With no one filed to run against her, Mineola’s Cheryl Lampasona seems set for another term on the school district’s Board of Trustees.
“I’m very passionate about and invested in the Mineola school community,” Lampasona said about why she is running again. “I truly believe in what the school district is doing for the students and the community itself. I really want to continue on that mission.”
Lampasona, who has served on the board for around 10 years, has two sons at Mineola High School. Outside of her work as the vice president of the school board, she teaches fourth grade at a New York City public school in Woodside, Queens, where she has taught elementary students for over 15 years.
She emphasized that everything the board does is a group effort, saying some of the things she has helped to accomplish as a trustee that she’s most proud of include the implementation of a universal pre-kindergarten program in the district during her first term, minimal tax levy increases, upgrades to academic programs, certificates and dual enrollment college credits offered for students and renovations to school buildings. She noted that the age of some district buildings hover around 100 years old.
“We always keep in mind the fiduciary contributions of the taxpayers and how we can improve the schools within certain limitations,” she said. “We’re constantly improving buildings, constantly improving programs,” she added, referencing current in-progress and planned upgrades to the district’s softball and baseball fields and middle school’s cafeteria, gym and roof.
Lampasona said she was motivated to run for a board seat initially after being active in the Hampton Street PTA, where she served as the co-president and treasurer of for a few years while her sons were at the school.
“I became really involved in the PTAs and I really enjoyed volunteering for a cause. I enjoyed seeing the fruit of my volunteering and my labor come to fruition for students, and there was a seat open on the board, and it really intrigued me,” she said. “I saw it as an opportunity to spread my wings. I’m a teacher, so I have an education background. I’m a taxpayer, just like everyone else, and I really saw the good in what the district was doing. I wanted to make sure that it continued to go in that good direction.”
“It’s really special to be a part of a community of administrators, educators, teachers and community members that really see the validity in what we do,” Lampasona added. “I just want to continue on the strength of the district. We’re able to do so much for our students, for our community. It makes me really proud, and I’m really honored to get that chance to do it again for the school community and Mineola community.”
Voters can cast a ballot in the trustee race, which will also include a vote on the school’s budget, on May 20 between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the district’s Synergy Building, across the street from the high school.
