BOE picks new leaders

The Mahopac Board of Education has new leadership for the 2025-26 school year. Board members elected Michael Mongon as president and Lucy Massafra as vice president at the BOE’s July 1 reorganization meeting.

Mongon is a veteran of the school board and a former president, having served as a trustee from 2016 to 2022 before taking a year off for family health reasons. He ran again in 2023 and is entering the third year of his current term.

Mongon noted that his previous stint as president (2021-22) was during COVID.

“It will be fun not to have a pandemic going on this time,” Mongon said. “That said, if there was anybody who had to be president during the pandemic, I’m glad it was me. Those were some tough times.”

Asked about goals for the upcoming year, Mongon offered a broad array of priorities, notably student achievement and facilities.

“We’ve fallen a little bit behind other districts,” Mongon said, noting that the district needed to upgrade athletic fields and facilities, bathrooms, music rooms and more.

“The buildings are just so old,” he said. “I mean, our newest building is from 1973. So it’s always a challenge with regards to things like the security vestibules, card access... it just takes time.”

While students, faculty and staff will see the impact of the upgrades daily, improvements will also benefit residents.

“Our community uses a lot of our facilities,” Mongon said. “We want to make sure we’re maximizing those [resources].”

While the extensive capital improvements funded from the $54 million bond approved in 2019 are close to completion, Mongon said there's more work to do. He hopes to move forward with other smaller upgrades, which are easier to fund and don’t overburden the taxpayer.

“We have a [$5 million] capital fund that was established by the taxpayers last year,” he noted. “We’re going to try to do smaller projects that cost $1.5 to 2 million. The biggest thing we’re trying to do right now is right-size things and get the district in a good place in terms of fiscal responsibility, and balance that with student achievement.”

Asked if the board and administration were on the same page, Mongon reiterated the focus on keeping the balance between costs and capabilities under control.

“It’s all about student achievement,” he said. “It’s all about creating an environment where people want to come to work every day, the kids want to report to school every day. We’re committed to that environment, but also fiscal responsibility.”

Mongon praised Massafra, who was returned to the board by voters this spring after a year away.

“Lucy is an amazing longtime trustee,” Mongon said.

Massafra was a vocal advocate for a zero-percent tax increase for the 2025–26 school budget, which was approved in a June revote after the original budget proposal—including a 1.8 percent tax hike—was rejected by voters.

“I take the fiduciary responsibility to our taxpayers very seriously," Massafra said in her candidate profile. "I believe that true leadership means finding the right balance between educational excellence and fiscal responsibility. That is why I have decided to run for the school board again.”