It seems as though the Mineola School District is forever searching for replacements for those administrators who have recently announced their departure from the district. After a search to replace former Mineola High School Principal Jay Lewis, who left after the end of the school year to become the principal at Ward Melville High School, the district hired one of its own.

The Mineola Board of Education approved the appointment of Mineola Middle School Assistant Principal Dr. Michael Nagler as the new man in charge of the high school.

Dr. Nagler spent the last two years as an assistant principal at the middle school. Prior to coming to Mineola, Dr. Nagler served as assistant principal and a social studies teacher at David A. Boody Middle School in Brooklyn. From 1989 to 1995, he also served as an adjunct professor at Touro College.

Dr. Nagler earned a bachelor of arts degree in history from SUNY Binghamton. He earned a master of arts in history from Brooklyn Collge and a doctor of education in educational administration from Columbia University.

The board approved the appointment at the August 9 public meeting and congratulated Dr. Nagler on his new position, which he will begin on August 20. "I would like to thank [superintendent of schools] Dr. Licopoli and the school board for the opportunity to bring my enthusiasm to the high school," he said. "I am a hard worker. I was very committed to the community in the middle school and I will continue that in the high school."

Vivian Rose, a Mineola resident who was present at the board meeting, said the district made a good choice in hiring Dr. Nagler, who joins new assistant principal Edward Escobar as administrators new to Mineola High School. Escobar was hired to take the place of Mike Terc, who is acting high school principal until Nagler assumes the role. Mr. Terc's retirement would then take effect.

The board of education must still find a replacement for Dr. Sam Carpentier, who resigned as principal of the Meadow Drive School for the purposes of retirement. Dr. Carpentier will not be leaving until midway through the 2001-2002 school year so the district has some time. The board must also find Dr. Nagler's replacement at the middle school. Board President Dennis Mortensen said the board would interview candidates from the applications it receives.

This past Thursday's board of education meeting marked the first one for new Mineola Superintendent of Schools Dr. Lorenzo Licopoli, who takes over for recently retired Dr. Harry Jaroslaw.

Dr. Licopoli was welcomed officially by the board of education. He is in the process of meeting all aspects of the school community including administrators, faculty, parents and students through a roll out plan. Although Dr. Licopoli jokingly said it feels like he is unpacking forever, he is getting accustomed to Mineola and has been impressed by how community members and staff have welcomed him to the district. "This is already a great school system," he said. "I'm just bubbling over with optimism and enthusiasm."

The first phase of asbestos abatement at the middle school has begun and should be completed shortly.

The installation of the new roof on the high school should begin in September.

The architects are in the process of finalizing design plans for the new Willis Avenue School. Demolition of the old school could begin at the end of November. However, the start of demolition is still being looked at since it may be cheaper to demolish the building and build a new one right away rather than have a gap of time in between. Within the next couple of weeks, the architects hope to present to the board a finalized design document.

Mortensen said the board still hopes to work on a solution for a potential parking problem at Willis. There are currently 49 spaces in the design and the district estimates there could be up to 60 employees at the school. Mortensen said there hasn't been much conversation with the village during the summer but believes the village won't take action until the building is actually there.