The Herricks School Board held its reorganizational meeting last week at the Center Street School Kindergarten All Purpose Room, its summer meeting venue. The first order of business on the agenda was to swear in Nalini Chugh as new school board trustee and to swear in re-elected trustee, who has served on the board for 15 years, Christine Turner.

District Clerk Helen Costigan then called for nominations for president of the board and trustee Richard Buckley nominated Peter Grisafi, who was immediately confirmed by the rest of the board members.

Griasfi took over as president and proposed Christine Turner to resume her roll as vice president and the board quickly voted yes to return her to that post.

Griasfi then proceeded with the reorganizational meeting and the board voted for the following resolutions:

* Helen Costigan be appointed district clerk for the 2005/06 school year at no additional compensation.

* Roseanne T. Corso be appointed district treasurer for the 2005/06 school year at Step 15(senior account clerk) of the agreement between the board of education and the HTA.

* Lorraine Guerra be appointed deputy treasurer for the 2005/06 school year at no additional compensation.

* Josephine Zanoni be appointed assistant district clerk for the 2005/06 school year at an additional salary of $1, 989.

* Judith Miehling be appointed Acting district clerk of the board of education for the 2005/'06 school year at no additional compensation.

* That the firm Jaspan Schlesinger Hoffman LLP, 300 Garden City Plaza, Garden City, be appointed general and labor counsel for the 2005/06 year, accordingly to, the terms of the Agreement for Attorneys' Services: dated June 14, 2005, and that the president of the board of education be authorized to sign the agreement on behalf of the board of education.

* Dr. Bagdid Baghdassarian, 38 High Oak Court, Huntington, be appointed chief school physician for the 2005/06 school year at an annual retainer of $5,400 (for his consultation with the district in a variety of student and employee health and medical issues), plus a fee for service basis ($13 for each athletic physical he performs, $150 per Varsity, JV and Middle School football game he supervises.)

* That the firm of R. S. Abrams & Co as district auditor to conduct the annual district audit, including the GASB-34 requirement for the '05/'06 school year at a fee of $30,900.

* That, on the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the board of education appoints Pappas and Company to the position of internal auditor for the 2005/06 school year at a rate of $22,800 per year.

William Tountas wanted to know if both the district auditor and the internal auditor would work together and thereby reduce the amount of work for each auditor. However, it was pointed out that it was imperative that they remain independent.

* Due to the recommendation of the superintendent of schools the board appointed the Assistant Superintendent for Business, Helen Costigan, to certify all payrolls of the district.

Costigan went into great detail explaining how she has streamlined the process so that there is very little room for error. She has sent a list of employees to all the principals, who hand out the checks, so they may cross check and then there is no hand signing of any checks. They are all on a disk that is locked in a secure location.

* The district treasurer and deputy treasurer be both bonded for $850.

* Helen Costigan be appointed purchasing agent for the board for the 2005/06 year at no additional compensation. Further that she purchase, store and distribute all supplies and equipment for which appropriations have been made with due regard to existing law, economy and efficiency and the needs and desires of the departments of the school requesting supplies. Further, that Helen Costigan be authorized to execute in the name of the board of education, any and all documents, contracts, orders or other instruments to carry out the intent of this resolution.

* Helen Costigan be appointed Records, Retention and Disposition officer for the 2005/06 school year at no additional compensation.

* Tony Cillis and Helen Costigan be appointed Sexual Harassment Compliance officers for no additional compensation.

* James Brown be appointed asbestos designee at no additional compensation.

* Deirdre Hayes be appointed Title VI (Civil Rights) Compliance Officer at no additional compensation and the building principal of the principal's designee be appointed as the second individual for insuring compliance with title VI at no additional compensation.

* Deirdre Hayes be appointed Title IX Compliance Office at no additional compensation.

* James Brown be designated Emergency Coordinator and Helen Costigan be designated Alternate Emergency Coordinator at no additional compensation.

* Deirdre Hayes be appointed the "Designated Educational Official" in accordance with Chapter 181 of the Laws of 2000 (Safe Schools against Violence in Education Act) for school year.

* Donald Barton be appointed Registrar for the Herricks School District.

* Trustee Nalini Chugh was appointed, by the board, to be the Parliamentarian to the board for the year.

* Superintendent and the president of the board are authorized to sign applications for approved ESEA Title I and other Federal Chapter programs to which the district is entitled by federal law.

* Superintendent John Bierwirth, or designee, be authorized to approve or disapprove staff vacation days, personal days, professional and visitation days, conferences, and travel as indicated in contractual agreements in accordance with board of education policy and as provided in the budget during the '05/'06 school year.

* In accordance with Section 170.2 of the Commissioner's Regulations, Helen Costigan be authorized to make budget transfers between line item accounts, provided the transfer for any one item does not exceed $2,500 and the transfer supports activities categorically approved by the board in the annual expenditure budget. Transfers in excess of $2,500 require prior approval of the board of education.

* Helen Costigan be authorized to make payment of wages to all personnel in the school district in accordance with the board approved/and or contracted amounts and to make necessary deductions as prescribed by law and/or agreement for the '05/'06 school year at no additional compensation.

* The president of the board be authorized to sign contracts for health services for Herricks students attending private or parochial schools in neighboring districts without majority board approval if the per pupil increase is 5 percent or less over the previous year.

William Tountas questioned the wording of this resolution, but after it was explained that it was how the state set up the law between districts, it was left as it was.

