Compiled by Nick Buglione
A resident of East Meadow for 37 years, Olshin has been re-elected six times since first taking his seat on the library board in 1979, filling the vacancy after Trustee Mark Clements resigned. He's also served two terms as board president and two as vice president.
"I'm very proud to say the East Meadow Public Library has been recognized as one of the finest libraries on Long Island with an excellent professional staff," Olshin said. "The board has always been concerned with attracting the highest caliber librarians."
As a retiree, Olshin said he's been able to entirely focus his time and energy on maintaining the library's high standards at the lowest cost possible. Every year, he said, he travels to Albany to lobby for more state library funding.
During Olshin's tenure, the library successfully passed a bond issue to expand its facilities, and about a decade ago, the children's room was renovated.
"In these times of fiscal constraint, I'm concerned with maintaining the good services we have," Olshin said. If re-elected, he said he'll also focus on expanding services to teenagers and improving the library's computer learning curriculum.
"I think I've done a good job over the years as trustee and have listened to all segments of the community," Olshin said.
Joseph Rut
Numerous phone calls requesting Rut's picture and biographical information as well as an interview with him were not returned.
Name: Charles Goldberg
Age: 54
Family: Wife Marsha, son Mike.
Occupation: Regional sales manager for a major appliance company.
Seat: Goldberg is seeking re-election to the third seat on the board of education.
Goldberg's been on the school board for 12 years, serving three of those as vice president. Last year he was voted president.
"At the time, the reputation of the East Meadow School District was excellent with respect to elementary schools but deficient with respect to secondary schools," said Goldberg, explaining why he first ran for the board. "I wanted to improve on the academic success of the secondary schools."
During his tenure, Goldberg was instrumental in creating the district's Center for Human Dignity, expanding staff curriculum development and secondary honors programs, and formulating new textbook policies and technology curriculum.
"There were [also] three construction bond issues we had passed and implemented," Goldberg said. "It's a tremendous amount of work. To begin with, you need to determine what the needs are, and you need to translate that into what you need in terms of construction.
"Then you have to go and quantify the construction, and after you quantify it, you have to go to the community and sell it."
If re-elected, Goldberg said he would focus on better preparing students to meet state standards. "The state standards are a moving target, and we need to find ways of getting our kids prepared to meet these standards," Goldberg said.
Filling district vacancies at the assistant superintendent, principal and assistant principal levels will also be tops on his to-do list.
"The legacy you leave a school district is the people you put in important places," Goldberg said.
A resident of Salisbury for 25 years, Goldberg is a member of the Salisbury Civic Association and has volunteered with the Boy Scouts of America and the Central Nassau Little League.
Name: Robert Daly
Age: 43
Family: Wife Kathleen, sons Robert and Michael, daughters Michelle and Katelyn.
Occupation: Machines and planning supervisor at the board of elections.
Seat: Daly is seeking election to the third seat on the board of education.
Daly, a 20-year East Meadow resident, has recently taken an increased interest in district affairs and said he decided to run for the board because the current trustees are unresponsive to the community.
"My kids were always in Catholic school until this year. I started to attend various budget meetings and realized something was wrong," Daly said. "I never before ever thought about questioning the school district. They were the educators; I assumed they knew what to do. I was wrong all these years."
Staunchly against the 2002-03 budget because of teacher lay-offs, Daly was influential in prompting the recent audit of East Meadow School District finances.
"I collected and sent over 500 signatures to the New York State comptroller to conduct an audit of the school district," he said, noting he was displeased with the findings. "While our taxes were raised 9.9 percent, they were wining and dining in and out of state on taxpayer money."
If elected, he plans to reduce frivolous spending, cut back on administrative positions and restore programs. He also would push to move the district out of the Salisbury Center, so the building could be rented out and the income used to offset taxes.
"I may not be the smartest person for the job, but you will find no one more willing to fight the fight that our current board members seem to have forgotten," Daly said. "They must realize, as I do, that our children must come first."
Daly is a member of the Mid-Nassau Democratic Club and the East Meadow Civic Association.
Name: Gary Gold
Seat: Gary Gold is seeking election to the third seat on the board of education.
Requests for Gold's picture and biographical information as well as an interview with him were unanswered.
Name: Brian O'Flaherty
Age: 40
Family: Single
Occupation: Assistant property manager at UBS building.
Seat: O'Flaherty is seeking election to the first seat on the board of education. Incumbent Ronnie Fauci is not seeking re-election.
Having served on the school district's Financial Advisory Committee for nine years, three years as chairman, O'Flaherty believes he has what it takes to make a solid school board trustee.
Composed of local educators, retired citizens, business executives and concerned parents, the advisory committee studies pressing school issues each fiscal year and submits recommendations to the board.
"The most important role of the FAC is to look at what is best for the children without hurting the pocketbooks of the East Meadow taxpayer," O'Flaherty said.
A lifelong resident of East Meadow, O'Flaherty is a graduate of East Meadow High School and Hofstra University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in accounting.
O'Flaherty is currently the assistant property manager for the UBS building, formerly the Paine Webber building, in Manhattan. There he oversees the cleaning, security and engineering staffs.
"I am also involved in the administrating of leases and contracts, which includes the bidding out of all contracts," he said. "I am also involved in developing the building's annual budget for capital projects, revenue [of approximately $80 million] and expense budget [of approximately $50 million] for the building's ownership."
For the past seven years he's lived in the East Meadow Townhouse Condominium on Front Street, serving as vice president of the board of managers for the past six. Made up of 11 condominium owners, the board is essentially responsible for the daily operation of the community.
If elected, O'Flaherty said he would focus on improving the school's financial management and propose ways to further pare down district administration to free up money for student programs.
Name: Shannon O'Keefe
Seat: O'Keefe is seeking election to the first seat on the board of education. Incumbent Ronnie Fauci is not seeking reelection.
Requests for O'Keefe's picture and biographical information as well as an interview with her were unanswered.
Name: Jonathan Goldenberg
Age: 45
Family: Wife Elizabeth, son David and daughter Ann.
Occupation: Hospital administrator at South Side Hospital.
Seat: Goldenberg is seeking election to the first seat on the board of education. Incumbent Ronnie Fauci is not seeking reelection.
As a hospital administrator responsible for budgets totaling $12 million, Goldenberg believes his financial expertise makes him a viable candidate for school board at a time when money is scarce.
"Every time the state looks to cut money they have two pots of gold, health care and education, and this is one of those years the state is digging into those pots," said Goldenberg, a 17-year East Meadow resident.
For year, hospitals made it through lean times through the help of philanthropic grants, and Goldenberg said, if elected, he would explore the possibility of getting similar money to East Meadow schools.
"We owe it to the kids to provide them with a good education and we also owe it to the community," he said.
Goldenberg also said he would stress fiscal accountability if elected. Pointing to the state comptroller's recent audit of the East Meadow School District, he maintains the district could be running a tighter ship.
"If I'm missing anything stuff in my job, I'm unemployed," he said, referring to the audit's findings of missing laptop computers. "We should cut the fat and use it for programs that are important."
In terms of curriculum, Goldenberg aims to improve technology in district classrooms. "We need to be technically oriented in terms of the way our kids are educated," he said.
Goldenberg is now working toward his masters degree and is a former cub master of Pack 157 and assistant scout master of Troop 157. In 1999 he was voted Cub Master of the Year in the Rough Rider District.
