The Year in Education 2014
January — Bishop McGann-Mercy High School hires Paul Mastronardi as its new athletic director. He replaces John Lonardo, who resigned to pursue a business opportunity in the private sector. Mr. Mastronardi, a longtime coach and physical education teacher, previously coached the Eastport-South Manor varsity football team.
Feb. 18 — The Shoreham-Wading River school board approves a new property tax exemption for veterans. The program benefits veterans who served during a time of war or in combat zones. Disabled veterans with war-related injuries are also eligible. The Riverhead school board would approve the exemption two months later.
March — A new partnership between Southold, Shoreham-Wading River and Shelter Island school district superintendents is formed to expand educational opportunities. To help jump-start their efforts, the superintendents hold a forum in Stony Brook called “Public Education at a Crossroads.”
March 13 — The News-Review features a story about Riverhead High School’s 2014 valedictorian, Ceaser Chabla-Sarmiento. School officials say he appears to be the district’s first Hispanic valedictorian. Ceaser plans to study engineering in college and go on to law school so he can practice patent law.
March 21 — A team of Riverhead EMTs and medical volunteers save the life of Lonnie Hughes, a Phillips Avenue Elementary School fourth-grade teacher, during Riverhead High School’s Crazy Sports Night. Mr. Hughes went into cardiac arrest after participating in a tug-of-war event.
April 3 — A pair of complaints filed with the Public Employment Relations Board against the Riverhead Charter School principal and executive director Ray Ankrum accuse him of “union-busting” activities, including firings and intimidation tactics directed at staffers sympathetic to the school’s teachers union. A mix of newer and veteran teachers say the picture painted in the complaints is not an accurate representation of the daily reality on the Calverton campus.
May 20 — Lori Hulse, Kim Ligon and Greg Meyer are elected to the Riverhead school board, defeating challengers Laurie Downs and Greg Fischer. Shoreham-Wading River school board incumbents Bill McGrath and John Zukowski are also re-elected. Both school district budgets pass.
June 5 — A News-Review’s cover story explores the dismissal of Riley Avenue Elementary School teacher Jutta Mariotti, who was fired despite positive performance reviews by administrators and protests from parents. One parent praises Ms. Mariotti, who had worked in the district since 2006, for her handling of a reported knife incident involving two boys who allegedly planned an attack on a classmate.
June 26 — Pulaski Street School head custodian Carl James is surrounded by friends, family and co-workers as the Riverhead school board congratulates him on his retirement after a 54-year career with the district. Mr. James, 79, was featured in the News-Review last December after the paper learned he had worked in a school longer than any other district employee from Riverhead to Orient.
July 10 — Greg Meyer is elected president of the Riverhead school board, moving up from his vice president position to replace Ann Cotten-DeGrasse, who stepped down after six years of service. Sue Koukounas is elected vice president. Incumbents Kimberly Ligon and Lori Hulse, a former school board president, are also sworn in.
July 15 — The News-Review features a story about young immigrants known as “border children,” who have been arriving unaccompanied at Mexico’s border after fleeing their violence-plagued homelands in Central America. According to federal records, 4,244 border children have ended up in New York State so far. Officials said 1,181 of those children have been reunited with family in Suffolk County, making it one of the three counties in the nation hosting the most new young immigrants.
September — Paul Mastronardi resigns as athletic director at Bishop McGann-Mercy High School. He says he is leaving after nine months on the job to return to his passion: coaching football.
Oct. 16 — A report finds that the state’s highest-paid public school employee outside New York City for the prior fiscal year is longtime Riverhead School District administrator Joe Ogeka — who remained on the payroll after retiring as assistant superintendent. Mr. Ogeka, who served as assistant superintendent for personnel and community services and retired in June 2013, was paid $376,340 during the 2013-14 school year, according to the report.
Nov. 4 — The Shoreham-Wading River school board approves placing a $48.5 million capital improvement referendum before residents on Jan. 13. About $15 million of that total would be paid for through the prior year state aid portion of the district’s reserves. The district plans to secure a bond for the remaining $33.5 million. If approved, the average homeowner will pay about $30 a month starting in the 2018-19 school year for the duration bond’s nearly 15-year term.
Nov. 6 — Bishop McGann-Mercy High School unveils its new state-of-the-art weight room and fitness center, paid for through donations and fundraising efforts. The weight room has been about two years in the making and features several Hammer Strength fitness machines.
December — Former Phillips Avenue teacher Joe Johnson, who was fired this year after pleading guilty to a drunken driving charge, files a federal lawsuit against the Riverhead School District, its superintendent, school board and several administrators. The suit claims he was fired because he’s black. Mr. Johnson was arrested in April 2012 after Southampton Village police caught him driving drunk and allegedly carrying an illegal, loaded semi-automatic pistol in his car. The felony weapons charge was dropped because of what prosecutors called an illegal police search.
Dec. 9 — The Riverhead school board approves an environmental study for a new proposal to relocate the district’s bus barn to Calverton. The final plan to use reserves to purchase the property could appear before voters on the May ballot — nearly two years after residents voted against a measure to move it to Riverside.