The Valley Stream 13 School District and Valley Stream 24 School District Boards of Education held their annual reorganization meetings July 1 and 2.
In District 13, the meeting opened with newly elected trustee Cecil Mathew being administered the constitutional oath of office and sworn in as a member of the Board of Education.
The board then elected trustee Sarah Sabatino as president of the Board of Education. Following the unanimous vote, Sabatino was sworn into office and assumed leadership of the meeting.
Trustee Anthony Grosso was elected vice president. Because he was not present, his oath of office was deferred. Trustee Patricia Farrell was elected alternate vice president and was sworn into office. Superintendent Judith LaRocca also took the annual oath of office.
The board approved appointments for district officers, naming Jennifer Mercatante as district clerk and Brian Cleary as district treasurer.
The board appointed Mathew as alternate district clerk. The board also authorized Sabatino and Grosso to sign district checks in the absence of the district treasurer and deputy district treasurer.
Grosso, Farrell and Sabatino were also elected to represent District 13 on the Valley Stream Central High School District Board.
Board members later recognized a donation from One Church in Elmont, which provided backpacks and school supplies for District 13 students.
Trustees also discussed a request from the James A. Dever Elementary School Parent-Teacher Association to donate playground stencils for the school’s blacktop. District officials said the donation would be placed on a future agenda for formal approval.
“I think that sounds great,” Sabatino said. “I know we have something similar at Wheeler, so it’ll be very nice for Dever to have that as well.”
The following evening, the Valley Stream 24 Board of Education held its annual reorganization meeting.
Newly elected trustees Aisha Darby, Salman Quader and Thomas Dowling were sworn into office. Superintendent Unal Karakas also took the oath of office.
The board elected Annette Matthew to serve as president for the upcoming school year. Following her election, Matthew took the oath of office and presided over the remainder of the meeting.
Trustees then elected Darby as vice president after considering nominations for both Darby and trustee Markus Wilson. The board also voted to table the appointment of the district clerk until its next meeting.
Wilson, John Maier and Darby were elected to represent District 24 on the Valley Stream Central High School District Board.
The board also appointed Cleary as district treasurer for the upcoming school year. Because Cleary was not present, his oath of office will be administered later. Trustees also appointed Maier to serve as acting district treasurer whenever the district treasurer is absent or otherwise unable to serve.
In his superintendent’s report, Karakas announced the start of the 2026-27 school year. Summer school began July 6 with an expanded five-hour instructional day and will continue through July 30, while the district’s extended school year program will run through Aug. 14.
Karakas also announced that superintendent’s conference days are scheduled for Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, with students returning for the first day of classes on Sept. 2.
“We look forward to the beginning of a new school year, and we wish all of our families a very, very restful and wonderful summer ahead,” Karakas said.
Trustees also discussed the district safety plan, which is available for public review on the district website and is scheduled for adoption at the next business meeting.
