Former E.M. superintendent to lead Nassau BOCES

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Dr. Robert Dillon, the East Meadow School District’s superintendent from 1999 to 2007, has been tabbed to become the superintendent of Nassau BOCES.

Dillon, 64, who lives in Walden in Orange County, has 40 years of educational experience, spending more than 20 of them as an administrator. He also served as superintendent of the Eastport-South Manor Central School District from 1992 to 1999.

He will be formally installed as BOCES chief at a board meeting on Thursday. One of his biggest priorities, he said, will be to take a close look at the state-mandated Common Core State Standards, which has met heavy criticism from educators and parents statewide. “Regionally, we have to look at the high stakes testing,” Dillon said. “And certainly try to calm it and bring some common sense to the Common Core.”

Nassau BOCES provides educational services for 56 school districts. It is the largest of 37 BOCES in New York. Its superintendent serves as a liaison between state education officials and regional school districts.

Currently, Dillon is the executive director of REFIT, which advocates for adequate funding for public school districts statewide, and holds a similar position in the Mid-Hudson School Study Council, which represents districts upstate. Dillon will resign from both positions upon his hiring at BOCES, he said.

His initial goal, Dillon said, is to “take a look at what we have and what we need to put together a plan that makes sense for the teachers, and for accountability, and for the kids. I look forward to it. It’s going to be a great opportunity and a challenge.”