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By SHANTAL RILEY sriley @ tcnewspapers . com

The Newburgh school board has voted unanimously to extend the contract for Newburgh school district Superintendent Roberto Padilla . According to board President Carole Mineo , the length of the contract is “ to be determined ” at a later date .

Audience members rose to their feet and applauded the unanimous decision by the board at its regular meeting on June 21 .

Padilla stood up to receive congratulations from district staff and board members moments after the vote . “ I want to thank the Board of Education and the community for your confidence in me ,” the Newburgh native said . “ Let ’ s unite as a community to make the possibility for a few the reality for all .”

The board later voted to approve a 2-percent increase to Padilla ’ s base salary for the 2015-2016 school year . Padilla ’ s current contract ends in June 2017 .

Padilla , an NFA graduate , began serving as the Newburgh Enlarged City School District superintendent in 2014 . A grass-roots campaign , in support of extending Padilla ’ s contract , culminated in a rally held outside of the NFA main building about an hour before the board voted . Rallyers held signs which read , “ He ’ s the right man for the job ,” and “ Support Dr . Padilla ; he supports our children .”

“ He ’ s done a lot for the school district ,” said rally-goer Lily Norton . “ I believe he ’ s making a difference ,” said Lisseth Morales .

In the weeks leading up to the vote , Padilla supporters accused board members Ken Copertino , Joseph Minuta , Darren Stridiron and board President Mineo of planning to vote in a block against an extension of the superintendent ’ s contract . None of the four board members responded to

Mid Hudson Times , Wednesday , June 29 , 2016

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original plan was to do it with tankers ,” said Padilla . “ I thought pumping water through five-inch hoses would be the best way to do it .”

Padilla credited the idea to donate the water to New Windsor Supervisor George Green . “ It ’ s the right thing to do ,” Green said earlier this month . “ How can we go

Supporters of Newburgh Superintendent of Schools Dr . Roberto Padilla hold a rally in front of NFA .

requests for comments this month .

“ He ’ s the only reason my daughter ’ s in school ,” said Jeanne Reese , whose daughter was home-schooled for a time following a family tragedy . “ It ’ s unfortunate when a board is willing to overlook the needs of the students to accomplish an individual agenda .”

“ I ’ m here to stand with Dr . Padilla ,” said Assemblyman Frank Skartados .

The assemblyman ticked off a number of achievements seen since Padilla arrived to the district two years ago . “ The graduation went up , the dropout rate has gone down ,” he said .

Under Padilla ’ s guidance , Temple Hill Academy went from being an underperforming school to one in good

through the whole summer without the children having their swimming pool ?”

Earlier in June , New Windsor won the first-prize award for “ Best Drinking Water in Orange County .” It is the second time in the last two years the town has taken the prize .

City of Newburgh water restrictions remained in place as of Tuesday this week . “ If this was closed , it would be a standing in less than a year , he said .

Skartados said Padilla came to his office not long ago to ask for support to have the district join the state ’ s My Brother ’ s Keeper initiative , addressing opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color . “ He believes in results , productivity , accountability ,” said Skartados . “ There ’ s nothing wrong with that .”

Skartados noted Padilla himself is a product of the Newburgh school district . “ He has gone through adversity ,” Skartados said . “ He has experienced poverty . I don ’ t believe anyone is more qualified to tackle the challenges we are faced with in the school district .”

great loss to the city ,” said city Recreation Director Derrick Stanton at poolside that night . Referring to the donation , he said , “ It ’ s a community thing .”

The City of Newburgh Aquatic Center is open from 12:30 to 4:30 p . m . on Monday to Saturday . Admission is $ 2 for adults and $ 1 for children 17 and under . For more information , call 565-3230 .