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Mostly Cloudy Meet Rockville Centre's candidates
Rockville Centre residents will have more than just a budget to vote for this year, as there are contested races for seats on both the school district and library Board of Trustees.
There are two seats open this year on the Board of Education. Both incumbents Gregg Spaulding and Mayda Kramer are running again to keep their seats. They are being challenged by Lynda Rubino, who ran against John O’Shea last year.
On the library’s Board of Trustees, the seat of incumbent Bill Murray is open. He is running for re-election and is being challenged by newcomer Jason Paulsen.
Residents will have the opportunity to cast their votes for their favorite candidates, as well as vote on the school district and library budgets, on May 20.
Gregg Spaulding
Spaulding, 52, is running for his third full term as a Board of Education trustee. He won a special election for his first time on the board and served a one-year term. He has won reelection twice since and has served two full three-year terms.
“I’m running because I believe in the school district and what it stands for,” Spaulding said. “Someone has to stand and fight for them. Someone has to speak on the issue of taxes, which I feel every time I get my tax bill. But at the same time, I need to make sure the services the kids need aren’t going to be cut.”
Keeping school programs where they are under the shadow of the tax cap has been one of his best achievements, Spaulding said. Additionally, Spaulding touted the way the board and the district administration plan years in advance with the budget, instead of year by year.
“I’m quite proud of every financial decision,” he said.
Mayda Kramer
Kramer, 54, is running for her second term on the Board of Education. Normally quiet and reserved at meetings, her passion for her position comes out when she speaks about it.
“We have a fabulous community that supports education, and I want to see that we only get better,” Kramer said of her reasons for running. “Of course, doing it in a fiscally responsible way.”
Kramer said she is proud of the way the community comes together to help provide award-winning schools for the district’s children, although being named to lists isn’t what’s important, she said.
