By ANTHONY BOTTAN
None of the three candidates are being challenged for their seats. Terms are for three years.
Voting will take place on Tuesday, May 20 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Brooklyn Avenue, William L. Buck and Robert W. Carbonaro schools, and the Corona Avenue Firehouse.
Paul DePace
After 27 years on the District 24 school board, Paul DePace still can't get enough. That is why he is running, unopposed, for a seat on the board that he has served on for nearly three decades.
"Over the years, I would question myself," DePace said. "But there are always things I get excited about and I feel the community is still supporting me."
DePace has lived in the same house in Valley Stream, with his wife Barbara, for 38 years. He also had all four of his kids graduate from William L. Buck Elementary School and South High School. During his time on the board, DePace said he helped bring honesty to board meetings because in the past, he said, there was distrust with previous board members and mismanagement of school funds. "People felt confident with the board members here," he said. "We've had support from the public."
One concern that DePace said he had about the district were the disappointing test scores of students. "We should do better with scores," he said. DePace did say that Superintendent Ed Fale has implemented many initiatives such the one-to-one reading program and early intervention services, to help students make improvements on their test scores.
The first priority for the district, DePace said, is updating its facilities and buildings, which are more than 50 years old. "The number one thing on our plate is to get the facilities in better working order," he said. DePace added that some of the schools are still using the original boilers from when those buildings first opened. Another major concern DePace has is the contract negotiations with district teachers, which are ongoing.
DePace admitted it gets difficult when the board works on the budget, but said he is proud that in the last 10 years, the board was able to keep the average tax increase to 6 percent.
DePace has also served on the Central High School District board for the last seven years. He said the high school district has made great strides and believes it started with a good administration led by Superintendent Dr. Marc Bernstein. "We brought in some good people and the test scores are looking pretty good," he said.
The hardest part of working on two boards, he said, is the four meetings a month, which with all the work can sometimes get confusing. But DePace said he always wants to keep the communication lines between the public and board open. "You have to keep the community feeling like they are being treated fairly," he said.
DePace is a retired teacher, having taught physical education in Crown Heights until his retirement in 2004.
Carole Meaney
Carole Meaney has lived in Valley Stream her entire life. Her four kids, Terence, 15, Thomas, 14, Emily, 13, and Erin, 13, all graduated from Robert W. Carbonaro Elementary School and currently attend Valley Stream South High School. So it is safe to say, she said, that she has a vested interest in the school district. That is why she is running, unopposed, for a fourth consecutive term on the District 24 school board.
"I feel there is still some things that need to be completed," she said.
Meaney said she initially became interested in running for a seat on the board in 1999, when her oldest son was in first grade, and she still had three more kids to go through the school system. "I felt there were issues that needed to be addressed," she said.
The nine-year school board veteran said that any accomplishments during her tenure in District 24 have to be attributed to the entire board. "I don't believe one person on the board can have accomplishments," she said.
Meaney did credit the board for implementing a full-day kindergarten program, building new playgrounds and starting new lunch programs for students.
"Everyone on the school board has a vested interest in the community," she said. "The most important aspect of a board member is to always remember the needs of the children. We are molding them into leaders of tomorrow."
Her top priority, if re-elected, is focusing on the needs of the children and meeting every goal set forth by the district. She said the district needs to "push the limit" because nowadays, everything is based on test scores. "I want to see us do better than what they [students] think they can," she said.
Meaney said she expressed an interest in joining the Central High School District Board of Education as one of District 24's representatives, especially now that all four of her children attend South High School. She compared balancing the needs of the taxpayers with the needs of the students as a full circle.
"If we can educate, instruct and teach our students the best we can, then that would reflect in the test scores, which would reflect to the taxpayers that we are doing our job and utilizing the money from school taxes wisely," she said. "It goes full circle."
Ian Wraith
As a father of two children, each of whom are making their way through Valley Stream schools, Ian Wraith said he gets personal satisfaction from making a difference in the district. This is why Wraith is running, unopposed, for a second term on the District 24 school board.
"I get a lot of satisfaction in making a difference. I like being involved," Wraith said. "It's a good board. We don't agree on everything, but we work well together."
Wraith has lived in the village for the last 13 years with his wife Alida, and two kids, Kristen, 15, and Sean, 13. Both of his children attend South High School. During his first term on the board, which began in 2005, Wraith said he worked to balance the needs of the students with the needs of the district's taxpayers. He said was happy to keep the school budget low this year, and will continue to work hard to keep increases to a minimum.
High taxes in the village is a major issue for residents, he said, but the board must also be concerned with the budget. "I really like the programs the district has, like the music program," he said. "It's tough to rationalize the time and expenses put in, but the benefits outweigh it."
Wraith said he knows that people in Valley Stream, especially the elderly, are in tough financial times. Because of this, a responsible school budget is his first priority. "At this time, you can't spend money they don't have," he said. "It's tough to balance it. You want to be competitive with local districts, but at the same time, you have to weigh the concerns of taxpayers and keep the budget as low as possible."
He said he hopes programs, like the sixth grade trip to Ashokan -- a pastoral upstate retreat for students where they learn about nature and go hiking -- won't be affected by the budget. He added that he would love to see Albany find new ways to fund public education.
Besides the budget, Wraith said the board is concentrating on finding a new leader for the William L. Buck Elementary School because Principal Al Arnone will be retiring at the end of the school year. He said the board is pleased with the work that Dr. Scott Comis has done at Brooklyn Avenue Elementary School, and hope to find a replacement for Arnone that is of Comis' caliber.
Wraith added he hopes more parents get involved in the district. "If there is a problem, we do listen," he said.
