Schools
Kings Park Board of Ed to Leave Barrett's Seat Vacant
Board trustees will wait until general elections to fill seat rather than by appointment.
Kings Park Board of Education reached a unanimous agreement to leave the seat vacated by former trustee Liz Barrett open May.
Kings Park Board of Education's four trustees agree at their Dec. 17 meeting it would be best to let district residents vote for a new representative in May 2014 general elections rather than appoint an individual to fill the remainder of Barrett's term or host a costly special election.
"There are several community member as well as past board member I could be confident in appointing, I don't necessarily feel that would be the prudent thing for our board of education to do," said Marie Goldstein, president of Kings Park Board of Education.
Tom Locascio, vice president of the school board, said he had reached out to legal counsel for an opinion on the district's options for refilling Barrett's seats to discover they could appoint someone or host a special election that could potentially cost up to $10,000.
"There are some strong feelings in the community, and while I agree with [Marie] Goldstein there are many people who could fill that spot, I feel its best for entire community to leave that seat and let it be filled by an election," Locascio said.
On Dec. 10, Barrett resigned her seat on Kings Park Board of Education after a district employee alleged she had publicly discussed his work status.This allegation came in the midst of an investigation into a community complaint alleging Barrett of committing an ethics violation of the Board of Education's Code gift policy by accepting money from a community fundraiser.
Barrett said in her letter of resignation she felt "as though I have been targeted with mean spirited, baseless political attacks on myself, my family and those who support my efforts."
Barrett was first elected to board in 2010, and was unanimously voted to the position of vice president for the 2012-2013 school year.
In May 2013, Barrett was re-elected to a three-year term on Kings Park Board of Education receiving 1,349 votes - the highest number of received by an of the four candidates on the ballot. Her recent term was set to run through June 30, 2016.
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