The Elmont Board of Education reorganization meeting, held on the eve of the nation's birthday, illustrated that the Elmont Board of Education remains divided as the board couldn't agree on the hiring of a district clerk. Perhaps more importantly than not being able to agree on a district clerk, the board minority accused the majority of acting inappropriately with respect to the hiring of another person for the clerk's position.

Last school year, it was board president Robert Nori, board vice president Lorraine Ferrigno, board member Pamela Monteverde and board member Frank Ragona who made up the majority of the board with former board president Aubrey Phillips, board member Elsy Mecklembourg-Guibert and board member Pamela Byer making up the minority.

Now, because of Nori and Monteverde's decision not to run for re-election, there has been a shift in the majority of Elmont's Board of Education. Based on the discussions that took place at the reorganization meeting, it is clear that Phillips, Byer, Guibert and newly sworn-in trustee Carol Parker-Duncanson make up the board majority while the board minority is made up of Ferrigno, Ragona and newly sworn-in trustee Michael Jaime.

As is customary at a board of education reorganization meeting, the board makes its appointments for the 2007-2008 school year. One of those appointments is for district clerk.

The board majority chose not to re-appoint Carol Pane to the position but instead to appoint Annette Sullivan as the acting district clerk and then appoint Hillary Yates to the position for the 2007-2008 school year.

The move seemed to incense Ragona and Ferrigno, who both accused the board majority of illegally meeting to discuss their decision not to re-appoint Pane. Ragona accused Phillips of orchestrating the plan and then telling Byer, the new board president, Guibert, the new board vice president, and Duncanson, the new board trustee, how to vote.

"What gave Mr. Phillips the right to speak on behalf of seven people?" asked Ragona.

Ragona even criticized Phillips for smiling at one point during the meeting while at another point, Ferrigno read the definition of "totalitarian" as she stated that the Elmont School Board was no longer a democracy. Ferrigno also asked the board majority if Pane was not being re-appointed because her skin color wasn't black.

Jaime chimed in that, as a new board member, he was not afforded the respect of being part of a decision to not re-appoint the district clerk and appointing another person to fill the position.

Phillips did not offer any particular reason in public why Pane wasn't being appointed since job performance would be an executive session item. Pane, who later spoke at the board meeting, seemed to think it was because Phillips didn't believe she included what he wanted stated in the minutes.

However, Phillips pointed out that the district clerk, according to state education law, is a one-year appointment and it is under the board's discretion who should be appointed to that position.

Phillips said to the other board members if they did not feel comfortable voting for Yates, her appointment could be tabled until the other board members were comfortable voting on a district clerk. The appointment was tabled until a future meeting. The board has scheduled an additional meeting on July 19 at 7 p.m. at the Elmont Road School.

Despite accusations from Ragona and Ferrigno that Phillips, Byer, Guibert and Duncanson met illegally and decided to dismiss Pane and appoint Yates to the position, Phillips asked the board's attorney if any of the board's actions fell outside the realm of state law. Board attorney Colum Nugent answered that he did not find any violation of the law.

Still, Ragona and Ferrigno felt the board majority acted inappropriately. While Ragona and Ferrigno pointed fingers, their actions last July weren't all too different from those they were accusing their colleagues of.

On July 27, 2006, the board majority, which then consisted of Nori, Ferrigno, Monteverde and Ragona, met in a special meeting at the Elmont Road School. At that special meeting, Phillips, Guibert and Byer were not present.

At that meeting, the four present board members voted to expend taxpayer money for the purposes of retaining the law firm of Ingerman Smith L.L.P. to investigate the actions of Phillips regarding comments he made to the Three Village Times for an article about a salary increase granted to superintendent of schools Al Harper.

The four members of the board met without the presence of even Phillips, who the firm of Ingerman Smith was going to investigate the actions of.

There wasn't much opportunity for the public to attend this special meeting either. Notice of the July 27, 2006 special meeting wasn't posted on the district website until 3:05 p.m. July 26.

The then board majority, with preparations from Ingerman Smith, eventually sent a petition to the State Education Department in Albany to have Phillips removed from the school board.

Now that the board majority has shifted, it still remains a divided board. Discussions on the appointment of a district clerk and removing the Elmont Herald as an official newspaper may have consumed time but did little else to advance the education of Elmont.

The Elmont School Board chose Pam Byer as its president and Elsey Mecklembourg-Guibert as its vice president. Byer thanked the board for bestowing the honor upon her. "This is not a district of foolishness. This is a district that demands children be taught," she said. "As I look around this table, I see board members that want to reach the goals of this district. I know everything on this board. This is what you want to accomplish. This can be accomplished with trust and respect." Elmont's two representatives to the Sewanhaka Central High School District Board of Education will be Aubrey Phillips and Carol Parker-Duncanson. The only other nomination was for Lorraine Ferrigno but the majority of the board elected Duncanson to serve on the Sewanhaka board. The next meeting of the Elmont Board of Education will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 7 at the Elmont Road School. The public portion of the meeting will begin at 8 p.m.