In their own words

Every year, the Herald ask the candidates for the Board of Education to answer questions about the race and education so that residents have a better idea of who they will be voting for.

This year, Lynda Rubino is once again making a bid for the board, this time challenging incumbents Gregg Spaulding and Mayda Kramer, for one of the two open seats.

Residents will have the opportunity to vote for two Board of Education Trustees, as well as a Library Board Trustee and the school and library budgets, on May 20.

What do you think is the biggest issue facing the district and what will you do to address it?

Gregg Spaulding: Wow, there are so many equally important issues in the news recently; however, one of the biggest issues facing the district is pre-Kindergarten. It would seem that New York City and the state have started discussions while budgeting small funding for school districts to start the process. As most people know, our district is land-poor and would need to redesign our existing building structures and/or acquire property to either lease or build on. If the state succeeds in its endeavor, I would push for it to increase the funding it already provides the district while maximizing the use of our facilities. From an educational point of view, pre-kindergarten has many benefits to the children of our district.

Mayda Kramer: The school district is confronted with two primary concerns — education and finance — and finding a successful way to balance the two. Since we have been preparing budgets under the tax levy cap, sometimes referred to as the “2 percent tax cap,” we have had to develop budgets that provide all the educational resources required by our children while staying under the cap. This is accomplished through prudent planning and foresight by our administration. We have renegotiated contracts with our bargaining units and asked every administrator to curtail their spending. This has occurred simultaneously with the implementation of the Common Core Learning Standards and APPR — both of which require financial resources that are not provided by the state. In the next several years, we will need to continue to find creative ways to adapt our methods of delivering education to our children so that we can ensure the high quality of education expected within our community while maintaining fiscal responsibility. We were fortunate to receive more state aid than expected for the 2014-15 school year; the board and administration together determined it would be best to allocate these funds to our reserves for future anticipated needs, as is allowable within accounting standards.

Lynda Rubino: The most important issue facing the Rockville Centre School District continues to be the rising school taxes. The school taxes deter young families from purchasing homes and are a major cause of concern for our retirees, who struggle to stay in the village where they’ve raised their families. I believe that the knowledge and experience that I’ve gained from my board and committee leadership positions, as well as my CPA background, will make me an asset to the Rockville Centre Board of Education. I am a strong advocate of financial transparency, and if elected, I will make it my mission to assist all residents in understanding the many areas of our school budget so they can ask educated questions and provide constructive suggestions. Preserving the quality of a Rockville Centre education must work hand in hand with fiscal responsibility, a duty that voters entrust to the board members they elect.

South Side High School continues to receive national accolades and recognition. As a board member, what could you do to help ensure the continued success of Rockville Centre schools?

Spaulding: I continue to support our administration and high school staff as they review the curriculum every year and work together to improve instruction and the continued success of our students. The IB program at the high school was recently changed and will produce better results for all our children. We are also starting a new Middle Years IB program in the middle school that will strengthen our curriculum and provide for a nice transition into the high school. As a board member, I will continue to make suggestions on curriculum and programs that other nationally recognized schools are providing. I will continue to ensure that any changes will strengthen our students’ ability to graduate and to be college and/or career ready.

Kramer: I am never satisfied with the status quo. As a board, along with the administration, we are continually examining how we provide educational services to our students. We are constantly thinking about tomorrow. We are open to new ideas, and seek methods to adjust and improve our programs and services. For example, we are presently testing the use of teacher-developed instructional videos at the high school level which will be used to enhance student learning. Technology has become, and will continue to be, an integral element of delivering instruction to students. We continually provide professional development to our staff and encourage them to find new ways to engage students and improve learning. Many of our staff members have sought grants to provide students with new technology or ideas that are inspirational, such as 3D printers, fitness programs and robotics materials. These grants often come from our very own community, in particular the Education Foundation, as well as others. We embrace innovative teaching and new ideas, particularly that which are financially prudent and educationally sound. We examine every decision in terms of its ultimate impact on the children and their education to ensure that they will become lifelong learners and successful in their future endeavors.

Rubino: The administration and staff have worked very hard to earn the national recognition that South Side High School has received. In order to sustain this level of success, the administration and staff must continually challenge the academic programs, while still ensuring there are levels of classes for children of all abilities. In addition, the board must continue to educate themselves so they can challenge and provide guidance to the administration. If elected, I will spend the time to learn where other districts have achieved great success and help determine what is appropriate and feasible for our district. We can learn a lot from others, especially in the areas of technology and career and technical training. At a recent board meeting, a parent felt the administration focused much of its effort on the high school and its ranking and felt more focus was needed on the elementary schools. If elected, I would encourage the administration to work with the staff, board and parents to address these perceptions. When families are satisfied with elementary education, they become involved, supportive participants in our schools’ educational programs.

What are your feelings about the 2014-15 budget?

Spaulding: Our administrators were given a very clear message from the board: stay under the tax cap. This was different from prior years, and it produced a budget that needed very little adjustment by the board. All the contracts that were negotiated several years ago set the stage for personnel salaries to be under the tax cap rule. Some of the other budget increases “we have to include” are only controlled by New York State and the federal government. This budget keeps our schools intact and continues all our programs going forward in the right direction. As in the three prior budgets, I will continue to watch expenditures and work with the other trustees to lower our expenses.

Kramer: I wholeheartedly support the 2014-15 school budget. It is a financially sound and educationally sensible budget. The budget process is a multi-month endeavor in which the administration presents its goals and then discusses them with the board. For the 2014-15 school year, the board asked the administration to prepare a budget that would stay under the tax levy cap, while maintaining current staffing levels and all programs as well as extra-curricular activities. In doing so, the administration requested that all building and department administrators once again plan to curtail expenditures. As a team, the administrators and the board worked together to plan this budget, a budget that meets the expectations of the community and ensures access to a high quality education for all students. The end result of this effort is a budget that maintains all programs and extra-curricular activities as well as staffing levels. It is a budget that ensures that all students will continue to receive a high level instruction in the 2014-15 school year.

Rubino: I applaud the administration for keeping the school budget increase under the tax cap. When I asked at a recent board meeting why a zero percent increase budget was not presented, I was told that with increasing salary, pension and benefit costs it was not possible. While I appreciate the constraints of these escalating costs, there was no discussion about how the district plans to address these escalating costs. Are we supposed to accept this and not question how we can work to reduce the yearly increase? This is an issue that all Long Island districts face. We need to work together to develop a long-term plan on how to address these crucial issues. I’ve learned that to ask informed questions about the budget requires a significant amount of time and homework. There is a lot of history behind these numbers and many questions need to be asked to understand them — questions that cannot be resolved at a public board meeting where time is limited. This year I’ve asked questions and shared answers. If elected, I would like to formalize a process to share the history and detail on the budget categories throughout the year so residents feel educated, knowledgeable and comfortable asking questions and making suggestions.