On divided Wyandanch school board, unusual, 'creative' move ends deadlock over presidency
The newly composed Wyandanch school board broke its deadlock Friday in a third meeting in less than two weeks after it disagreed over who should be its president and vice president.
The six members in Friday’s special meeting agreed to split the one-year term into two six-month segments. From July through the end of the year, trustee Latesha Walker will serve as the president, with trustee Shirley Baker as vice president. The trustees were sworn in Friday.
Beginning Jan. 1, the presidency will go to trustee James Crawford, with trustee Shameka Brown as vice president.
“We want everyone that has a stake in our district to feel at peace and to feel secure, so this is the first step in that direction,” Walker said Friday in a phone interview after the vote. “I'm really pleased that the board was able to come to a consensus.”
The board typically has seven members, but one seat is empty.
Friday’s meeting came after the board failed in four rounds of votes, all ending in 3-3 ties, to elect a president at its reorganization meeting July 1. The divided board met again in an emergency session Wednesday and again could not reach a consensus.
Larry Aronstein, the district’s interim superintendent, said the agreement the board reached in splitting the term was unusual but “creative.”
“There was a tie,” he said. “They needed maybe some creative ideas, and that's what we did.”
The board has only six trustees because board president Jarod Morris was removed from his seat last month in a fractioned vote over alleged unspecified official misconduct. Morris said he has appealed to the state education commissioner.
Two new members, Brown and Felice Holder, were sworn in earlier this month after winning in the May election.
Walker said the board is yet to decide on what to do with the seventh seat.
“There could be an election. There could be an appointment,” Walker said. “The full board of education, along with the guidance of our legal counsel, will come up with the best option for that.”
Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.
