The Mineola Board of Education will hold its annual reorganization meeting tomorrow, June 3, at 7 p.m. in the Willis Avenue School. At this meeting, the board will bid farewell to Trustee Mary Ellen Williams and welcome Terry Hale, who will be sworn in at the meeting.

This past year has been a difficult one for the Mineola Board of Education. In February, a former administrative assistant alleged that Superintendent of Schools Dr. Larry Licopoli and Deputy Superintendent Dr. Michael Nagler acted inappropriately, a charge both administrators vehemently denied.

While the majority of the board members felt the accusations were unsubstantiated, board member Laraine Salvatore, who was elected to the board last year, sent a petition to the New York State Commissioner of Education asking him to intervene after she alleged the board failed to take any remedial action. Salvatore believed that an independent investigation commissioned by the board did find there was wrongdoing.

Recently, the commissioner of education denied that petition. The commissioner ruled that the petitioner, Salvatore, failed to name the superintendent, deputy superintendent and board members as necessary parties in the petition.

Now, the board will attempt to move forward with three of the five members fairly new to the board. Salvatore was elected last May and Will Hornberger and Terry Hale were elected this past May. Hornberger has already been sworn in. The other two board members are John McGrath and Steve Siwinski.

- Joe Rizza