YONKERS, NY: Mayor Amicone Press Release

Amicone Names Former WCC Dean to Board of Education

Yonkers, N.Y.—Calling him an “exceptionally qualified and eminently respected member of Westchester’s academic community,” Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone today named John Flynn, Ph.D., the former Dean of Academic Affairs at Westchester Community College (WCC) for more than two decades, to fill a vacancy on the Yonkers Board of Education.

Flynn’s appointment will fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Capt. Thomas Spaun of the Yonkers Fire Department last month, whose injury on the job prevented him from filling out the duration of his term. In accordance with the city’s charter, the appointment was made by the Mayor and does not require approval of the City Council or of the Board of Education. Flynn will fill the remainder of Spaun’s term, which expires in May of 2008.

“This new year will bring several needed changes to education in Yonkers and I’m confident that none will meet with higher regard or with greater acceptance than the addition of Dr. Flynn to the Board of Education,” Amicone said at a noon news conference at City Hall. “Dr. Flynn has been a professional educator in our community for more than 30 years. No one is more qualified or more eager to help guide the course of public education in our city.”

Dr. Flynn, 62, is a Yonkers resident and holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. from Columbia University and an A.B. from Fordham University where he graduated Cum Laude. He began his career in education with brief stints at Barnard College as a teaching assistant, and as adjunct faculty at Brooklyn College, Adelphi University and Dowling College in the late 1960’s. He joined the faculty of WCC in 1972 where he became Dean of Academic Affairs in 1982, serving in that capacity until his retirement in 2005.

“I am humbled by the confidence the Mayor has shown in me and assure both he and the people of Yonkers that I will live up to the expectations placed upon me,” remarked Flynn. “I am eager to begin the task with which I have been entrusted—making quality public education a dependable and exemplary resource for this city’s many youth.”

Flynn will join a board that faces tough challenges in the year ahead, but with renewed promise. Just last week, the board selected Bernard Pierorazio as the school system’s new Superintendent, a choice met with wide acceptance from city officials as well as critics of the Board of Education. Also last week, a tough new ethics law designed to prevent the kinds of problems that have plagued Board of Education officials in the past was enacted by Mayor Amicone.

“We are entering a new day for education in Yonkers, and the appointment of an esteemed professional like Dr. Flynn is symbolic of that new day,” exclaimed Amicone. “This administration is strongly committed to making the necessary changes and tough decisions to put education on a better track for the children of this city.”

Posted By Yonkers Newswire Editor Brian Harrod