North Bellmore School Board Candidate: JoAnn DeLauter

Editor's Note: This article was written by JoAnn DeLauter.

My name is JoAnn DeLauter and I have been a resident of North Bellmore for 28 years.

I have served the children and taxpayers as a trustee on the North Bellmore UFSD Board of Education for five years. I am currently serving my second term as the Board President in addition to holding the Vice President position.My fellow board members selected me to serve on the Bellmore Merrick Central High School District Board of Education two years ago.

For the last 20 years, I have strongly advocated for our children. As a member of four PTAs, I have served as President of the Park Avenue School, Grand Avenue Middle School and W.C Mepham High School. I’ve has also served as a delegate on the Coordinating Council of PTA’s in N. Bellmore, as well as Bellmore-Merrick. I have worked as a member of numerous PTA committees and district-wide committees in both districts.

I was a member of the Site Based Committee at the middle and high schools in addition to the Curriculum, Professional Development and Ranking Committees. In N. Bellmore and the Central High School District, I was a member of several district search committees as well as the North Bellmore Strategic Planning Committee. My advocacy has been recognized by the PTAs as I am recipient of the Honorary Life, Distinguished Service and the National Honorary Lifetime Achievement Awards. I also served as a Girl Scout Leader and taught Religious Education for ten years.

As a trustee on the N. Bellmore Board of Education, the board has worked tirelessly to serve the children and taxpayers of our community. Along with our Administrators, the board has worked to keep our tax levy low even before the 2 percent Tax Cap law came into effect. Surveys were sent out to parents to improve the lunch program; a bond was proposed and passed by our community which allowed the district to improve the infrastructure of our buildings.

In the past five years we have replaced boilers, repaired roofs, replaced asbestos tile floor throughout the district, replaced doors including new locking classroom doors, upgraded restrooms, added refrigerated drinking fountains to each building as well as numerous other improvements.

This year, our School Board passed a High Stakes Testing Resolution calling on members of our state and federal governments to stop using children to evaluate the adults in education. We were among only a handful in New York State to take a bold stance.

Last year, when the Jacob Gunther School was closed sending families to new buildings, the Board revised the measurements points used to determine bussing eligibility. The distances have now been recalculated to show distance to the building itself not the property line.

Our Technology Program has grown tremendously in the past five years. We have enhanced the internet capabilities using the bowtie network through BOCES, every classroom now has a smart board, more laptops have been purchased and upgrades to our security systems have been approved.

I have attended the New York State School Board Convention for four of five years on the Board, as well as locally given workshops and School Law Seminars. This is invaluable to better serve my community. It affords a board trustee the opportunity to network with other school districts throughout the state to get ideas that have been working and not working for them. I strongly believe in utilizing the professional development provided to Board Members by the NY State School Board Association to be an effective board trustee for the North Bellmore Community.

I have an Associate of Applied Sciences Degree from SUNY Farmingdale in Biological Technology and a Bachelors of Science in Animal Science from West Virginia University.My husband Ed and I will be celebrating our 28th anniversary this year. We have four children who have all benefited from being educated in the North Bellmore Union Free School District and the Bellmore Merrick High School District. Edward will graduate of Albany Law School next week, Margaret graduated from SUNY New Paltz and is currently a naturalist in New Mexico, Kathryn is a junior at SUNY Albany, and JoAnn is a senior at Mepham and will be entering SUNY Oswego in the fall.

I would like to continue to serve my community as a school board trustee because I believe in and live the mission statement of the North Bellmore School District. I have knowledge and experience gained by my many years of active involvement in our schools. I have the dedication and drive needed to ensure that our students receive the best education possible and that we continue to have an affordable community to live in. I want the North Bellmore UFSD to continue to be the “best kept secret on the South Shore” for an excellent, yet affordable, educational opportunity for our children and community.