_______________ east meadow ______________
Ready for 47th soccer tourney
EMFD to mark 95th anniversary
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Vol. 25 No. 34
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AUGUST 21 - 27, 2025
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HERALD What to expect from state cellphone ban ized plan regarding the storage of cellphones, providing administrators and teachers East Meadow School District with the flexibility to suit the officials recently announced needs of the building and its their plans to implement a new students. Rosner said East Meadow’s statewide policy prohibiting students in grades K-12 from elementary school students would be discourusing cellphones aged from bringing during the school devices to school. day. However, if they At a special choose to bring a Board of Education device, they will be meeting last month, required to store it Superintendent in an individual Ke n n e t h Ro s n e r cubby. said the district’s Middle and high ban on the use of school students will internet-connected also be required to devices would align store their devices with most other disin a designated tricts in Nassau l o c k e r. R o s n e r County. added that noncomThe new policy, pliance would be approved as part of met with progresthe fiscal year 2026 KENNETH RoSNER s ive d i s c i p l i n e, state budget, took Superintendent of including increaseffect on Aug. 1, in schools, ingly severe conseaccordance with a East Meadow quences for repeat state law to make offenders. schools “distracThe state secured $13.5 miltion-free.” The initiative was announced in May, making lion in funding for schools that New York the largest state in need assistance in purchasing the nation with restrictions on storage solutions, and Rosner said the district would use the smartphones in schools. T h e p o l i cy a l l ow s e a ch money to purchase universal school to develop an individualContinued on page 12
By JACK SCHWED
Intern
Tim Baker/Herald
Summer sounds like country music The Castellows, a country music group made up of three sisters, Ellie, Lily and Powell Balkcom, took to the stage at the Harry Chapin Lakeside Theater in Eisenhower Park on Aug. 14. Story, more photos, Page 3.
State-takeover fallout: NUMC files lawsuit against ex-leader By JoRDAN VAlloNE jvallone@liherald.com
The ongoing saga between Nassau University Medical Center and its former president and chief executive continued last week, after hospital officials filed a lawsuit against Megan Ryan, citing misconduct, self-enrichment and a deliberate sabotage of hospital affairs. Over the last few months, operations at NUMC and its public benefit group, the Nassau Health Care Corporation, were taken over by New York state in accordance with provisions that passed in the state budget in May. The board was restructured to include 11 members. Gov. Kathy Hochul named most of the new board members, based on powers given to her in the most recent budget bill, and also designated the chairman, Stuart Rabinowitz, former president
at Hofstra University. The board announced Ryan’s firing in June, stating the ter mination was with “cause,” according to a letter issued by Dr. Richard Becker, the new interim chief executive of the hospital. The letter showed that Ryan authorized payments of $3.5 million to herself and others around May 30, after the state legislature began its revamp of the board. It further stated that $1 million was more than amounts that were due to Ryan and other employees. The payments, according to the board, allegedly served no valid purpose. At an Aug. 13 board meeting, according to unofficial minutes on NUMC’s website, the board ratified the act by Becker “in his capacity as interim president and CEO to discontinue the administrative leave” of Ryan and to terminate Continued on page 10
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or anything that we put forth to our students here in East Meadow, they are kind and compassionate and compliant.