Thursday, October 1, 2026
Board of Education President Dr. Dennis Ryan and Vice President Patrick Gallagher are running for re-election to three-year terms in the May 17 school board and budget election. The trustee race comes on the heels of the board’s adoption of a $118.6 million budget, which it has described as a fiscally responsible spending plan that maintains programs and includes no increase in the tax levy.
Newcomer Ari Pine, a Long Beach resident, has entered the race, saying that he wants to bring greater transparency and accountability to the district. Pine questioned a middle school curriculum that has drawn criticism from parents as well as the fate of East School, and said that school officials could have done more to rein in spending during budget talks. Meanwhile, the district and members of the Lido Homes Civic Association are working to reach a settlement on a proposed athletic field at the high school. Association members contend that school officials did not properly assess the project’s impact on the community, while school officials say the group’s threat of litigation could raise taxes. And school officials have narrowed their search for a new superintendent to three candidates in the hope of replacing Dr. Robert Greenberg, who is retiring.
Cathy Musk, co-president of the Long Beach High School PTSA, said that the district needs a board that can work together collaboratively. “We need school board members who will be able to work closely with the new superintendent,” Musk said.
Gallagher, a trustee for nine years and a Long Beach resident, has served as board president three times and as vice president twice. An adjunct professor of history and government at Nassau Community College, Gallagher is also a curriculum associate at Syracuse University.
