Two running for one seat

Joseph Danenza, at left, Scott Eckers and Corey Fanelli are running for school board in this year's election. Danenza, a four-year incumbent, is running unopposed. Eckers is a first-time challenger against Fanelli, who has sat on the board since 2010.

When East Meadow School District residents vote on whether to approve the district’s proposed 2014-15 budget on Tuesday, they will also decide on a seat on the Board of Education.

Four-year incumbent Corey Fanelli is being challenged by local resident Scott Eckers for a three-year term. In one other trustee election, incumbent Joseph Danenza is running unopposed.

The Herald spoke with the three candidates about issues facing the local schools, and why they believe they are best suited to sit on the board.

Corey Fanelli

Fanelli, 24, was elected to the board four years ago as a 20-year-old, when he was an undergraduate student at St. John’s University studying political science. He is now studying law at Hofstra University, and is expecting to receive his Juris Doctor in the coming weeks.

The 2008 Clarke graduate said he brings a rare combination of youth and experience. He lauded the work of the current board of trustees — a group that has been together for four years — for adopting fiscally responsible budgets that maintain services and staff, while alleviating the tax burden on residents as much as they can, given the restraints of the state’s tax cap.