_________________ FREEPORT _________________
HERALD Also serving Roosevelt
Assemblymember honors women
Unity car show in Roosevelt
New display at Art Alcove
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Vol. 91 No. 34
AUGUST 20 - 26, 2026
$1.00
Freeport H.S. hosts Back 2 School Store By ANDREW FRANCIS afrancis@liherald.com
Andrew Francis /Herald
Members of the National Council of Jewish Women, along with Freeport teachers and students, volunteered their time to support the Back 2 School Store at Freeport High School.
The South Shore and Peninsula sections of the National Council of Jewish Women joined forces with Freeport Public Schools to host another visit to the Back 2 School Store, where hundreds of students and parents from local school districts received quality resources and school supplies ahead of the 2026-27 school year. The event was held at Freeport High School on Aug. 7 and 9 and made available only to students and their families who pre-registered. Hope Coleman, one of the leaders of the Lawrence-based Peninsula Section of NCJW, who has helped coordinate the event for 13 years with its South Shore counterpart, based in Rockville Centre, explained that the Back 2 School Store is intended to help families by supplying them with meaningful resources and alleviate some of the CoNtiNued oN page 10
Controversial consultants’ cut among board changes By ANDREW FRANCIS afrancis@liherald.com
Amid a series of policy reversals being implemented by the Board of Education, led by President Michael Pomerico, and Superintendent Fia Davis’s first public appearance since she was reinstated last month, significant change has come to the Freeport school district, with the promise of more on the way. At a school board meeting on Aug. 12, the board presented and approved several new initiatives that it introduced to faculty, students and parents. Several — namely, the restora-
tion of a handful of administrative roles, the effective firing of the Perkins Consulting Group and the rehiring of previously suspended or terminated district employees — were direct reversals or contradictions of previous board decisions. The most high-profile example was the district’s decision to drop its lawsuit against Davis late last month and to reinstate her. Pomerico, the newly installed board vice president, Gabriela Castillo, and new Trustee Edward Gordon now comprise a majority of the five-person board, and have been able to i m p l e m e n t m a ny ch a n g e s
quickly. The titles of executive director for personnel and human resources, executive school business administrator and executive director for pupil personnel services, created by then board President Sunday Coward last summer, are now assistant-superintendent positions. And the job of assistant superintendent for educational and administrative services, which was previously discontinued, was restored. In response to emailed questions, Pomerico told the Herald that returning to the original job titles was “appropriate” and would help “end the divisive-
ness” in the school district. “These are important positions that carry significant responsibilities and require a high level of trust and accountability,” Pomerico said. “We believe the titles should accurately reflect the roles these individuals perform and the responsibilities entrusted to them.”
The board also voted to rehire former district employees Marie Gaboton-Swift and Jimmy Jones. Gaboton-Swift, who was the interim director of personnel for the district, was terminated by then Interim Superintendent Shakirah Miller in May. While the district had not offered an explaCoNtiNued oN page 16