Cheryl Felice

Cheryl A. Felice, lives in Bellport with her wife, was born and raised in the Village of Patchogue. Cheryl is a 6-year member of the South Country Central School District Board of Education, and is presently the School Board President. She is currently seeking reelection to the board for a third, three-year term. Cheryl commanded the Bureau of Criminal Identification for the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, and thereafter became the longest serving executive board member and president of Suffolk County’s largest independent union, the Association of Municipal Employees (AME.) She also served the union’s 21,000-member joint labor/management Benefit Fund as trustee, administrator and fiduciary for a combined, and an unprecedented 31-years. On school district matters, Cheryl was proud to support the creation of the South Haven Early Childhood Development Center and the Brookhaven Dual Language Magnet School. She proudly advocated for all new windows at Kramer Street Elementary School, and for refurbishing and installation of an outdoor courtyard learning lab and for new windows and doors at the Frank P. Long Intermediate School. Programs brought to the secondary level, include the Cadet Corps, where students can prepare for military enlistment; Generation Citizen, where students learn about civic engagement and community service; and the Capstone Program where high school level students learn college level and post graduate research methods, giving them unprecedented preparation for college or the workforce. Perhaps the most gratifying experience Cheryl participated in on the school board was in the new superintendent search. A process that concluded in May 2022, with the hiring of a new School Superintendent. Cheryl has been a strong advocate to increase and enhance communications within the district and in making our superintendent more accessible to our educators, our students and our parents and residents. Proud of the fact that she supported budgets that always stayed at or under the New York State mandated property tax cap and budgeting transparency. Cheryl is also a strong advocate for the district’s athletic programs, music classes, concerts and the arts and science programs. You will often find her at committee, meetings, student display events, sports games, plays, concerts, and awards ceremonies. This year, Cheryl spent a considerable amount of time in the classroom herself, visiting school music rooms with her grandfather’s 100-year old trumpet! “Being reunited with my grandfather’s trumpet, (unaware that it still existed,) inspired me to reconnect with music by taking lessons, long after having given up this instrument in the fifth grade. In addition to my student message encouraging them to ‘stick with music’ no matter what career path they choose, it’s never too late to learn!” Cheryl A. Felice is a Distinguished Alumnus of both Suffolk County Community College and St. Joseph’s University, where she earned an Executive MBA and completed both the Administrators and Trustees Masters Program from the International Foundation of Employees Benefit Plans. As for community service, Cheryl is a member and past director of the Patchogue Lioness Lions Club, cofounder of the Girls Softball league for the Patchogue Youth Athletic Association, and serves on the board of directors for the Bellport Hagerman East Patchogue Alliance. Previously, she was a board of director for the Boys and Girls Club of Bellport where she remains a loyal supporter. Cheryl remains dedicated and loyal to every organization she serves. That is evident in her seven years of dedicated service to the South Country Central School District, where she looks forward to serving again in her role as Trustee on behalf of the students, parents and residents of South Country.