Voters elect teacher to Wyandanch library board, approve $2.1M budget hike
Voters recently elected Cindy Paschall, a local teacher, as a trustee for the Wyandanch Public Library. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
Voters last week approved a $2.1 million budget for the beleaguered Wyandanch Public Library and elected a new trustee to the board.
Residents approved the 2023-2024 budget by a vote of 125-53 and will see a tax increase of 3.8%, the first hike since 2020. On average, residents will pay an extra $14.92 annually.
“We are elated at the approval of our budget,” board president Jordan Thomas said. “As the community can see, we are making improvements and this will help us continue to do so.”
Voters elected Wyandanch teacher Cindy Paschall, 58, to an unpaid, five-year spot on the board of trustees with 81 votes. She beat contenders Latesha Walker, 45, and Judith Graham-Guerrier, 75, who garnered 60 and 42 votes, respectively.
Paschall will take the place of longtime board member Ghenya Grant, who didn't seek reelection.
Paschall, who teaches computer technology to first- and second-graders, said she is “extremely happy” the budget passed and is looking forward to her new role.
“The library has made some improvements but since I’m a teacher, I would like to bridge it together and make it a cohesive community,” she said. “I just want transparency and to make it more positive.”
The library, which was the last on Long Island to reopen after a pandemic closure of more than a year, has been mired in controversy for a decade — including a 2014 state audit that found trustees didn't provide adequate oversight to prevent "fraud, waste and abuse."
In February, the library again was in the spotlight when longtime custodian Kwaisi McCorvey, the nephew of former trustee Nancy Holliday and one of the library’s highest paid employees, was suspended with pay after his arrest for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl in 2016. Court records show McCorvey, 51, pleaded not guilty and the case remains pending.
Graham-Guerrier, who had served on the board for seven years before other trustees ousted her in 2020, has alleged there were voting improprieties and said she plans to appeal the election results to the New York State Department of Education.
Walker, who serves on the Wyandanch school board, said she will not contest the results, but was disappointed so few residents voted in a hamlet with a population of nearly 12,000.
This will be the first time in more than 15 years the library’s board will have neither Holliday nor Grant as a trustee. Holliday, who is vice president of Wyandanch's school board, was voted out of office last year. She contested the election results by alleging irregularities and voter fraud, but records show state education officials dismissed her appeal in April for lack of proof.
Since new leadership took over the board in December, the library has undergone cosmetic and operational improvements, including new furniture, lighting and security cameras. Leaders also have uncovered remnants of the past administration's troubles, including credit cards for former trustees that have been canceled and an off-site storage unit the library has had for a decade that costs about $500 a month.
Voters last week approved a $2.1 million budget for the beleaguered Wyandanch Public Library and elected a new trustee to the board.
Residents approved the 2023-2024 budget by a vote of 125-53 and will see a tax increase of 3.8%, the first hike since 2020. On average, residents will pay an extra $14.92 annually.
“We are elated at the approval of our budget,” board president Jordan Thomas said. “As the community can see, we are making improvements and this will help us continue to do so.”
Voters elected Wyandanch teacher Cindy Paschall, 58, to an unpaid, five-year spot on the board of trustees with 81 votes. She beat contenders Latesha Walker, 45, and Judith Graham-Guerrier, 75, who garnered 60 and 42 votes, respectively.
Paschall will take the place of longtime board member Ghenya Grant, who didn't seek reelection.
Paschall, who teaches computer technology to first- and second-graders, said she is “extremely happy” the budget passed and is looking forward to her new role.
“The library has made some improvements but since I’m a teacher, I would like to bridge it together and make it a cohesive community,” she said. “I just want transparency and to make it more positive.”
The library, which was the last on Long Island to reopen after a pandemic closure of more than a year, has been mired in controversy for a decade — including a 2014 state audit that found trustees didn't provide adequate oversight to prevent "fraud, waste and abuse."
Voters recently approved a budget hike for the Wyandanch Public Library and elected a new trustee to its board. Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas
In February, the library again was in the spotlight when longtime custodian Kwaisi McCorvey, the nephew of former trustee Nancy Holliday and one of the library’s highest paid employees, was suspended with pay after his arrest for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl in 2016. Court records show McCorvey, 51, pleaded not guilty and the case remains pending.
Graham-Guerrier, who had served on the board for seven years before other trustees ousted her in 2020, has alleged there were voting improprieties and said she plans to appeal the election results to the New York State Department of Education.
Walker, who serves on the Wyandanch school board, said she will not contest the results, but was disappointed so few residents voted in a hamlet with a population of nearly 12,000.
This will be the first time in more than 15 years the library’s board will have neither Holliday nor Grant as a trustee. Holliday, who is vice president of Wyandanch's school board, was voted out of office last year. She contested the election results by alleging irregularities and voter fraud, but records show state education officials dismissed her appeal in April for lack of proof.
Since new leadership took over the board in December, the library has undergone cosmetic and operational improvements, including new furniture, lighting and security cameras. Leaders also have uncovered remnants of the past administration's troubles, including credit cards for former trustees that have been canceled and an off-site storage unit the library has had for a decade that costs about $500 a month.
Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.
New hope for justice Theresa Cerney's killing is one of at least 66 cases of dead women being reviewed by Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney's new cold case unit. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn and Newsday investigative reporter Sandra Peddie have this exclusive story.
New hope for justice Theresa Cerney's killing is one of at least 66 cases of dead women being reviewed by Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney's new cold case unit. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn and Newsday investigative reporter Sandra Peddie have this exclusive story.
