BOE Candidates Face Off

There are just four days left before Commack residents head to the polls to vote on the 2013-14 school budget and elect two trustees to the Board of Education.

Residents got a chance to know those running for the board Thursday, during a “Meet the Candidates Night” hosted by the PTA.  

Four individuals are running for the Board of Education this year. Only one of them, Jeffrey Egan, is an incumbent. He is facing off against newcomer, James Tampellini. Jarrett Behar and Steve Hartman are running for the open seat left by Joseph Pennacchio, who is ending his term.  

Taking questions from the audience, the candidates discussed some of the hot topics in the district including the budget, common core standards, how to deal with unfunded state mandates and what to do with Marion Carll Farm.  

When asked what they thought the most important issue facing the Commack School District is, all of the candidates answered with factors related to costs.   “I think the education is very good. It’s the fiscal management of this district that I have an issue with,” Tampellini, an attorney who has lived in the district for 15 years, said, pointing to a secretary’s salary of $106,000.  

Behar, an attorney who has been a member of the district for seven years, said that his main goal is to find money over the next three years outside of the tax levy. However, he said that does not see current financial practices to be a broken system. “I think the district has done a good job of it so far,” he said in reference to revenues and savings.  

Egan, a business owner and resident for 16 years, also said that controlling costs, finding efficiencies and collective bargaining are the most important issues to him. “We can’t be lazy. We have to maximize revenues,” he said.  

Hartman, a 16-year resident who works as a project manager at a medical device design firm, said that the most important issue is the decrease of services due to the lack of funds. “We as a whole need to see what can be done to maintain services every day,” he said.  

Part of the conversation on district costs was related to unfunded mandates such as the common core. All four candidates said that they would work with legislators on getting their voices heard and lobbying against the unfunded requirement. The testing aspect of the common core was also an issue for the candidates.  

“To subject a second grader to a full day of testing is crazy. We don’t want to create test takers,” Behar said.  

When it comes to the budget, all four candidates said that they would vote for the spending plan. Tampellini however, veered from the others saying that he does not like the budget, citing what he considers to be overpaid salaries and little efficiency. He also said that surpluses built into the budget, other than the unreserved fund, should be looked at more carefully and that the process should be more transparent. “We should know where every penny is spent,” he said.  

He also said that he is upset with the cuts to nurses, custodians and clubs when using money not spent from previous years would pay for those costs.  

“I think the board is being pennywise and pound foolish,” he said.  

While he is uncomfortable with the spending plan, Tampellini said he would still vote yes on budget because to do otherwise would only harm the children.  

When questioned about reserve funds, Egan said that he would prefer not to use them down, even if some cuts have to be made.

“Part of the job is to prioritize,” he said.

“I don’t want kindergarteners today to not have programs later on because we used the savings in one shot,” he added.  

Behar agreed, saying that having a surplus, would keep taxpayers from facing drastic spikes. He also said that when considering the budget, the board needs to look at the viability of the district as a whole.  

Hartman said that unspent dollars should to be taken into consideration before asking taxpayers for more money. “Every line item should be looked at and analyzed,” he said.  

When asked about what course the board should take with the Marion Carl Farm, Egan said he’d like to see it taken off of the school’s plate.  

“True, it’s a historic site, but it’s bleeding this community,” he said. “That farm has got to go.”  

Behar agreed, stating that he doesn’t see the school district being able to afford to upkeep it. Hartman said that he would like to see the land could be deeded to someone who could utilize the property.  

Tampellini said the first step is to defeat the lawsuit from the family’s heirs. He also expressed disappointment in the district’s action to block residents from intervening in the case. “I think the community would have liked to have it,” he said.   

The budget vote and trustee election on May 21 will take place from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. at the Commack Middle School and High School.