A graduate of the Class ’65 AT North Babylon High School, Barbara Leun is the newly elected school board president. She is replacing former board president Janet Meyerson.

Leun is devoted the North Babylon School District, she said, and is looking forward to the challenges of her new post.

“I have lived in North Babylon for 54 years; I moved out here from Brooklyn in the fourth grade,” said Leun.

She raised her two children here, William and Deborah, both graduates of the North Babylon school system.

Leun also taught locally, serving as an English teacher in Lindenhurst High School for 32 years.

“After I retired, I felt like I wanted to give back to the community,” she said. In 2004, she joined the school board.

As board president, she will facilitate board meetings, make sure community members’ opinions are welcome, peruse the meeting agendas with the superintendent and sign legal paperwork as the representative of the board, she explained. At the same time, she said that “all board member are equal …we all get one vote.”

This is the first time she has served as president of the board.

In other board news:

•After previously cutting all five elementary school librarian positions, the district will rehire 2.5 librarians back after finding funds in the budget. Thetwo full-time teachers and one part-time teacher will float between all the elementary schools. Thesuperintendent will fully unveil this plan at an upcoming school board meeting.

•The board will consider a new format for the district’s external suspension program;

•The board has begun their search for superintendent following the announcement by Superintendent Dr. Aloise that he will retire December 2010. The board will interview an internal candidate who has applied for the position – who currently works for the district. If they do not find a candidate internally, the board plans to widen their search. “We are taking it one step at a time,” said president Barbara Leun. The greater community will be involved in the appointment process, she said, including representatives from local civic groups, a parent and teaching staff.