Incumbent President Brian O'Flaherty and Vice President Walter Skinner seek reelection to the board. O'Flaherty is being challenged by David Kullman and Skinner is being challenged by Anthony LaRosa, all East Meadow residents.
A third seat is also up for grabs. Three challengers are vying for the seat, which is a little more than a one-year term that expires in June 2010. The candidates are Joseph Danenza, Thomas Kurian and Marcee Rubinstein.
Joseph V. Danenza
Joseph V. Danenza is a Nassau County government employee and active in the East Meadow community. Danenza is currently the assistant director of Police Information Systems for the Nassau County Police Department. Prior to working in local government, Danenza has held managerial positions as an employee or consultant with leading financial institutions, and was a director for a renowned international company.
In 2002, Danenza taught Social Studies at Midwood High School in Brooklyn as a New York City Teaching Fellow.
Danenza is currently a member of CSEA Local 830 and was formally a member of the United Federation of Teachers. He holds an MBA degree with a major in Information Systems from CUNY Baruch College and a BA from St. John's University with a double major in Political Science and Psychology.
Danenza and his wife, Meri, are lifelong resident of Long Island and have been East Meadow school district residents for more than 27 years. Their daughter, Lauren, is currently a substitute teacher for East Meadow public schools and their son, Harris, a junior at East Meadow High School, is a varsity baseball pitcher and football player. In 2006, Joe co-founded the coalition to Save Barnum Woods to promote responsible land use within the Barnum Woods Section of the East Meadow community.
Danenza said he brings a great deal of experience in technology, finance and government management as well as frontline teaching experience in an urban high school to the community.
Thomas Kurian
Thomas Kurian, an East Meadow resident since 2005, is vying for a Board of Education seat that is currently vacant. Kurian was born and raised in Kerala, India, and is a U.S. citizen. He earned Bachelor of Arts degree in 1981, and also earned a diploma in Safety and AED and CPR certification.
Kurian works for the New York City Transit as an Electronic Specialist. He also works part time as a real estate agent.
Kurian said he is seeking different ways to help the community, and recently signed up to become a jail prisoner counselor. He expects to attain certification for that role on May 13.
"I am a hard worker and I would like to work with my community in different ways," Kurian said. "I believe and respect political parties but I registered as an independent voter. I will support for all good things whoever doing for our community."
Kurian's wife is Susan Thomas, who works in Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola as an LPN. She also attends school at Nassau Community College with the plan to become an RN.
Thomas and Susan have three children, Kevin Thomas, 23; Allen Thomas, 19; and Irine Thomas, a junior at East Meadow High School.
Marcee Rubinstein
Marcee Rubinstein, a longtime East Meadow resident, brings her educational background to the candidacy for Board of Education. She is running for the seat that is currently vacant.
Rubinstein has worked as a speech therapist and teacher for the New York City Board of Education and Nassau BOCES for a combined 34 years. She is a Nassau County trainer for the NYS Alternate Assessment and a speech consultant for adult group homes.
Within the East Meadow community, Rubinstein has served as president for the Special Education PTA, the PTA Council and the Parent Association at the Association for Children with Down Syndrome. An advocate for special education, Rubinstein is also a co-coordinator of the Special Education Resource Center and Library (SERCL) and a member of the Special Education Advisory committee. She is also a two-time Founders' Day honoree and a member of several other groups, including the District-Wide and Meadowbrook Based Compact for Learning Committees and the Financial Advisory committee. Rubinstein has also served as the Assistant Director for the Nassau Region PTA.
Rubinstein has been married to her husband Barry, a former school board member, for 28 years. They have two sons, Lonny, 25, and Marc, 23.
"I have decided to run for the school board to be a rational and positive influence in the board room and concentrate on the real job of the school board - our children's education," Rubinstein said.
Walter Skinner
Walter P. Skinner, lifelong East Meadow resident, seeks re-election to a second term as a Board of Education trustee. He is currently the school board's vice president.
After growing up in East Meadow, he married Kim VanderBrink and they decided to live and raise their family in East Meadow. Walter and Kim are the proud parents of two boys, Corey, 11 and Kyle, 8.
