After serving 11 terms on the Great Neck School Board of Education since 1982, Don Ashkenase says there is still work to be done and he intends to run at least once more, in this year’s May 19 board election.
Ashkenase, who has served as board president from 1985 to 1987 and vice president from 1984 to 1985, said issues the board face range from keeping class sizes low to the Common Core testing regiment.
“Low class size is one of the most important enablers of quality public education,” Ashkenase said. “It works to help people grow and develop.”
Having too many students in a classroom diminishes the educational experience for the whole, he said.
Ashkenase also said that while he believes Common Core is important for the overall quality of education in the state, he worries about the effect testing will have on students.
“We need to refine the way in which we do testing as we advance the Common Core curriculum,” Ashkenase said.
He said he also wants to ensure that the school district’s financial management remains as sophisticated as it is now.
“The school district has adhered to the tax cap of 2 percent before it was legally imposed on us, and we’ve had the extraordinary good fortune to provide the highest values in public education in low class size,” Ashkenase said.
A public health professional, Ashkenase currently serves as an adjunct assistant professor at the Columbia University School of Public Health. He got his bachelor of science degree in accounting from Brooklyn College and his MBA in hospital administration from Wagner College.
He has served as chief financial officer at both the Long Island Jewish Medical Center and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation.
Ashkenase said he and his family moved to Great Neck from Fresh Meadows, Queens in 1979 so his children could attend the Great Neck public schools. He was born in Brooklyn, but his father was in the Air Force, so his family bounced between Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and England.
Ashkenase said he initially ran for Board of Education trustee because he thought the school district leadership was going in the wrong direction. He said former Great Neck School District Superintendent Mortimer Abramowitz, who served from 1970 until 1981, precipitated the closure of two elementary schools at the time, and that his long-term plan was to close one of the high schools and one of the middle schools.
“He did not value low class size,” Ashkenase said. “His values were not in the best interest of the community.”
Ashkenase said he sees the board primarily as policy makers, and does not want to micromanage its superintendents.
“We’ve been extremely fortunate to have the superintendent leadership we’ve had,” Ashkenase said. “We treat the superintendent as if he or she is the sixth member of the board.”
Teresa Prendergast, who is the current assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for Garden City Public Schools, will succeed Tom Dolan as Great Neck’s superintendent of schools on July 15.
When looking for a new superintendent, Ashkenase said, the board looks for someone who will listen to advice and work to create a consensus among the community to solve difficult problems.
“The board is only as good and effective as the superintendent,” Ashkenase said.
If re-elected, Ashkenase was not sure if this would be his last term. He said he evaluates individual terms as they come up.
Ashkenase will be joined on the ballot by board President Barbara Berkowitz, who said she was also running for re-election. Voters will also consider the 2015-16 school budget at the same time.
Voting will take place May 19 in the multipurpose room of E.M. Baker School, at 69 Baker Hill Road, and the west gym of Great Neck South High School, at 341 Lakeville Road.
The budget for the 2014-2015 school year was for $214,067,850.
During the 2014-2015 school year, there were 6,399 registered students among the 10 schools in the district.
The schools in the district include Great Neck North High School, Great Neck South High School, the Village School, Great Neck North Middle School, Great Neck South Middle School, the Elizabeth Mellick Baker School, the John F. Kennedy School, Lakeville School, Saddle Rock School and Parkville School.
