Featured Story

Complete voters guide for Riverhead, SWR schools

Meet the Riverhead school board candidates

At least one newcomer will be elected Tuesday to the Riverhead Board of Education.

Byron Perez, who was appointed to the board in August after two members resigned, is not seeking re-election, leaving his seat up for grabs.

The terms of incumbents Susan Koukounas and Ron Fisher end this year, but both candidates are seeking re-election to three-year terms.

They will face challengers Joshua Berezny, Brian Connelly, Gregory-John Fischer, Amelia Lantz and Elizabeth Silva.

Joshua Berezny

Mr. Berezny, 28, works as an auto body restoration expert. He graduated from Riverhead High School in 2008 and attended the Harry B. Ward Occupational Center at BOCES for auto body during his time as a student.

He currently volunteers at Goodale Farms, working with special needs children in their “future farmers” program.

Mr. Berezny feels the district needs to improve communication with taxpayers.

He said that, if elected, he hopes to focus on spending the district’s money on ways to further support students and having board members attend more training and conferences. He also wants to strengthen safety in the district.

Mr. Berezny said he wants to help the district focus on all students, including those who learn on a different timeline or in a different way.

“The belief is everyone should go to college,” he said. “We need to encourage students to focus also on trade vocations to be the best they can in a professional trade such as electricians, plumbers, etc.”

Brian Connelly

Mr. Connelly, 43, is a New York City firefighter. He has daughters in third grade at Roanoke Avenue Elementary School and in eighth-grader at the middle school. His wife, Bonnie,teaches in the Mattituck-Cutchogue School District.

A Riverhead resident for over 17 years, Mr, Connelly said he feels it’s his civic responsibility to serve on the board.

If elected, he hopes to ensure that parents, educators, administrators and residents continue to receive support and tools to help students in the district succeed, both in class and in future endeavors. He commended the board on the work it has already accomplished.

“The BOE, superintendent, administrators and educators have done an exceptional job protecting and strengthening academic programs while respecting the tax cap,” Mr. Connelly said. “I’ll work with the board to continue the forward progress of our district and students.”

Gregory-John Fischer

Mr. Fischer, 61, of Calverton, has four children, two of whom currently attend the middle school.

A strategic management consultant, investor and entrepreneur, he also volunteers with the Service Corps of Retired Executives, serves on the board for Americans for Legal Reform and helps people start businesses.

Mr. Fischer considers the district’s designation as a focus district to be its biggest challenge, but also cites illiteracy, low graduation rates, gang violence, persisting drug and alcohol abuse and the lack of advancement opportunities for gifted students as concerns.

“Comprehensive reform is required,” he said. “[District] finances also need better controls. I will create better oversight and more parental involvement.”

Mr. Fischer attended (and filmed) nearly every school board meeting this year, and filed seven legal “notices of claim” against the district, administration and/or contractors.

He said that, if elected, he will take on difficult problems to “work to make our district known for excellence.”

Ron Fisher

Mr. Fisher, 34, of Flanders is the owner of Fisher Signs & Shirts. He is a 2001 Riverhead High School graduate.

He serves on the boards of the Flanders Northampton Volunteer Ambulance Corps, The Butterfly Effect Project and SEPA Mujer, and is president of the Flanders, Riverside & Northampton Community Association.

He said the district’s biggest challenges are inequity in educational opportunities, which led to its focus district status, and a lack of transparency and desire for community involvement in education. He said the solution is to standardize curriculum across the four elementary schools and to not give up on the district’s subgroups.

Mr. Fisher said that, if re-elected, he’ll dedicate himself to whatever he works on and will continue to help improve the Riverhead community.

“I see so much potential in the Riverhead School District, and we have an incredible new superintendent dedicated to doing what is necessary to ensure all students thrive,” he said. “I believe she needs a Board of Education that supports her vision and works with her.”

Susan Koukounas

Ms. Koukounas, 46, of Aquebogue is a professor and mother of two Riverhead High School students.

Elected to the school board in 2012, she currently serves as its vice president, as well as on its audit, policy and intergovernmental committees.

She also sees the district’s focus designation as its biggest challenge, saying it needs to continually review student data to identify areas that need improvement. This could include making changes in technology, students resources and teacher practices to create a well-rounded education.

If re-elected, she said, she will continue to foster collaboration, support students’ social and emotional well-being and strengthen academic programs while staying under the tax cap, supporting parents’ choice regarding testing and working with the board to accomplish annual goals.

“As my record of service shows, I am a true advocate for public education,” Ms. Koukounas said. “I have no personal agenda, I will never use the school board as a political pit stop and I will never quit working for our students and our community.”

Amelia Lantz

Ms. Lantz, 53, of Riverhead is the mother of students in the ninth and 12th grades. She is a United States Air Force veteran and student at Suffolk County Community College.

She served on the school board for seven years, two as vice president, during which she sat on the policy and audit committees. She also created The Giving Chain, a fundraiser that supports families in need.

Ms. Lantz said the district’s biggest challenge is to lifting focus designation that was placed on the district and many individual schools. She said this can be accomplished by supporting the superintendent’s plan and vision.

“Our district is at a pivotal point; we must not let this opportunity that we have, with a new superintendent who is eager to advance our district forward, slip away,” Ms. Lantz said.

Elizabeth Silva

Ms. Silva, 55, of Aquebogue has two daughters, one in the middle school and one who has graduated.

She is a graduate of Riverhead herself and volunteers as a catechist teacher at St. John’s Catholic Church.

She has worked at Eastern Suffolk BOCES since 1999 and held many positions there. Currently, she is a bilingual special education teacher at the Westhampton Beach Learning Center.

Ms. Silva concurred that the focus designation is the district’s primary challenge. She said Riverhead is already working with BOCES, but needs to continue to implement as many resources as possible to ensure that students are getting the education they need.

“It is not about the testing; education is about educating all of our students to become lifelong learners,” Ms. Silva said. “Education is not only for schools. Education needs to happen at home and in the community as well.”

If elected, she hopes to use her cultural and professional background to help foster the growing populations of English Language Learners and special education students.