BOE Slated to Elect New Officers

Glenn Iannaccone wraps up his one-year term as Chairman of the Board of Education on Tuesday evening. A new slate of officers--chairman, vice chairman and secretary-- will be voted upon at the same time . "It's been one heck of a year," says the outgoing Republican chairman. "It flew by. I think it was a positive year and we accomplished a lot."


Iannaccone took over chairmanship from Rosa Murray (D) last year after the BOE elections resulted in a shift from a Democratic control to a Republican 5 to 4 majority. According to the BOE bylaws, the majority party holds the chair and vice chair positions while the secretary position is held by the minority party. Currently, Jack Chiaramonte (R) is the vice chair and Susan Hamilton (D) is the secretary.

Among his accomplishments, Iannaccone points to steering the Board through last year's zero percent increase budget. In addition, he worked with two interim superintendent and led the search process for a permanent superintendent. "Dr. Marks was an excellent choice and she's doing a great job." In addition to the BOE chief, Iannaccone says the BOE hired several new members of the central office staff. He referred specifically to Robert Polselli, the Director of IT and Pauline Smith, the Director of Special Education. "Pauline was a big coup," he said.

Iannaccone says that his strength as a leader came from "working well with both sides of the aisle." "We worked as one board in the interest of the students and staff."

BOE Vice Chairman Jack Chiaramonte is considered a likely candidate for chairmanship, since he is the next senior Republican on the Board. Iannaccone says, "My advice to the next chair is to be in control of the meeting. Don't be afraid to use the gavel.”