By Joseph Kellard
Barring serious challenges from write-in candidates, Oceanside incumbents Sue Graham and Diane O'Connor will retain their seats and former School 8 Principal Don Maresca is expected to take the seat of the retiring Phil Steinberg. The lone Island Park seat up for grabs has been met with no challengers, so incumbent Steve Foster will coast to victory.
In February, after Steinberg announced his retirement from the board, Maresca decided to step down from his position as trustee of the Oceanside Library in order to be eligible to run for the school board.
"My goal as a member of the Oceanside Board of Education is to bring together all facets of the Oceanside community, parents, teachers, seniors and others, to develop a strong educational system and an even stronger community," Maresca said on announcing his candidacy in February.
Maresca began his educational career as assistant principal at School 8 in 1967, and in 1973 he was appointed principal of School 1, where he piloted a family program, the Sixth Grade Center. In 1981, he became principal of Oceanside Junior High School; in 1984, associate principal at Oceanside High School; and in 1985, principal of School 2, a position he held for 15 years.
Among the programs he helped develop are the Annual Intergenerational Forum (in coordination with the Oceanside Senior Center), which brings together young people and senior citizens who are willing to share their experiences and understand one another. This will be in addition to the Career Opportunity Awareness Lecture Series (COALS), in which adults discuss their careers with students to help them gain a better understanding of the business world.
"During my 33-year career in Oceanside, my number one priority has always been its children," Maresca said. "I believe that my many years of educational experience and community service will enable me to be an effective, articulate and community-minded member of the Board of Education."
The board's current vice president, Sue Graham, is seeking her third term.
"I'm running again to ensure our children get the best education we can give them," Graham said. "I think what I've always brought to the board is that I've always had the ability to compromise and see both sides of the story."
Graham, a legal secretary at the District Attorney's office of Nassau County, added that her volunteer work as president of the Civil Service Employees Association for the District Attorney/County Attorney has fostered her ability to compromise.
Her road to the school board began in 1986, with her involvement in the Oceanside PTA, where she served in capacities from legislation chairperson to president. Two years later, she joined the Nassau District PTA and became its treasurer and first associate.
From 1994 to 1996, she was a member of New York State PTA Board of Managers, sitting on various committees, including public relations and legislation budget. She was first elected to the Oceanside school board in 1997.
Among the issues Graham has championed are full-day kindergarten, three-year technology plan, and school tax exemptions for senior citizens.
As chairperson with the board's Policy Committee, she overhauled the district's policy book. Graham initiated the Internet Network Policy, which offers safety and acceptable-usage guidelines, and she played a major role in establishing Project Save, which established, among other items, a code of conduct for students and fingerprinting of new teachers. Graham also serves on the board's Safety and Attendance Committees.
"Any decision that I make is done with the intention of providing our children with the best education and safety, and never, ever compromising either," she said.
First elected to the board in 1999, Diane O'Connor originally got involved in the Oceanside school district when her two children began attending its schools in the early 1980s. She volunteered then in the Oceanside pre-school program, and over the years she became more involved with the PTA and Special Education PTA (SEPTA).
"I ran originally because my children had both graduated and I wanted to keep being involved in the school system," said O'Connor, who in 1995 was elected president of Oceanside Community Service.
She served as PTA president for SEPTA and council president of Oceanside PTA, and prior to her election to the board she sat on the district's SITE Base and Bond Committees. Before and after her election, she was chairperson for Nassau District Special Education.
While on the school board, she has served as a liaison for SEPTA and the Department of Oceanside Community Activities. She also lobbies in Albany for area 11 with the Nassau School Board Association, on issues such as the importance of on-time budgets and changes in the WICKS Law, which requires school districts to prepare and award separate prime construction contracts whenever the projected cost exceeds $50,000.
"I think the main reason I'm running is my interest in still ensuring the best education for our children of need. With all of the changes being made with special education I want to make sure that everything continues along the lines of our success with our collaborative programs. The state keeps changing the rules all the time, so you have to keep on top of everything."
The school board elections and budget vote will be held on Tuesday, May 21 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
