Malverne school trustee runs uncontested in 2022

While Malverne school board trustee Laura Avvinti is proud of the work the board has achieved during her first term, she knows that there is still much more to be accomplished, which is why she’s running for a second term in an uncontested election.

The school board election is scheduled for May 17, and it’s for a four-year term.

“It’s hard to get everything done in only a four-year period,” Avvinti said. “We’ve made a lot of progress and we’re improving, but there’s still more to be done. I’ve had the opportunity to work with our superintendent, Dr. Lewis, and I’d like to continue working with her and the administration.

Plus, I have a child still in the high school, and I want to ensure for her and all the students that they’re getting a quality education.”

The mental health of students continues to be a priority for Avvinti.

“I’m very much about advocating for mental health awareness and ensuring that our students are offered as much time with counselors as possible, to ensure that they are not only getting an education but that we are offering them social-emotional learning in order to treat the whole person,” she said.

She said that the pandemic has put the need for these services in special focus.

“With the pandemic, we’ve seen that a large number of students are dealing with tremendous amounts of stress and unfortunate issues at home with parents losing jobs or even family members,” said Avvinti.

“So, it’s more important than ever now to provide services to those kids who need them.”

She said she also wants to maintain and continue to improve the district’s fiscal integrity.

“I want to make sure we keep maintaining under the tax cap and that we are keeping the taxpayers happy and not going over budget,” Avvinti said.

“We’re moving in a good direction and we’re getting good accolades and good notice from other districts, not just locally but also nationally. I’m extremely excited about our future success and want to ensure that we just keep going in that direction.”

Another one of her goals is to make certain that the district continues to give students the tools they need to be successful after graduation.

“I want to give our kids opportunities that encompass not just academic things but clubs and other avenues for them to remain competitive when they go to college,” Avvinti said.

“Especially with so much changing from COVID, namely that colleges are not necessarily looking at SAT and ACT scores as much, we need to ensure that our students are well-rounded and that they’re not just attaining academic success but that they’re in things like National Honor Society or in a club or band or sports and making sure that they have access to those things.

“This year, so many of our students have gotten into Ivy League schools, so I’m happy to see that even through the pandemic, they’re still being really successful.”

She said that one of the board’s biggest achievements during her first term was its forward-thinking in terms of educational technology.

“We pushed for the kids to get iPads and move away from textbooks,” Avvinti said. “And it worked out for us because we were ahead of the game when it came to the pandemic because we had most of the kids on iPads already. So, going remote was a much smoother transition for us than some other schools.”

Avvinti is a 20-year Malverne resident and works as a court clerk for the Village of Floral Park. She is married to her husband, Vito. They have a daughter in 10th grade at the high school and another who is a 2020 graduate.

She is heavily involved in the community, volunteering for the village’s holiday festivities, serving on the superintendent’s advisory board and previously serving on the PTA.