The League of Women Voters moderator for Meet the Candidates Night on May 2 ordered, "Remove any campaign buttons, we are not partisan," and the meeting in the Black Box Theatre at Manhasset High School was off and running. Each candidate made an opening statement, answered questions from the community, then made a closing statement.

Good Evening. Thank you to the League of Women Voters and SCA for hosting this forum, and to each of you for attending tonight - so that you can hear firsthand from each of the candidates - and make an informed decision.

The purpose tonight is to "Meet" the candidates, so I decided I'd share a few thoughts in three key areas, so you could get to know me better.

First, as a parent: Maybe it was the college admissions process or it's because we are on the threshold of graduation, but being the parent of a high school student has added a new dimension to my perspectives on education. It's not just the importance of academic offerings to prepare them for life beyond Manhasset, and it's not just the extracurriculars my children have experienced through sports like lacrosse, soccer, wrestling, crew and track; orchestral and vocal music and theater performances; student government, -it's also the social and behavioral changes that affect our teenagers, and how these changes impact their motivation and ability to learn, and their interaction with teachers and peers. I believe this is an important perspective for a school board member.

Second, our community: I am proud of our schools and community, but am also aware of the significant challenges we face: steadily climbing enrollment; the aging physical condition of our secondary school; determining curriculum and program offerings; and increases in school budgets and pressures on our property taxes. In short, we need to balance the high quality of education with a responsible budget.

Wanting the best for our children has a price tag and the results of last years' budget vote made it abundantly clear that there are different perspectives within our community.

Yet, it's also clear is that the "bookend" views will not prevail - we won't see either 15 percent increases or 15 percent decreases in each year's budget. We are part of the same community and we need to seek a compromise, find a middle ground- but without compromising the quality of education. Gaining the trust of the community, while achieving that compromise, requires change.

Third, my professional experience: As a specialist in turnarounds, I understand that managing through change requires a different approach and perspective than managing in a static or growing environment. This is important, because while a number of changes were implemented by the board this year, change is not a one-year process.

Now I understand that some people may hear "restructuring specialist" and assume that means I am a cost-cutter. But managing change is not synonymous with cutting costs just for the sake of it - it's about effectively using assets and managing resources. For example, during last year's budget cycle, I took the initiative to review certain areas and shared my thoughts with the administration. My focus was not on areas that directly impact our children's education, but on the non-curricular aspects - seeking ways to redeploy our expenditures and spend our money efficiently and wisely.

The next few years: A strong, talented board will be fundamental to starting off on the right foot with a new superintendent.

I believe my perspectives as a parent, as a member of our community, and as a professional bring the right skills to add to our current board.

I hope over the course of this evening you will share that belief and decide to support me as the next school board member

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, my name is Mark Aloia. I would like to first thank everyone for coming tonight to show your support for the community, I thank the League of Women Voters for sponsoring the event, and I thank the other candidates for putting their names out in support of our great school district. Before I share my vision of what I feel our district can be and why I would like you to vote for me, I would like to tell you a little about me and my family.

I grew up in Garden City and attended its public schools. My wife grew up in Dix Hills. We will be married 20 years this July. We chose Manhasset as the place to raise our children because we sensed that it was a small community that supported an excellent educational system. What we found was better than what we imagined. Our children, Nicholas, who is in middle school and Patrick, in Shelter Rock, have enjoyed an enriched educational experience with wonderful teachers and dedicated administrators. The community has been so warm and open, allowing us to volunteer and contribute as much as we want. While we in Manhasset are bound together by this sense of community, the two things that we all have in common, no matter what our personal differences may be, are that we demand excellence and we value education.

Since we share these values, I feel confident that we can work toward a vision of an excellent 21st century educational system. One that reflects our sense of excellence, reaches out for the greatness that exists in every child, and prepares him or her for college - as most people go to college now, and one which does so in a collaborative environment. I know that we can do this and still be mindful of efficiency.

We have had a rough year, and next year will not be easy, with the MESPA contract expiring, enrollment increases and deteriorating facilities.

We are a great community of successful people. If we work together, support our system and allow it to stabilize, I know we can make something even greater than what we have.

I promise I will take this responsibility seriously and, as I have with all my other community commitments, I promise to give you my all. Thank you for this opportunity.

As a candidate for the board of education I welcome this opportunity to share my thoughts with you and hear your questions and comments about the current state of our school district.

Tonight I would like to begin with the most important issue that concerns each and every one of us in this room: the actual performance of our children in school.

Are our children truly performing better than children in other neighboring school districts?

Is our school district really the 11th best in the entire country?

The answers to these questions are what this election is all about.

Every concerned parent wants to maintain a level of control over their children's education but do they truly have any control in our school district?

Last year a number of parents were very upset, and rightly so, when too many of our children were placed in jeopardy through a very poorly thought out decision to change the minimum distance required to receive bus service. It was based simply on mileage. It did not take into consideration the age of the children, nor the dangerous roads in their path to school. It simply was presented to save a few dollars that most likely was never realized.

This is a perfect example of a very ill conceived scheme to save money and if elected I will never permit it to happen.

I don't believe that parents and residents know the true performance of our children.

