Riverhead board appoints Julio Gonzales, elects officers and swears in student representative

The Riverhead Central School District Board of Education on an organizational motion appointed Dr. Julio Gonzales to fill a vacant board seat and then completed officer elections and several oaths of office.

Board members said the appointments and officer elections were routine for the district’s reorganizational meeting, which included administering oaths to newly appointed and elected officials.

The board approved a motion to appoint Dr. Julio Gonzales to the vacant trustee seat; the motion passed. Following that action the board administered the oath of office to Dr. Gonzales. The board then proceeded with nominations and votes for board leadership: James Scudder was nominated and elected president of the Board of Education; Erica Murphy was nominated and elected vice president. The student representative, Eric Gabrielson Jr., was introduced and sworn in at the meeting. The superintendent, Dr. Robert Hagen, and the district clerk also took oaths during the reorganizational portion of the meeting.

All of the listed appointments and elections were presented to the board and approved as motions during the reorganizational meeting. The board recorded the approvals as passing on the motions called; no roll-call tallies were provided in the meeting record for these items. The new appointee’s term was described as extending through the district’s May budget vote and board election, should he choose to run again.

Less formal items handled alongside the appointments included temporary chair arrangements to conduct the reorganizational business and the formal swearing-in of district officials. The meeting then recessed into executive session and later reconvened in open session to continue regular business.

Board members welcomed the newly appointed and elected officials and noted they looked forward to working with the new superintendent and student representative.

The board moved from the reorganizational agenda into its regular monthly meeting after completing the oath and appointment items; subsequent agenda items covered committee assignments, policies and routine approvals.