The incumbent vice president comes from a long line of Skinners who are active in the community, including his father, Walter J. Skinner, and his brother, James Skinner.
Like his family members, Skinner has shown a willingness to stay active in the community. He is a member of the East Meadow Kiwanis Club and formerly served on its board of directors. He is a fourth-degree knight and a member of the Pope Pius XII Council of the Knights of Columbus. Skinner also volunteers at the local schools as a member of the PTA at McVey and Woodland Middle School. He also served on the PMT committee at McVey and at Woodland Middle School.
Skinner is a past Den Leader for Cub Pack # 291 and currently an Assistant Scout Master of Troop # 291. He was also involved in the PAL as an assistant basketball coach, and sponsors numerous activities for the youth in the community, including the East Meadow Soccer Club, East Meadow Little League and PAL Lacrosse. He is also an active member of the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce.
David Kullman
David Kullman is challenging incumbent school board President Brian O'Flaherty. He was born and raised in East Meadow and attended Chaminade High School, where he graduated in the top 5 percent of his class.
Kullman attended Hamilton College, where he was a Dean's List student-athlete. While at Hamilton, he coached the New York Islander Summer Hockey School and the hockey school at Brown University. Kullman graduated with a BA in Government.
Kullman went on to do graduate studies at Japan's prestigious Kyoto University as a kenkyusei, a graduate research student, in the School of Law. There, he worked with Dr. Zentaro Kitagawa, then dean of the law school and now chairman emeritus, renowned legal scholar and former Harvard Fellow.
Kullman currently lives in East Meadow, where he is a very involved and proud uncle of four children now attending Meadow Elementary School. He is very close to his two sisters, who are active in the Meadowbrook PTA, and his parents, who also live in the district. Kullman has also been a girls' basketball coach for the past two years for the Central Nassau League.
He launched the Web site "aBetterEastMeadow.org" to foster both community awareness and community unity, the driving motivation for his candidacy for School Board this election.
He said the most important issue facing the district is the future of the children. Unity, he said, will enable the district to better prepare in a time of economic crisis.
Anthony LaRosa
Anthony LaRosa, an East Meadow resident for 24 years, is challenging incumbent Vice President Walter Skinner for a seat on the Board of Education.
LaRosa has been married for 19 years, and has three children attending East Meadow public schools. His children are actively involved in sports, both in the schools and with outside organizations including East Meadow Baseball/Softball Association and the PAL. They are also involved in the district's music programs.
"I am a local union member in the construction field, for the last 25 years," LaRosa said. "I honestly believe that my experience can only help the East Meadow school board and our organization."
The challenger said the most important issue facing the school district is finding and hiring an "adequate and suitable" superintendent.
"This is such an important position, and we need someone who truly cares about East Meadow and its children," LaRosa said.
LaRosa emphasized the importance of the district's sports and music and arts programs. He noted that the conditions of the district's fields need improvement and should be looked at.
Brian O'Flaherty
Incumbent school board President Brian O'Flaherty, a lifelong East Meadow resident, seeks re-election to a third term on the Board of Education.
O'Flaherty is an East Meadow High School graduate who also attended Prospect Avenue Elementary School and Woodland Junior High School. He graduated from Hofstra University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting.
O'Flaherty worked his way up the real estate ranks, and is now vice president for 500 Park Avenue, a 202,000-square-foot property located on Park Avenue and 59th Street. He is responsible for the oversight of the day-to-day operations of the building, dealing with the contractors, the preparation of the annual budget, and the financial reporting requirements of the property. O'Flaherty also interacts on a daily basis with the tenants of the building, and assists the ownership's asset management firm with their various reporting requirements on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis.
He currently holds a Fire Safety Director Certificate of Fitness with the New York City Fire Department and is a member of the "Building Owners and Management Association," which is a national and international real estate organization.
During his six years on the school board, he has been president, vice president and on the following committees: Facilities, Business & Finance and Policy.
O'Flaherty is currently a member of East Meadow Kiwanis and the Community Association of Stewart Avenue, and is a civic member of the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce and CEMCO.
He volunteered on the Financial Advisory Committee ("FAC") for the Board of Education for nine years and was its chairman for three of those years.
