Great Neck School District voters will head to the polls on May 19 to decide two Board of Education races, with incumbent Rebecca Sassouni facing challenger Marisa Brandeis Kermanian and incumbent Joanne Chan running against challenger Callie Ives.
Rebecca Sassouni, a longtime Great Neck Board of Education trustee and former board president, is running for a fourth three-year term, saying her focus remains on balancing academic excellence, fiscal responsibility and inclusion across the district.
Sassouni, 55, an attorney, has served on the board since 2017 and was board president from 2021 to 2024. A more than 30-year Great Neck resident, she and her husband raised four children who graduated from Great Neck Public Schools. Professionally, she serves as of counsel to a family law firm, where she represents families and students. She attended Barnard College at Columbia University and later earned her law degree from Hofstra University School of Law.
Sassouni said she has remained mindful of the district’s tax burden throughout her time on the board and called it a “balancing act” between maintaining strong academic programs and keeping taxes sustainable for residents.
“I’ve made it my personal commitment to never pierce the tax cap and try to avoid taxing to the max,” Sassouni said. She added that the district must maintain financial reserves without cutting programs, overcrowding classrooms or diminishing educational quality.
Sassouni said students must learn how to responsibly use emerging tools while continuing to strengthen skills such as public speaking and teamwork that cannot be replaced by AI.
“Our students are expected to know how to use this technology as future citizens of the world,” Sassouni said, comparing today’s AI instruction to students learning calculators when she was younger.
Sassouni said her views on inclusion were shaped by watching her Iranian immigrant parents work multiple jobs while rarely attending school meetings because of language barriers and family responsibilities.
“My parents never set foot in any PTO or board meeting,” Sassouni said. “We have to include the voices of people who are unable to be with us, and their children too.”
Marisa Brandeis Kermanian, a lifelong Great Neck resident and Great Neck North High School graduate, is making her first run for the Great Neck Public Schools Board of Education, saying she wants to help preserve the district’s academic reputation while strengthening communication and adapting to changing student needs.
Source: LI Press
