After six years of serving on the Plainview-Old Bethpage Board of Education, former trustee, Angel Cepeda, decided not to seek re-election this past May 21, and recently took time to reflect on his tenure on the school board.
“It has been an honor to serve the Plainview-Old Bethpage community — while some may not have always agreed with my positions on various issues, I trust nonetheless that I was considered honest and principled,” Cepeda said.
Superintendent of Plainview-Old Bethpage Schools Lorna Lewis praised Cepeda’s work on the board, saying: “It has been an honor to serve as superintendent with Mr. Cepeda as a dedicated board member. His distinguishing feature for me was that he was always focused on the good for the community and helped to forge many significant partnerships with the business community and our schools.”
“He gave generously of his time, attending all school functions and keeping up with the activities on an off the fields. We will miss his sense of humor,” Lewis said as well.
Cepeda will continue serving the community at a regional level as executive director of Action Long Island — a nonprofit organization established in 1981 to promote business and economic development on Long Island.
Drawing on his background and skill sets, Cepeda said he campaigned on and championed fiscal discipline, coupled with strategic technological investments.
“As I reflect on my two terms of service, I am proud that we have been able to maintain the programs that make POB [Central School District] so special, while respecting our taxpayers with the lowest increases over any like time period,” Cepeda said. “I am also very proud of the strategic technological investments we have made in order to provide our students, faculty and administrators with the tools necessary to learn and compete in a digital world.”
Cepeda said that “leadership and learning” are “indispensable to each other — if as a nation we are to continue to be a global leader in business, innovation and human rights, then we need to provide our students with a premier education balanced with sound moral principles.”
As Cepeda leaves the school board, he says that significant challenges lie ahead for the district and public education “because, under the tax cap, program offerings must be prepared through addition by subtraction, and the implementation of APPR, Common Core and Standardized Assessments must be done responsibly and fairly.”
Cepeda says he is confident that the school district “will continue to be a high-quality school district due to its caring board and community, visionary superintendent, knowledgeable administrators, inspirational faculty, conscientious staff and eager students.”
Acknowledging the supportive role of his family, Cepeda said: “I could not have been anywhere near as effective a leader without the backing of a loving family who patiently shared me with our community. They will always be my pride and joy — this public service experience has been life-changing.”
