Manhasset Board of Education re-elected Steven Panzik as its president at its reorganizational meeting Thursday night, and selected Ted Post as vice president.
Panzik was elected to the board in 2022. This will be his second year serving as the board’s president.
The board also swore in newly elected Trustee Maria Pescatore.
Marianna Bruno, who was elected alongside Pescatore, was not present at the swearing in.
Pescatore and Bruno narrowly defeated Eileen Bauer in the board’s election in May.
The three newcomers ran for the two open seats left by board members not seeking re-election.
Pescatore received 912 votes, Bruno received 864 votes and Bauer received 843 votes.
The board also voted for a letter to be sent to the state Education Department in opposition of a proposal to permit transgender girls to try out and compete on a sports team.
“It’s possible that girls lose positions, lose opportunities, to participate on certain teams because those opportunities are cannibalized by boys who try out,” Superintendent Gaurav Passi said.
Panzik said the letter argues the education department’s proposal would be a violation of the federal government’s Title IX protections for female athletes and overrides the school district’s current control in exercising discretion in these situations.
He said currently it is within the district’s athletic director’s discretion to grant if an athlete can play on a team of the opposite gender. He said it is currently addressed on a case-by-case basis.
Nassau County Republican legislators recently backed a plan backed by County Executive Bruce Blakeman to bar transgender girls and women from playing for teams at country facilities.
The board previously discussed this issue before drafting a letter. The main concern at that time was limiting the ability of girls to make a team, such as softball, where there is no boy’s team.
Passi said the proposal changes the determination of an athlete to be on a team in this scenario based solely on their tryout performance and athleticism. The district would not be able to restrict their admittance on a team for any other reason.
In other news, Passi presented to the board the district’s elementary enrollment projections for 2024-2025 and updates on construction.
Passi said class size numbers continue to be below the district’s guidelines.
“I think we’ve made strides and we’ve allocated resources to make sure that this is a priority,” Panzik said.
The projected enrollment for Shelter Rock Elementary School ranges from 68 students in Kindergarten to 106 in sixth grade. Four to five classroom sections are to be held for each grade.
Projected class sizes all remain at or below 22 students, with some as low as 17 as projected for all kindergarten sections.
At Munsey Park Elementary Schools, class size projections are slightly larger in some grades yet stay at or below 23 students each. Increases are shown in grades like kindergarten which does have some classes that go up to 18 students.
The projected enrollment at Munsey Park is also larger, with a range of 87 students in kindergarten to 151 in sixth grade. Each grade will hold five to seven class sections.
Multiple construction projects are taking place at Munsey Park, which Passi said are mostly on schedule. This includes the north parking lot, boiler replacement, locker room renovations, library renovations and bathroom renovations.
Air conditioning renovations at Shelter Rock, Munsey Park and the secondary school have begun as well, with Shelter Rock planned to be completed next week.
Passi said Munsey Park air conditioning renovation will not be completed until summer 2025 due to supply chain issues.
Solar panels are also being installed at Munsey Park and Shelter Rock, but the secondary school project won’t begin until the other two have been completed.
The district had also been waiting on building permits from the state, but Passi said some have been pushed forward in the process. This includes work on the district’s life skills classroom and auditorium reconstruction.
He said he plans for permits to be issued by the beginning of the school year.
“All of that is proceeding as scheduled and I’ll continue to keep the board updated,” Passi said. “We’re really looking forward to these new projects, especially at Munsey Park. These new spaces should be absolutely beautiful, and adding additional small group construction space and renovating the library I think are really beneficial.”
The board will hold its next meeting on Aug. 27.