By:Rebecca Shalomoff
The Lawrence Board of Education seat recently vacated when longtime trustee Gale Srulevich resigned will be filled by a special district election Tuesday, Oct. 30.
The election, which will cost the district $15,000, was decided upon by board members at the Aug. 28 meeting. The cost covers advertising, renting voting booths and hiring people to man them.
After Srulevich resigned, the school board was faced with three options: appointing a replacement, waiting for the next district-wide election in May or holding a special election.
We felt that it was the fairest way to go,board president Frank Argento said of a special election. We couldn't leave the seat open until May.
The board came to the consensus that rather than leave it undecided or appoint someone, this was a more Democratic approach to giving everyone an opportunity to apply,superintendent Dr. Mark Rosenbaum said.
Board members and district officials could not remember the last time a special school board election was held, if at all. In May 1995, a special election took place after the District 15 budget was initially voted down by the public. District clerk Alice Laino said the voter turnout for that was good, but that was about money,she said.
When a board seat was last left vacant with the death of trustee Anita Cuchel in May 1998 board members appointed Chickie Granet eight months later. The appointment drew criticism because some thought that the board should have held a special election at that time.
So far, only Dr. Sol Blisko, a dentist and Woodmere resident for 11 years, said that he will be running as a candidate in the Oct. 30 election.
I feel that there is a lot that has to be done [in this district],Blisko said. I would like to see test scores improved. And I feel that there's enough money in the budget for what has to be done for children, and there's enough waste in the budget that can be cut so as not to effect learning in the district.
For the past three years, Blisko said he has been attending Lawrence school board meetings and working with trustees to improve relations between the public and private school communities.
He and his wife, Carole, a teacher in the New York City public schools, have two children, Joshua and Zachary, students at the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway. For several years, Blisko has been an active member in the HAFTR schools, serving on various committees, including those dealing with preparing budgets and policy making.
Another district resident who is considering running in the special election is North Woodmere resident Bruce Scher. He was also a candidate during the May 2001 election, running against Dr. David Sussman in an unsuccessful bid to unseat the incumbent.
Scher has lived in the district for 18 years, with his wife, Fran, and two children. He has worked in sales for the past 25 years.
In running for the board for the first time, Scher said he was interested in the development of a responsible budget, the delivery of a sound referendum, safety in buildings and buses, and offering a fine curriculum supported by a quality staff.
Anyone interested in running for a spot on the Lawrence school board should pick up a petition at the superintendent's office located in the Lawrence Middle School, 195 Broadway, Lawrence. Trustees are elected for a three-year term.
Srulevich, who would have been up for re-election next year, resigned after 12 years as a board member because she is moving out of the district.
Polling procedures and further details about the special election will be made available after the Herald's deadline, during the Lawrence board of education meeting scheduled for Tuesday evening, Sept. 4.
