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SWR residents head to polls Tuesday to vote on $74.8M budget

At least two newcomers will be elected Tuesday to the Shoreham-Wading River Board of Education.

William McGrath, who has served since 2008, is not seeking re-election and his seat is up for grabs, as are those of incumbents Jack Costas and John Zukowski. Both are seeking new three-year terms.

Additionally, school board member Michael Fucito resigned from his position in March before moving out of state. The candidate with the fourth-most votes will serve the final year of his unexpired term.

Mr. Costas and Mr. Zukowski will face challengers Katie Andersen, Erin Hunt, Henry Perez, James Smith and Michael Yannucci.

Below are profiles of each candidate’s running platform.

KATIE ANDERSEN (CHALLENGER)

Ms. Andersen, 32, of Shoreham, works as an associate real estate broker. She has children in fourth and first grades as well as a pre-schooler. She volunteers with the Miller Avenue PTO, Wading River PTA, is a Girls on the Run coach, serves as recording secretary for the Soundview Acres Homeowner Associate Board and is Young Families Focus Group co-liaison.

As the oldest of eight siblings, many of whom have attended SWR, Ms. Andersen is passionate about child development and believes the biggest challenge facing the district is its students’ social and emotional health.

“In the current system, there is a tendency to rank, sort and label children,” she said. “I seek to implement balance in prioritizing the development of the physical, emotional, academic and social growth so that we can maximize human potential and celebrate our students for who they are.”

Ms. Andersen said that, if elected, she plans to improve communication in the Shoreham, Wading River and Leisure Glen communities in order to build relationships and unify residents.

“I value excellence in education and providing the most innovative and thoughtful offerings for our students within the framework of a fiscally conservative budget,” she said.

JACK COSTAS (INCUMBENT)

Mr. Costas, 58, of Shoreham, was first elected in 2008 and works as a general contractor. He has lived in Shoreham for 13 years and has children in ninth, 11th and 12th grades. Mr. Costas volunteers at in-class learning and literacy centers, a writers workshop and school lunch programs. He’s also involved in scouting and donates construction and repair services.

Mr. Costas sees four main needs in the district: continue to rebuild facilities and infrastructure while being mindful of funding, maintaining enrichment programs and keeping class sizes manageable, establishing a board able to face “the challenge of expenses rising faster than revenues” and “a competent, engaged central office administration to oversee the implementation and integration of new curriculum and ensure its consistency across grade levels.”

“We are moving in a positive direction but face many difficult situations ahead,” he said. “If re-elected I will be the longest serving, most experienced member of the board. My knowledge of board, administration, curriculum, our staff, buildings and my fellow residents brings a valuable resource to the board.”

ERIN HUNT (CHALLENGER)

Ms. Hunt, 33, of Shoreham, is an operations officer at Go Green Environmental Services and founder of Time Best Spent, a household/personal services company. She is also a former public school educator and has a child in first grade and another entering kindergarten in September.

She volunteers as president of the Miller Avenue PTO and is co-director of St. John the Baptist’s vacation Bible camp.

Ms. Hunt said the biggest challenge is a lack of trust and transparency, which could be solved by a positive and proactive approach to interacting with the community, such as through a district Facebook page “to share information and the many positive accomplishments in our learning community.”

She’s involved with the Long Island opt-out movement and said it’s important to focus on the education of the whole child, not on high stakes testing. Additionally, she hopes to continue to provide opportunities for the children while protecting tax rates and property values.

“Out district can benefit substantially by the implementation of low- and no-cost initiatives like increased communication, connecting our learning communities and strict oversight of our tax dollars,” she said, adding she will ensure the board meets “each individual child where they are and maximizes their human potential.”

HENRY PEREZ (CHALLENGER)

Mr. Perez, 46, of Wading River, is an engineer who has worked on planning and designing educational spaces in K-12 facilities. He has children in kindergarten and second grade and volunteers with the Miller Avenue PTO and Boy Scouts. Mr. Perez was also a community member on the bond committee and currently serves as the chairman of the SWR space and facilities committee.

