By Brian Zanzonico
There will be little pressure on the incumbents in Franklin Square, as President Joe Armocida, who has served two terms on the board, and Vice President John Randazzo, who won election for the open seat of retiring board member Ken Antoncich in 2004 by nearly 700 votes, are both running unopposed.
In Elmont, where three seats are up for grabs, two of the incumbents have opted not to run. Challengers John Beasley, Deniece Walker, Colleen Mockenhaupt and Carol Parker-Duncanson are vying for Pamela Monteverde's seat. Michael Jaime and Lascelles Aboagye will challenge for President Robert Nori's seat. Lorraine Ferrigno, the board's vice president and lone incumbent seeking reelection, will face off against Michele Fuller.
In Ferrigno's last bid for election, as an incumbent in 2004, she edged challenger Elsy Mecklenbourg-Guibert by one vote. Guibert filed a petition with the commissioner of the State Education Department weeks later to investigate what she deemed an unfair election, claiming that some residents "not domiciled" in the Elmont School District cast votes.
In January 2005, 17-year board member Deanna Doreson stepped down months after aligning with Ferrigno and abstaining from voting for president and vice president at the reorganization meeting. Their quest to oust then-president Aubrey Phillips from the board's presidency had taken a hit months earlier, when longtime board member and ally Carl Termini was defeated by Monteverde in the 2004 school board election. Guibert got a spot on the board when she ran unopposed for Doreson's vacant seat in 2005.
The school board elections and budget votes are May 15. The winners receive a three-year term on their respective school boards.
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