There’s a new Queens Representative to the Board Of Education and her name is Evita Belmonte, a longtime parent and community activist in Southeast Queens’ public schools.

Belmonte of Laurelton was appointed to the board by Borough President Helen Marshall as one of the 13 representatives on the newly created Panel for Education Policy.

The announcement was made on the steps of City Hall on Aug. 8, giving the borough’s parents a new voice in the governance of the New York City schools.

"I’m looking forward to working with the other appointees…trying to see this through and meet the challenge, and outreach to our parents," Belmonte said.

Belmonte has a long history of school activism in Southeast Queens and is currently the president of the Queens High School Confederation of Parents Associations as well a being a member of the 220th Street Block Association in Laurelton.

"Basically, I started out a little over 12 years ago when my children entered the system…I’ve been a volunteer, mentor, tutor, and held pretty much every position on the PTA that you can…[I’ve] traveled to many conferences and retreats," and met with many public officials while attempting to improve the City schools, Belmonte told the PRESS.

She currently works as a supervisory aide for I.S. 231 in Springfield Gardens, a job she will be required to relinquish for her new position.

Members of the Panel may not hold any other City job.

Belmonte’s position on the Panel, which is the new re-structuring of the old Board of Education, is unpaid. The City, which created the panel, opted not to provide any resources to panel employees, according to Marshall. Accordingly, Marshall has given Belmonte office space, furniture, and a telephone in Borough Hall.

Marshall stressed the importance and difficulty of Belmonte’s new position. "This will also be an extremely demanding position for Ms. Belmonte who will assume duties under a new school governance plan that has not yet been tested," she said.

Dan Andrews, a spokesman for Marshall, echoed these sentiments, "The important thing is that we’re going to have a parental voice at the table, that’s what the Borough President wants, and that’s why she’s reached out to a parent with a long history of involvement in public schools."

One representative, who was required to be a parent, was chosen by each Borough President to make up the council along with seven Mayoral appointees and the Schools Chancellor.

The new Panel for Education Policy will be in charge of deciding policy for City schools and capital and expense budgets, according to Andrews, who said many of the specifics of the Panel have not yet been determined.

"All the parameters haven’t been laid out yet, because it [the Panel] hasn’t existed before," he said.

The first meeting of the Panel has not yet been determined.

Belmonte appeared excited about her new, unprecedented opportunity to address issues of Queens’ parents, whose largest concern is "wanting a child to succeed on whatever level they can," she said. "A lot of parents can’t physically be in the building, they can’t physically spend a lot of time doing a lot of the things that I was blessed to be able to do. But, their basic concern is always for their child, and whether or not their child can make the grade…they want to be proud of them."

Belmonte has two daughters, Rosa and Angelina, who currently attend John Bowne High School and Nassau Community College, respectively.

While it was not easy juggling a job, parenting, and her passion for school activism, Belmonte says that she always found a way.

"I started when my children were so young, [so] it was easier for them to get used to my being, first of all, around in their schools, and secondly, I’d drag them to meetings with me," she said. "It was good that we grew up with it, both of us, I grew into more involvement, and they grew into having me be involved." By the time they were older, she said, they were used to her going out many weeknight evenings for a variety of school meetings.

According to Belmonte, her first priority on the Panel is to address is the rampant overcrowding in Queens schools. "As a borough, we’re pushing the children in closets; they’re teaching them in closets, they’re teaching them in hallways. One of the things that helps a child to be able to learn better is the environment that they’re in, with that and some teachers that can really teach, or can teach in a manner that they’re accepting of — you’ve got some really wonderful people," she said, "not just good students, but fine people that come out of those kinds of environments…I think that’s what I’d like to see, because there’s nothing like a rude child. Sometimes a rude child is an uneducated child or a child that can’t read well, or lacks discipline."

Belmonte compared the city schools to a hot, overcrowded subway train, which she lovingly calls "The Iron Horse," where all of the passengers are very irritable and frustrated, and consequently, are difficult to interact with. "Unfortunately if that’s happening day to day with our children, it makes it even more difficult for the teacher to teach," she said.

For all of the problems of the City schools, the new Queens member of the Panel for Education Policy looks forward to continuing her role, now as a steward for the wayward schools. "I’m looking forward to working with the other appointees…to be on this level now and to be a voice for so many, it’s an honor and it’s very humbling," Belmonte told the PRESS. She has loved being involved with the Queens public schools, and looks forward to continuing in that role, Belmonte said.

On June 12, Governor George Pataki gave the power of "school governance" to Mayor Mike Bloomberg, when he signed legislation that was the result of a State Assembly bill, which passed on June 10.

"On the governance side, there will be a 13 person Board of Education with a majority of members appointed by the mayor so the person who controls the purse strings will now be held accountable, which is excellent," said former Queens Board of Ed. Rep. Terri Thomson.