Newly-elected trustees eager to join RVC Board of Education

Susan McNulty and Tara Hackett were the overwhelming choices on May 16 to fill the two open seats on the Board of Education and both said they are looking forward to serving the Rockville Centre school community during their three-year terms.

McNulty, the principal of the Nassau BOCES Carmans Road School in Massapequa, received the most votes with 1,949, while Hackett, a two-year PTA president at Hewitt Elementary School, received 1,338. The women combined for 61 percent of the almost 5,400 votes cast by village residents.

“We had no idea how it would go considering there were so many people [running]” McNulty said. “I was shocked.”

They will fill the seats of Gregg Spaulding, who was third in the voting with 837, and Mayda Kramer, who did not run for re-election.

McNulty has been in the education field for over 20 years and worked as a principal, assistant principal and teacher in the New York City Department of Education. She is an active member of the Watson Elementary School PTA and is completing a two-year term as its president.

“I was truly humbled, honored and excited to have been elected to the Board of Education trustee position,” McNulty said. “The campaign process was an incredible learning experience and I definitely did not make anything happen on my own.”

She credited her team of 16 women, consisting of family and friends in the district, who helped spread her platform. The campaigning went into the morning of voting day.

“I had a bunch of girls that went around during the day to all the different preschools, to the Rec Center, King Kullen, just reminding people and handing out cards,” McNulty said.

Hackett said she was “overwhelmed” and “appreciative” when the final vote numbers came in. She said she did not do any last-minute campaigning and treated voting day like any other.

“I am so grateful,” she said. “I think I came across at the forum as someone genuinely interested in helping the education for the children. I think people really felt that I was there for the right reasons and I appreciated that. I think the community involvement made a difference to people.”

Hackett is a full-time volunteer in the district. In addition to her PTA work, she is a member of the district’s class-balancing committee and a co-chair of both Special Education Partners and the Hewitt Fair Fundraising group.

She said her first order of business as a new trustee is to get acclimated with the board and understand its processes and procedures.

“I’m ready to hit the ground running,” Hackett said. “I’m really excited and I’m going to make that learning curve as quick and efficient as possible so that I can be effective for the three years.

Hackett was also happy to see McNulty win the other seat on the board.

“I’m thrilled,” she said. “It’s somebody that I’ve known for a few years now [and] who I trust. I know she puts the children at the top of her list and I’m really looking forward to working with her in this capacity.”