By Hector Flores
Dona Davis
Davis, a resident of East Meadow for the last 17 years, considers herself a dedicated homeowner and an advocate for the children in East Meadow.
She and her husband, Edward, have three children, all enrolled in the district, one at McVey Elementary, another at Woodland Middle School and a third in East Meadow High School.
Davis has been involved in the school's PTA for 11 years, and is currently co-president of the PTA at McVey. She has held many other positions, including vice president, treasurer and parent delegate.
"I served on numerous [PTA] committees, including nominating, facilities, budget, audit, bylaws and yearbook," she said.
Davis has also been a member of the district's attendance and policy committee, and has chaired several others, including spirit, safety, transportation, legislation, community, book fair, and computers for education.
Aside from her volunteer work, Davis feels confident that her experience as a business owner would carry over well to the board.
"My husband and I own a small carpet cleaning company and I'm in charge of the finances and invoices," she said.
Davis added that as a PTA member, she has experience developing a budget. "I have been in the budget committee for McVey and Woodland, and have also done the audit for the PTA at McVey," she said.
As for her best quality, Davis said that her involvement in the district makes her a solid candidate. "I believe my constant interaction with parents, teachers, administrators and community members, as well as my knowledge of policies and procedures, will be an asset in providing the best education for our children while addressing the needs of our communit,." she said.
As to an end to the ongoing teacher dispute with the district, she said, "You have to give the teachers a fair contract, but without overburdening the taxpayers. I would like to meet somewhere in the middle." Davis added that she knows that other union groups have been able to settle their contracts and she hopes that the teachers will soon come to an agreement.
"A lot of teachers don't know what is going on and the district does not give out that much information," she said. "One of the reasons I want to be involved is that I will be able to select the new superintendent, who will be good for the community and make the right decision for the children. He needs to be skilled in collective bargaining and public relations."
Steven Jacobs
Jacobs, 49, is a supervising attorney for a state agency, in charge of its Nassau office legal department. He and his wife Ava Lavine, of Wantagh, have lived in East Meadow for the last 15 years and have three children, Alexis, 16, in East Meadow High School, Matthew, 13, at Woodland Middle School, and Daniel, 11, at Woodland Middle School.
Jacobs is no stranger to happenings in the East Meadow School District. For five years in a row he served on the district's Financial Advisory Committee, until 2001.
This is Jacobs' second run for a board seat. In 2004, he ran against Debra Kirsh and lost by only 200 ballots.
As is the case with all the other candidates, Jacobs is very involved in the community. He has been president of a credit union for the last six years, coach of PAL basketball and East Meadow Little League, a member of the Board of Trustees of Temple Emanu-el and a past chancellor commander of Knights of Pythias. In addition, he holds membership in the PTSA at East Meadow High School, and in the PTAs at Woodland Middle School, Parkway Elementary and Bowling Green Elementary.
Jacobs believes in starting over, and feels that the only way the district and teachers' union will ever come to an agreement is by bringing new blood onto the board. "The negotiation are private and you can only guess at what happens during negotiations," he said. "Once I'm on the board, I will know for certain the finances of the district. We have gone without a contract for over three years, and I don't feel that respect has been given on both sides. Respect must be restored in order to end this stalemate."
Budget and board voting
The budget and board elections will be held on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the five elementary schools. Absentee ballots may be obtained from the office of the district clerk. For more information, call (516) 478-5738.
Comments about this story? HFlores@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
