Riverhead school board fills vacant seat with education professor Julio Gonzalez

The Riverhead Board of Education last week appointed Julio Gonzalez of Riverhead to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of trustee Brian Connelly in June.

Gonzalez has spent his career working in special education and is currently a professor of education at SUNY Old Westbury, where he specializes in training educators of individuals with disabilities. He lives in Riverhead with his wife and two children, who will both enter Riverhead High School this year.

A volunteer with the Riverhead Community Awareness Program, Gonzalez was asked to join the board by school board member Cynthia Redmond, who works for the program.

His appointment is to a term that will expire when the school board election takes place in May. The candidate who places fourth in that contest will finish out the term vacated by Connelly, which expires June 30, 2027.

Scudder said that the district received emails and resumes from several district residents interested in serving on the board. Gonzalez’s “experience and background” made his appointment “a no-brainer,” Scudder said.

“He’s just a very smart man, down to earth — and, you know, he’s going to bring a great perspective,” Scudder said of Gonzalez. 

In a phone interview Friday, Gonzalez said he wants to support the district and its new superintendent, Robert Hagan. He added that his interest in the Riverhead Central School District predated his move to the area because of its diversity.

“I’m serious about the board and its work and in what ways can I support them best and the community,” Gonzalez said. “My wife and I have been part of the public school system for many, many years and we’re believers in it. We think that it’s the best way to address most of the issues of a society, if not all.”

Originally from Puerto Rico, Gonzalez is now the only Hispanic member of the school board. Hispanic or Latino students make up the majority of the district’s enrollment — 64% during the 2023-2024 school year, according to state data.

With a professional background in special education, Gonzalez said he is “interested in equitable relationships between students — that everybody’s treated fairly and equitably.”

“Many children are here in this country because they were brought here — they did not decide that,” Gonzalez said. “And it is our responsibility to take care of them educationally, and I think we all benefit from that.”

Board members, new superintendent sworn in

Also at the July 8 meeting, board members reelected James Scudder as board president for another school year and elected Erica Murphy as vice president.

Oaths of office were administered to Scudder and trustee Matthew Wallace, who were both reelected in May, as well as the district’s new superintendent, Robert Hagan.

The board also held its annual organizational meeting, during which it addressed several routine items, including approving appointments to board committees, renewing annual employee contracts, appointing summer session staff and faculty, and naming club advisors and coaches.

The board approved an annual employment contract with Assistant School Transportation Supervisor Eric Motley, who will receive an annual salary of $87,000 plus benefits. It also approved consulting agreements with former Interim Superintendent Cheryl Pedisich and former Interim Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Alan Baum through the end of the current school year. 

Pedisich will be paid $1,000 per day, and Baum $150 per hour, to work as a consultant to the superintendent on an as-needed basis. Pedisich will assist in Hagan’s transition into the superintendent role, while Baum will support the transition of the new assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, Laura Arcuri.