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Shoreham‑Wading River Board honors dozens of retirees at June 18 meeting
Summary
The Shoreham‑Wading River Central School District Board of Education used its June 18 meeting to recognize more than a dozen retiring staff across schools and departments, with principals and administrators praising long service in instruction, special education, athletics and finance.
The Shoreham‑Wading River Central School District Board of Education on June 18 held a lengthy recognition segment honoring more than a dozen retiring employees from classrooms, support staff and district offices.
At the start of the meeting, Superintendent Mr. Poole summarized end‑of‑year activities — Regents exams were under way at the high school, senior prom took place the same evening, and graduation rehearsal was scheduled for Thursday, June 20 with graduation weather‑contingent the following day — before the board proceeded to the retiree recognitions.
Board member Brian Hayward introduced high‑school principal Frank Palacy, who spoke about Mary Ellen Alfano’s nearly 23 years of service as a monitor and teaching assistant and thanked her for ‘‘commitment to our students and our district.’’ Palacy also honored Nancy Sperling for her long record of roles from monitor to post‑secondary office duties and praised Amanda Brown’s IT support during the pandemic, noting her work supporting nearly 800 Chromebooks.
Middle‑school principal Kevin Vann described custodian Wayne Beatty as ‘‘the heart and soul’’ of the schools, praising his reliability and personality. Vann also spoke about Maria Mistretta’s 19 years in special education and Tom Redmond’s long career teaching earth science and preparing students for Regents exams.
Several presenters highlighted noninstructional staff as well: Mark Passamante, the district’s director of athletics and related programs, recognized Elsa Vizzle for more than a decade as athletic department secretary and remembered her broader office service; assistant superintendent for business and operations Glenn O’Curie described Janet Hansen’s nearly 20 years in district finance, noting she managed roughly $100–$120 million in annual transactions as district treasurer.
Speakers repeatedly thanked retiring staff for mentorship, continuity and program stewardship. The board closed the recognition segment with applause and asked the community to join in wishing retirees well.
The meeting then moved into routine business and approvals.
