Lavery runs unopposed in District 30

Jim Lavery is the lone candidate for the District 30 Board of Education this year. He is seeking to fill the seat being vacated by longtime trustee Maria Fletcher. It would be a five-year term.

Lavery said he wants to see more parents and community members become active with the schools. This is his second year running for school board, losing to Carolyn Pean in 2009. Although being unopposed this year all but guarantees him a victory, Lavery said he would have welcomed challengers and noted that five other people took out petitions but chose not to run. “I really want people to be involved,” he said.

Involved he is. Lavery is president of the Forest Road School PTA and also leads the Valley Stream Council of PTAs. Two years ago, he served on the District 30 superintendent search committee and last year took an active role in the search for a new math program. He has also organized the annual PTA Legislative Breakfast in 2008 and 2009.

Lavery said that District 30 leaders have done a better job the past two years of getting the community more involved in the decision making. “For a while,” he said, “it looked like parents were getting the short end of the stick.”

Science is one area where he feels improvement is needed in District 30. Just this year, the district has started exploring new programs in science. “It’s something that kids need to know to be competitive with other countries,” Lavery said. “When my son was here, it didn’t seem like there was that strong of an emphasis.”

A complaint from parents for many years, Lavery said, was that science textbooks were scarce in the district. Most of the curriculum, he noted, was taught using handouts.

He also wants there to be more communication between the elementary school districts and the high school district. It is important, Lavery noted, for elementary school leaders to know if they are adequately preparing students for junior high and high school.

Lavery said he is prepared to deal with the budget challenges facing the school district. With New York state’s financial crisis, there is a great deal of pressure on local school districts, he explained.