* John Bierwirth was authorized to establish petty cash funds in accordance with Section 170.2 (b) of the commissioner's regulations. Specifically the petty cash funds shall be located in the following areas and be in the following amounts and the following individuals are appointed custodians:

The following will have petty cash in the amount of $100 unless otherwise stated:

Office of the Board of Education Judith Miehling; Superintendent of Schools Linda Steel; Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Mary Ann Baskoff; Director of Pupil Personnel Service Linda Sammarone; Operations and Maintenance Mary Peppard; Recreation Celayne Fields; Transportation John Conklin $50; Assistant Superintendent for Business Josephine Zanoni; High School Principal Jane Modoono; Middle School Principal Joseph Leccese; Center Street School Principal Edward Bellomo; Denton Avenue School Principal Marjorie Richardson; Searingtown School Principal Nancy Lindenauer; Shelter Rock Academy Johanna Matheson and Herricks Community Center Josephine Jozef.

* The board hereby authorizes the use of facsimile signatures for the district treasurer and the president of the board of education as well as their alternate, the deputy district treasurer, on payroll checks and checks on warrants approved by the board of education except that hand-drawn checks must contain original signatures.

* The board designated that the newspapers for the district be The Illustrated News, Williston Times, Herald Courier and Newsday.

* Depositories for the district funds be State Bank of Long Island, Bank of America, North Fork Bank and C.L.A.S.S.

The board then voted on the following dates for upcoming board meetings, all to be held at 7:15 p.m., unless otherwise noted:

July 21, regular, Center Street; Aug. 11 (set tax levy) and 25 Center Street; Sept. 8, 22, board meets with PTA Council; Oct. 6 regular, Community Center; Oct. 20 regular, Denton Avenue; Nov. 3 regular, Community Center, Nov. 17, regular, Searingtown; Dec. 1 regular, board meets with MS students, Middle School, Dec. 15, regular, Community Center; Jan. 5, regular, Community Center, Jan. 19 regular, board meets with H.S. students; Feb. 2, regular, board meets with PTA Council; Feb. 16 Budget Presentation, regular, Community Center; Feb. 28 (Tuesday) Budget, Community Center; March 2, regular, budget, Community Center; March 9, budget, Community Center, March 16, regular, budget, Community Center; April 6, regular, April 25, regular and BOCES Hearing, Community Center; May 4, Budget Hearing, regular, Center Street; May 16 Budget Vote, Community Center; May 18 regular, Center Street; June 1, regular, board meets with PTA Council, Center Street, June 15, regular, Center Street. (Note: On the evenings that the board meets with the high school and middle school students and PTA council, the regular meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m.; the meeting with students or PTA will begin at 7:30 p.m.)

* The Board of Registry shall meet in the Herricks Community Center Tuesday, May 2, between the hours of 2 and 9 p.m.

* The Chief Election Inspectors be paid in accordance with Step 4B of the Clerical/Secretarial Personnel Schedule Hourly Wage Scale and that the inspectors of the election and assistant clerks be paid in accordance with Step 1B of the Clerical/Secretarial Personnel Schedule Hourly Wage Scale.

* The board approved a long list of names of individuals appointed members of the Committee on Special Education and/or Sub Committee on Special Education and Committee on Preschool Special Education for the upcoming school year:

Director, Jacqueline Harris, Assistant Director, Jean Steins, HS SE Chairperson Carol Bourne, MS SE Chairperson Jeannette Baxter, District School Psychologists Wendy Halpern. Psychologists: Dr. Jean A. Agoglia, Dr. Frederick Jaffee, Dr. Joan Bester, Dr. Annegret Brown, Dr. Steven Shatz, Dr. Stephanie Knowles, Dr. Allison Paterson and Dr. Michael Yoo. Medical Personnel Dr. Robert Baghdassarin, Dr. Alan Cohen, North Shore University Hospital.

Parent members include: Hanna Banilevi, Dr. Lucy Benjamin, Janie Bode, Amy Brachfeld, Margaret Breitweig, Ana Paula DaSilva, Heidi Doloboff, Diane Emanuele, Jayne Ferrante, Robyn Finkelstein, Eleanor Fox, Huma Khan, Ellen LaBate, Diane Lieberman, Kathy Louie, Joanne Merkel, Lori Metaxas, Tori Peretzman, Daryl Pines, Susan Russell, Debra Ryan, Trudy Strominger, Maryanne Tenaglia, Robin Cantor, Rosemarie Cavallaro, Shalini Chandirmani, Carlos Cortez, Nina Gonzalez, Greg Grandelli, Christine Griffo, Elaine Houlroyd, Lisa Kalabacas, Cindy Miller, Joanne Molinelli, Emlyn Nieves-Vega, Judy Olsen, Elena Tortorici, Lorraine Vecchio, Marie Weynard, Carol Zeimann, Kathleen Ziet. Rosemarie Cavallaro was appointed as Surrogate Parent. An approved evaluator sent by Nassau County is invited to every CPSE meeting.

* Trustee Richard Buckley was appointed by the board of education to be the Herricks representative to the BOCES Budget Advisory Committee.

* The board approved membership in the Nassau Suffolk School Boards Association and in the New York State School Board Association.

* The board approved the Supplemental Defense and Indemnification Resolution, the Approval of Clubs and Activities, the Review and Readoption of the Student Discipline Policy.

* Each member of the board of education signed the Code of Ethics for the year. The board also approved the Readoption of the Puchasing and Investment Policies and the Readoption of Existing Policies.

(The report of the regular meeting of the Herricks School Board, held immediately after the reorganizational meeting will be in The Illustrated News issue of 7/21)