Were re-elected as president, VP last week
Anne Lawless will continue to serve as the president of the Board of Education of the Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery Central School District, and Faith Aprilante will serve as the vice-president, for the 2023-24 school year.
The two were unanimously appointed by their fellow board members at the board’s annual reorganization meeting, held on July 6 at O’Neill High School. Lawless was nominated for her position by Aprilante; Board Member Aaron Falk nominated Aprilante for vice-president.
Also at the meeting, new board member Trish Kinney was sworn into her three-year seat on the board.
Several other appointments were made at the meeting, including former Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Sheboy, now retired, as the district’s ‘legislative liaison’, a role previously filled by the late Roxanne Donnery. He, with no salary, will lobby for the district in matters pertaining to federal Impact Aid, attending conferences and legislative sessions on the district’s behalf. The first such session will be the Sept. 17-19 Fall NAFIS Conference in Washington, DC.
Also appointed was a new treasurer, Emily Kirwin. She will begin her work here on July 24, at an annual salary of $73,000. She is the wife of the district’s Director of Facilities, Chris Kirwin.
Also, Erik Mitchell was recognized as West Point’s liaison to the board.
In several other appointments made:
— Superintendent Michael McElduff is the district’s chief information officer; he is also the Civil Rights compliance officer.
— Assistant Superintendent for Business Christopher Carballo is the purchasing agent, with Joann DiLorenzo as the deputy in that role
— Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Technology Rachel Adelstein is the copyright officer
— Pupil Personnel Director
Beth Hordines returns as the 504/Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance Officer, and is the chairperson of the district’s Committee on Special Education.
— Dawn Lent is the district clerk again this year.
— Dozens of service providers were appointed.
— The law firm of Shaw, Perelson, May and Lambert, LLP’s was appointed as the school district’s attorney, at an annualized retainer agreement of $64,000 (with excess hours billable at $225 per hour.
— BCA Architects & Engineers was appointed as the district’s architects.
— Nugent and Haeussler, P.C. is the District’s Independent Audit Firm with an annual fee of $30,400.
— Two after school programs were approved for the school year ahead: the continuation of Healthy Kids After School Care at the Fort Montgomery Elementary School and the CONNECT program (West Point Association of Graduates) at the Highland Falls Intermediate School.
— The continuance of the presence of Orange County’s Sheriff’s deputies at all three schools was approved.
Many other matters were approved at the meeting; the full listing is available at www.hffmcsd.org under Board of Education and then meeting agendas.
