Summer is in full swing and kids are off enjoying their vacation time, but there is still plenty of action going on behind the scenes in Bay Ridge’s school scene.
The School District 20 Community Education Council (CEC), also known as CEC 20, recently held its first meeting since the members’ new terms in office began following the citywide CEC elections. At that meeting, the members chose a veteran education advocate to lead them for the next two years.
Laurie Windsor, who is entering her sixth term as a CEC20 member, was elected by her fellow members to serve as the panel’s president for the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 school years.
“It’s a huge compliment. I appreciate the support. But it’s not about me. We’re a team,” Windsor told the Brooklyn Eagle on Monday.
The CEC 20 members also elected First Vice President Eileen McKenna; Second Vice President Zi Yi Pan; Secretary Bob Lee; and Treasurer Sheila Higginson.
The members are Adele Doyle, Eileen Connelly Garcia, Amany Naseif, Stanley Ng, Mary Ann Ortiz and Robert Yee. Ezana Ceman, a student at Fort Hamilton High School, was appointed to serve as the student representative.
CEC members, who were elected in an online voting process that took place in April and May, will serve a two-year term.
CEC 20 covers public schools in Bay Ridge and in parts of other neighborhoods including Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Borough Park and Sunset Park.
As CEC 20 president, Windsor serves as the chief spokesman and advocate for parents of public school children in the district.
There are CECs in each one of the city’s 32 school districts. CECs function as advisory panels and review a district’s educational programs, make decisions on school zoning and hold public hearings on educational issues.
Under state law, nine of the 12 CEC members are elected by PTA leaders in the district and those nine members must have at least one child in a public school in the district. The other three members, including the student representative, are appointed by the borough presidents in each borough. In CEC 20, members Higginson, Ng and Ceman were appointed by Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.
In related District 20 news, Karina Costantino, who has served as the district’s school superintendent for several years, has been re-appointed by Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña.
Windsor, an organizer and manager of nonprofit groups, and her husband Andrew, director of the Administrative Services Division of the New York Hotel Trades Council, have three children and live in Bath Beach.
In addition to her role on CEC 20, Windsor also serves as vice chairman of Community Board 11 in the Bensonhurst-Bath Beach area; is on the board of directors of the HeartShare School, a school for autistic children at 1825 Bath Ave. that is operated by HeartShare Human Services of New York; and is a member of Ragamuffin Inc., the nonprofit organization that sponsors the annual Ragamuffin Parade in Bay Ridge.
Under Windsor’s leadership, CEC 20 got right down to business after the election of officers at the meeting. The panel “did some housekeeping,” according to Windsor, who said the session focused primary on scheduling dates for public meetings and selecting which school members would serve as liaisons. Each school has a CEC liaison.
CEC 20 has its own process of assigning members to serve as liaisons. Instead of each member picking the schools he or she wants to serve, the board leaves it up to chance.
“We pick them out of a hat,” Windsor told the Eagle. “And if you pick your own kid’s school, you put it back and pick again.”
The CEC 20 members all agreed that serving as a liaison to the school where one’s child goes is not a good idea. “You’re at your child’s school as a parent, not as a CEC member,” Windsor said. “When you’re a liaison, you’re meeting with the parents at the school to find out what their concerns are.”
