The Board of Education meeting on Sept. 27 was a celebration of the work of trustees past and hope for the success of trustees for the future. Past Board President Pam Morano was honored and Jeff Minett became the latest trustee to join the Board.

The Western Property Owners' Association announced at the end of the summer that its Nominating Committee had selected Jeff Minett to represent it on the Board of Education. During the Sept. 27 meeting of the Board of Ed, the trustees voted and approved the appointment, adopting the following resolution: "Be It Resolved, that the Board of Education appoints Jeff Minett of the Western Property Owners' Association as a member of the Board of Education to fill the vacancy of James F. Ryan until the next general election." Minett was sworn in by Dan Bryan, assistant superintendent for business.

The vacancy was created when Board of Education Trustee Jim Ryan died suddenly in his offices Wednesday, May 19, of a heart attack at age 47. Ryan's death came a day after the Board of Education successfully passed its 1999-2000 budget and followed a long career of volunteerism in the community. (Those wishing to pay tribute to this community leader may send donations to the Ryan Educational Fund, c/o Brian R. Corcoran, Cushman and Wakefield, 51 West 52nd Street, NY, NY 10019-6178. Brian Corcoran can be reached at 212-841-7885.)

In addition to swearing in a new trustee, a resident who had not only served as a trustee, but former president Pam Morano was honored with a plaque from the Board. The Nominating Committee of the Eastern Section began seeking candidates for the school board in March of 1998 to fill the vacancy created by the sudden resignation of School Board President Pam Morano. She resigned after struggling with a long period of illness. Pam Morano was described in an article in Garden City Life in the Thursday, April 28, 1994 issue by Michael Maloney as she prepared to join the school board as having "for ten years acted as a watchdog of the school and Village boards."

Morano was also honored by former Village Board Trustee Eileen Collins, who thanked her fellow resident for years of service with a bouquet of flowers. Collins herself has been selected for the last two years to emcee the annual SEPTA Spring Festival because of her long history as an advocate for special education and her work for the children of the Village. Collins told Garden City Life after her last night as a Village Trustee in March 1998 that the she feels that as a special education teacher who now teaches a fifth-grade inclusion class at Willow Road School in Franklin Square, she has a direct involvement and personal interest in this cause. She added that the Spring Festival incorporates "all [of her] loves: people, children, the Village, and people who have a cause to be championed!"

As the meeting got underway and trustees reported on the success of Back to School Nights throughout the district and the business of running the district began again, the long history of volunteered service and leadership was made that much clearer thanks to the opening ceremonies of the meeting. As residents become trustees and dedicate their time and energies toward the future of education in Garden City and parents attend and contribute input, the process by which the district is run, policies are made, and academic programs are developed, can be seen as a sharing of ideas between neighbors.

The next School Board meeting is Oct. 18.