Discord on the West Hempstead Board of Ed

Can’t we all just get along?

West Hempstead Board of Education Trustee Cynthia Di Miceli said at the board’s July 12 meeting that she would like to believe everyone can indeed get along. During the first part of the board’s meeting — the reorganization meeting during which Trustees Walter Ejnes and James Mariano were elected president and vice president, respectively — Di Miceli expressed her concern for the “lack of harmony” on the board.

Before the board voted to elect the two trustees to their new positions, Di Miceli asked Ejnes how he will handle conflicts amongst board members. Her question was never answered because the board’s legal counsel advised Di Miceli that as a result of procedure she could not ask questions at that time. Neither Di Miceli nor Trustee Rudolph Schindler voted for the two men, who were elected by a majority of 4-2.

In an interview with the Herald, Di Miceli explained why she had asked the question, and it had nothing to do with her personal feelings toward Ejnes. “I think that somewhere along the process every board member should have the right to know why this person wants to be president,” Di Miceli said. “I adore Walter, I like Walter. I don’t want anybody to perceive this otherwise. … I wanted my question answered.”

That question was “fair and honest,” Di Miceli added, saying it is apparent that conflicts of personality, differing thought processes and contrasting interpretation of operational procedures exist on the board, which recently lost a trustee. Tony Brita, who served one term on the board before his re-election to a second term in May 2010, resigned from the board on June 30. Although he declined to comment on his reason for resignation, some people have speculated it is related to the types of conflicts to which Di Miceli had referred — the conflicts were also apparent to residents present at last week’s meeting.