau-Suffolk region’s Regent.

But that remarkable shift doesn’t mark the end of Tilles’ tenure on the board. Instead, lawmakers are expected to elect Tilles, a Manhasset resident, to serve out the remaining year of a vacant at-large Regents position. A year from now, Tilles, 78, would have to run again statewide to be elected to a new five-year term in the at-large spot.

The moves mark a dramatic change for Long Island’s representation on the Board of Regents. Assemb. Michaelle Solages noted that at a time when many members of Long Island’s delegation in the Senate and Assembly are new, it makes sense to have new representation at the Board of Regents.

"We’re reaching a new place in the world of education," Solages said. "This would be the right time to have a new Regent really talk about the issues that are important to Long Island and represent the entire Island ... We as a delegation are looking at this as a new opportunity to make sure that we’re effectively communicating to Long Islanders that education is important."

Solages emphasized her desire for Long Island’s new Regent to represent the region’s multitude of school districts and their varying needs, while also understanding some of the more pressing issues, from funding and enrollment to technology and artificial intelligence.

Thomas-Williams’ recent experience working in school buildings will help her advocate and develop policy that meets the Island’s needs, Solages said.

"She knows education from the ground level," Solages added. "She can take that knowledge and information and actually speak about the best practices."

Newly elected Assemb. Kwani O’Pharrow, who previously worked in the Brentwood school district, said he has known Thomas-Williams — who lives in his Assembly district — for three years and advocated for her candidacy.

"We want somebody who represents the community and who cares for the community genuinely and who’s an educator," O’Pharrow said.

Thomas-Williams, 56, told The Point she has previously lobbied in Albany and advocated for Long Island’s educational needs in roles within the School Administrators Association of New York State and the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

"I have championed the needs of our district from a boots-on-the-ground perspective," she said. "Having a platform to be heard has been, I do believe, helpful. It is my hope this will be another platform for us, and not just a platform but a place where we’ll be able to effect change."

Thomas-Williams, who lives in Wheatley Heights, said she is hoping to focus on preserving access for every student to a "free, appropriate education," despite potential cuts or policy shifts coming from Washington. She also noted that she hopes to focus on making sure Long Island’s public schools receive the funding and attention each needs and to address the "oversaturation" of charter schools in some parts of the region. Thomas-Williams said she hopes to be a voice for districts of all types across the Island.

"Everyone needs a seat at the table," she said. "Everybody needs to be heard."

Thomas-Williams will join the board at a time when it’s considering changes to Regents testing and graduation requirement policies.

"I think there is a place for standardized testing, but never should it be the sole source of doing an evaluative process, nor should it ever be aligned with teacher performance," she said.

Tilles suffered a heart attack last year, but said at the time that he hoped to serve another term as Long Island’s Regent. He told The Point Monday that as an at-large member, he’ll continue his work, noting that the Board of Regents still has "so much on our plate that I am somewhat responsible for," including the graduation requirement changes and improvements to Holocaust education.

"I said, ‘I’d like to see it through,’" Tilles said Monday. "I want to make sure it’s done right."

Tilles said he would continue to press for a balance between focusing on excellence and equity, noting that some Regents prefer to emphasize one over the other. Even as an at-large member, he said, he would continue to focus on Long Island’s needs, noting that Rochester currently has both a member who officially represents the region and an at-large member who lives in and speaks up for the area. Assuming Tuesday’s votes go as expected, Tilles said Long Island’s two representatives could serve similarly.

"I would expect we would work very closely together," Tilles said.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

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Quick Points

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— Michael Dobie michael.dobie@newsday.com

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