Jericho board and community honor superintendent Hank Grishman at retirement celebration

The Jericho Board of Education and local leaders used their June 12 meeting to recognize Superintendent Hank Grishman and a large group of retiring staff after three decades in the district.

County legislator Ronnie Drucker presented a plaque and called Grishman’s decades of service “an indelible impression” on the community. Cindy Rogers, district director for Congressman Tom Suozzi, said the congressman sent a flag that had “flown over the capital,” and Paul Ehrlich delivered a state senate proclamation on behalf of Senator Jack Martins.

Students and school organizations led much of the evening’s testimony. High school and middle school council members emphasized Grishman’s accessibility and impact on student programs: “You lead with an incomparable love and vision,” one student told him. Teacher- and staff-representatives, including Janine Segunifan, president-elect of the CSEA, and the head of the JTA, thanked Grishman for his day-to-day support of staff and the district’s learning culture.

That community recognition preceded a formal board motion. The board offered a resolution “that the Board of Education extends sincere appreciation” to retirees and, after a voice vote, the resolution was carried.

The meeting also featured individual tributes to many retiring employees — classroom teachers, specialists, aides, custodial and administrative staff — with colleagues recounting program-building, mentorship and classroom traditions. The board noted an aggregate retiree payout line in the fiscal schedules tied to those departures that auditors will verify during the summer review.

Grishman closed his remarks describing the moment as “bittersweet” and thanked the community for three decades of partnership. The board’s recognition and the donations, proclamations and student tributes mark the culmination of his tenure and a transition period the district said it will manage into the coming year.