The Massapequa Board of Education's annual reorganization meeting, held on July 8, marked much change for the school district, which has gained a number of new administrators due to retirements and resignations.

The new administrators include John Gleason, assistant superintendent for instruction, who replaces Dr. Carole Alexander, who retired; Alan Adcock, business manager, who replaces Fred Smith, who retired; and Robert J. Schilling, the district's new administrative assistant. They join Dr. Lawrence Pereira, the brand new superintendent, at the helm. Pereira replaces Dr. James Brucia, who also retired.

Also welcomed to the table was Kevin Grennan, the new school board member who was elected in May to fill the trustee spot vacated by Richard Sorvillo, who chose not to run for re-election. In addition, the board announced that Kathleen Vosburgh has been appointed as principal of Lockhart Elementary School, replacing Dr. Clara Goldberg, who resigned to accept a position as assistant superintendent in a neighboring school district.

Amid all the change, School Board President Christine Nottonson and Vice President Diane Krakoff were re-elected to their leadership positions during the reorganization meeting. Arlene Martin was elected to fill the role of board secretary, which had previously been held by former trustee Sorvillo.

"I think this is going to be a great year," said Board President Nottonson upon welcoming the district's new leaders. "We have a great team - both ongoing and incoming."

In addition to the changes in administrators, Guercio & Guercio, a Farmingdale-based law firm that represents several school districts on Long Island, was ushered in as the new counsel for Massapequa Schools. The district has opted to discontinue using the services of the district's former attorney Leroy Van Nostrand. According to Nottonson, the reason for this is that, "The board thought at this time they needed to have the expertise of many specialists, and the firm of Guercio & Guercio provides that."

In an interview this week, Superintendent Pereira also expressed optimism about the new face of the administration, and about his new role as chief administrator.

"We've got lots of new folks in a number of different positions. And what I'm about doing is really building a leadership team," he said. "And by that I don't just mean administrators. I mean a leadership team that really is comprised of board members, administrators, parents, teachers, community members."

He noted that he plans to listen to all players in the school community and give all the opportunity to be involved in district decisions, such as those regarding the ongoing renovation of the district's schools.

"It's exciting because there are some real challenges, and there are some real opportunities that all of the new folks present. Our focus is certainly going to be around implementing the capital project, and moving that forward. But really, the bottom line for us as a school district, is very simply the improvement of instruction," Pereira said. "I'll be talking to the board about what we can do and should be doing to identify our strengths, and building on what we do very well, and moving forward."