New officers chosen for Riverhead school board
The Riverhead Board of Education named a new president and vice president at Monday night’s meeting.
The board elected Susan Koukounas as president by a vote of 5-2. Board members Laurie Downs and Therese Zuhoski abstained.
Ms. Koukounas served as vice president during the 2017-18 school year and as president the two years before that. She has served for six years and was just re-elected in May.
Ms. Koukounas said she’s looking forward to achieving a few of the board’s goals this upcoming school year, including bringing a school resource officer into the district and focusing on curriculum needs.
“We’re always looking for more ways to share services and get more resources for our students while staying under the tax cap,” she said.
The board also elected Chris Dorr as its vice president. Mr. Dorr has served on the board for five years and this is his first time holding a leadership position.
He was approved with a 6-1 vote, with board member Laurie Downs abstaining.
“I’ve been on the board for quite a few years, so it’ll be nice to step in and take more of a leadership position and guide the district forward,” said Mr. Dorr, who works for Nassau BOCES. “I think there’ll be curriculum work and maybe my background can be beneficial.”
Brian Connelly, who was elected to the board in May, was also sworn in for his first year on the board. Ms. Koukounas was also sworn in for her third term and Elizabeth Silva, who was elected in May today to complete a vacant term, was sworn in to her own term in at Tuesday’s meeting.
Seven candidates vied for three open seats on the school board. Ms. Koukounas received 1,237 votes; Mr. Connelly, 1,133 votes; and Ms. Silva, 933 votes.
Mr. Connelly, who has two daughters in the district, said he looked “forward to hitting the ground running” when he was elected in May.
Photo caption: Susan Koukounas was voted school board president. (Nicole Smith photo)