He said going forward with an ongoing bond project the district needs to produce lean budgets that accomplish the work and maintain educational standards.

“I expect to utilize this experience [as an operations manager] combined with my experience in planning and design of educational facilities to help produce a budget that keeps our school district educationally in tune with our students needs and with responsible spending,” Mr. Perez said.

He said the board needs to focus on maintaining infrastructure so the physical building can support curriculum and students needs.

“My involvement with many in this district has shown me the need for developing a clear curriculum for all students that instills education as a lifelong venture,” Mr. Perez said. “Reinforcing a joy for learning and not a one-size approach and standardized testing.”

JAMES SMITH (CHALLENGER)

Mr. Smith, 39, of Shoreham, is a vice president of sales in the insurance industry. The father of four, he has children in fourth grade, third grade and kindergarten.

He currently volunteers as a parent administrator and coach for Sound Beach Soccer. He is a former Briarcliff PTA vice president, participated in administrative interview committees and coached youth soccer and baseball for Father Joe’s and North Shore Little League.

Mr. Smith said that, if elected, he’ll work to provide numerous opportunities that benefit students, from language to arts to technology, and will work to keep parents informed about options they have and how those options will affect their children.

“One of my goals when elected to the school board is to connect with parents and bring them into the discussion about programs, school safety and parent and student engagement,” he said. “I envision a district where communication with all stakeholders is a top priority.”

Mr. Smith added that the board must promote programs that focus on the future and that are educationally sound and fiscally responsible, creating a district “focused on 21st-century skills enabling our students to be productive and successful members of the 21st-century society.”

MICHAEL YANNUCCI (CHALLENGER)

Mr. Yannucci, 33, of Shoreham, is an assistant principal at Old Bethpage Elementary School, an adjunct professor in the reading department at Suffolk County Community College and teacher preparation Concordia College, and earned his doctorate in 2014. A SWR graduate and Board of Education trustee from 2005-2008, he is also a father of a boy.

Mr. Yannucci cited three challenges facing the district: clear-cutting nearly 500 acres of trees for a solar farm, district funding of the senior trip to Disney World and the behind-schedule capital projects — all of which he said can be fixed through greater transparency.

“We must reach into our community and collaborate with our neighbors of differing opinions,” he said. “My approach is to be thoughtful, reflective and flexible.”

If elected, Mr. Yannucci said, he plans to work on the following priorities: fiscal responsibility, increasing oversight of building projects, ensuring quality learning experiences that enrich the whole child and supporting teachers in this mission, restoring the budget advisory committee and improving board transparency by live streaming meetings.

“I believe in order to restore the faith we must listen to and respect each other,” he said. “My purpose in seeking a board seat is to bring a thoughtful approach to decision making that includes our community members in the process.”

JOHN ZUKOWSKI (INCUMBENT)

Mr. Zukowski, 54, of Shoreham, was first elected to the board in 2011 and has served as its president since July 2015. He is the father of two sons, one of whom is currently a senior.

An attorney focusing on commercial transactions and litigation, he is a graduate of SUNY/Geneseo and St. John’s University School of Law.

For Mr. Zukowski, the district’s biggest challenge is to continue providing quality education in the era of the budget cap and “the absence of promised mandate relief.” He said this can be achieved by providing a solid fiscal and educational plan without needing to pierce the cap.

“It is also important that the district properly manage the ongoing voter-approved bond projects, through contractual and project oversight, to ensure the district obtains the high-quality facilities deserved by our students and residents,” he said.

Mr. Zukowski said he’s proud of what the board has done and looks forward to working with new leadership in the district to expand these accomplishments.

“It’s imperative the district continue its recent positive momentum to provide an exceptional education, based on community standards, to the district students, while navigating an ill-conceived and poorly implemented Common Core and maintaining our strong fiscal position,” he said.

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