Updated: Controversy in District 30 board race

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Valley Stream School District 30’s Board of Education race became embroiled in controversy last week when, on the eve of the May 21 election, the principal of Shaw Avenue School appeared to endorse trustee candidate — now trustee-elect — Kelly Ureña on a communications platform reserved for disseminating official school information to parents.
Screenshots of the messages, which appear to show Principal Alejandro Rivera encouraging parents to vote for Ureña, began circulating on social media the evening of the election, which Ureña won over challengers Audra Hamlett and Hendrick Colbert with 245 votes to their 128 and 112, respectively.
“If she wins, she will represent Shaw with a seat on the board,” Rivera wrote. “We hope you can come out tomorrow and vote.”
The message, which was sent to all Shaw Avenue parents, may have violated district policy, which under its guidelines for “improper advocacy” states that district resources cannot be used to “exhort voters to support a particular position.” The guidelines further note that the distribution of district promotional materials, physical or electronic, for either a budget resolution or candidacy, is not permitted.
The message also potentially violates a 1986 state Board of Appeals ruling that it was “inappropriate” for a western New York school district to buy an advertisement in a local newspaper encouraging residents to support the district’s budget because its was funded with tax dollars. The ruling has since been interpreted to mean that school districts cannot use taxpayer dollars to encourage people to vote in a specific way.

In response, Superintendent Nicholas Stirling said the district was investigating the messages. Rivera, who recently accepted a position as a principal in the Jericho School District and is stepping down from his current position at the end of the school year, could not be reached for comment as of press time.
New York State Education Department officials said they could not comment on any case that could potentially be brought before the department commissioner, but encouraged those who believe a violation has occurred to bring an appeal before the department under Section 310 of State Education Law.
Hamlett, who ran against Ureña, said that even if Rivera’s message did not violate district policy or state law, it was inappropriate.
“I’m sure a recommendation coming from what I’ve been told [is] a well-respected principal carried weight and swayed voters to adhere to his advice,” Hamlett said. “If it was done so using his own personal page, that would be different and is within his rights, but doing so using a schoolwide app used for school-related announcements is unmerited, in my opinion.”
Colbert could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts.
Ureña, meanwhile, said that Rivera’s message was being taken out of context, but would not elaborate when asked how. Regardless, she said, she did not believe it affected the outcome of the election. “The election was fair,” she said. “I won.”

Update: Following an investigation, Schools Superintendent Dr. Nicholas Stirling sent a letter to the community on May 30 notifying them that his office had determined the communication sent to parents by Shaw Avenue Principal Alejandro Rivera was not a violation of District 30 policy.

The message was sent using an app called Remind, Stirling reported, and although he acknowledged that Rivera’s actions “may have been in poor judgment,” because the app is free, and not owned or purchased by the district, using it to disseminate information about a school-board candidate does not constitute a use of district resources.

In light of the confusion, Stirling vowed a rethink of district policy. “As we teach our children, the district will utilize this opportunity as a learning experience,” he wrote. “Moving forward the Board of Education and administration will carefully review the policy on Board of Education elections and will seek to further clarify advocacy.”