Plainview-Old Bethpage schools superintendent to head Malverne schools
Lorna R. Lewis is to become the next superintendent of schools for the Malverne Union Free School District. She is currently superintendent is the Plainview-Old Bethpage schools. Credit: NYS Council of School Superintendents
Malverne school district officials announced Monday that Lorna R. Lewis, who is currently superintendent of the Plainview-Old Bethpage district, will fill the top post in Malverne to replace outgoing superintendent James Hunderfund.
“After an extensive search and rigorous process, the Board and I are excited to welcome Dr. Lewis to our community,” Board of Education President Danielle Hopkins said, in a news release that was also posted on the district's website. “Dr. Lewis brings a wealth of experience and perspectives that will drive our district into the future.”
Lewis, whose salary is currently $307,064, according to state Department of Education records, is set to begin in Malverne on Aug. 1.
Administrators and board members have scheduled a meet and greet with Lewis for Thursday, March 5, at 7 p.m. in the Malverne Performing Arts Center.
“I am overwhelmed with gratitude to be following my esteemed colleague Jim Hunderfund, who has accomplished so much already for the students and community of Malverne,” Lewis said in the news release. “I am truly honored to be chosen to build upon these successes and move the district into the next era of outstanding achievements.”
Lewis has some 40 years in a career in education that began as a math and Advanced Placement physics instructor at the private Collegiate School in Manhattan, officials said in the release.
She had also served as an administrator as a science chair in the Rockville Centre Union Free School District, science director in Uniondale Union Free School District, deputy superintendent in the Three Village Central School District and superintendent in the East Williston Union Free School District before joining Plainview-Old Bethpage as superintendent.
A former adjunct professor teaching graduate science methods courses at Hofstra University, Lewis has also served as president of the New York State Council of School Superintendents and as co-chair of its curriculum committee. She has been president of the Nassau County Council of School Superintendents, and now serves on the board of ERASE Racism.
Lewis holds a bachelor of science degree in physics from Fordham University as well as three master’s degrees in addition to a doctorate in science education, from Teachers College at Columbia University.
Hunderfund has served as superintendent in Malverne since 2007, a year after retiring as superintendent of Commack schools. In 2016, his pension, at $317,289, was the fourth-highest in the state, a Newsday analysis found. His current annual salary, according to DOE records, is $239,190.