Although the MSD is a good school it is not quite as good as the "spin" published and distributed by this bureaucracy.

How can we be the 11th best school in the country when our students are out scored in English, global history, history, math and science Regents that only place us at the highest 18th in just Nassau and Suffolk Counties?

Did you know that to pass a Regents exam today all you need to score is a 55 not 65? Even with this relaxation of standards students in East Meadow, Levittown and Seaford out score our children on the Science Regents where we rank 25th.

Students in Bellmore, Levittown and Massapequa out score our children in the English Regents where we rank 20th.

Our dubious ranking as the 11th best school district in the nation is based upon 655 of our children taking AP tests.

I was very disappointed to learn that 62 percent of our children fail to pass their AP tests. A large number of our children that do pass this test pass them in Spanish and Art where subjective criteria are used.

The first and foremost goal of our schools is to constantly improve the educational scores of our children yet we are never presented with any trend analysis of past performance.

It is time that we press our school district to live up to its motto "Excellence through Effort."

Tonight I look forward to discussing this and much more with you. Thank you.

Aitken: There was improvement in the process, in site based budgeting, in a bottoms up approach and more can be implemented with the bottoms up approach. It is important to do pruning. There are not always big pockets of money and pruning can add up.

Penn: In next year's budget I would cut as much as possible so there is very little waste. I would advertise for teachers because we get hundreds of resumes and don't need to pay $80,000. The budget is not fully cut to the bone and we can look at administrators and development of curriculum.

Aloia: BOCES is one area I would look at, it is very large numbers and difficult to get your arms around. With outsourcing there is some cost cutting room. I would take a fresh look at facilities as we spend several hundred thousand on repairs. Also, energy and lighting studies. Supplies are an area to cut costs and the administration now has central purchasing, one for the entire district, and that will effect a savings.

Aloia: Enrollment growth is a reality. In 1998-2000 there were a tremendous amount of births and we have short and long term enrollment growth. For short, in 2007 we will need six more classes in the elementary schools- four in Munsey Park and two in Shelter Rock. There will be growth in the middle and high schools too but it is felt it can be absorbed. Kindergarten will need new classes. Long term the Bishop report claims 70 students per year will be added. The report could be updated again.

Aitken: There are two perspectives, short and long term. The board discussed updating the Bishop report, which has been accurate on the high end. We should be accurate in the middle, in the sweet spot. At present there are 190 seniors and there are 249 students in the seventh grade. We must look at things we rejected before, must look at the problem here today. We will need more teachers and more classroom space.

Penn: Short term we have a minimum in some classes. We can look at how we run our classes, there are 58 classes with under 11 students. With the explosion of enrollment, bonds can be looked into.

Aloia: I was on the committee last year. I joined after the first budget failure and served on the contracts and teachers subcommittee. I personally read and analyzed every contract. I did the lion's share of the work. I wrote a report with recommendations to the board, so I was very active last year.

Penn: What will be needed with the new budgeting process is a broad knowledge of business applications. I can get things done and motivate others and have always worked with large groups and I can hear all points before a decision is made.

Aloia: I have shown commitment to the community as my wife and I are involved in the community. She is a religious educator and I have coached 12 teams and did lighting for eight Saturday Series plays. My commitment to the children is unique and I have spent over 1600 hours working with them. I am a deal-maker in real estate and I bring that to the job.

Aitken: I am a parent of three in the schools and it is difficult to sit back at a time when the district is in turmoil and I have the skills to help. As a turnaround restructuring specialist companies hire me to come in and do what the district needs done-if the district could hire me that is what I do.

Aitken: Excellence is measured in many ways, advanced placement, college admissions, but we develop the whole student. Measuring can be very subjective. Here in Manhasset people move back, they know what the education was. The students attend good schools and come back to raise their families. The middle range student and the special ed student too, that's what it's all about.

Penn: Excellence in education is measured in many ways although really it is the test scores. Extra activities won't get a student into a good school without the marks. Each student is measured on his own abilities. Look at the records now and you don't see excellence. Now a 55 on the Regents is a passing grade and we shouldn't play games with semantics.

Aloia: It is important for the board members to assess achievement of the students with the superintendent of curriculum. The facts are contained in the student achievement test scores and the assessment of those scores is important to the board member. It is the district's responsibility to bring excellence out of every child. What is excellent is the character education my son is receiving in the sixth grade. He has had to submit poetry for contests-that is excellence.

Penn: That's a very good question. It has been turned into something political, if you are for the budget you are for the kids, and if you are against the budget you are against the kids. We want to provide an excellent education for each student, and the best way to win over the community is with 100 percent transparency. We want to make sure as much as possible goes into the classroom, and don't mind cutting from administration. In any political battle there are different ideas. Everyone should be able to express their ideas.

Aloia: That is the reason I am running. I attend meetings regularly and I watch the anger being vented at the board and I watch the board working very hard. I leave the board meetings at midnight and they work in executive session until 3 p.m. This board has put outsourcing on the ballot, cut 30 positions-sacrifices have been made and all suffer for the betterment of the community and all this needs to be communicated.

Aitken: In the beginning I referenced compromise. The community needs to find a middle ground. The board needs to further communication so that we may disagree but know what we are talking about. Not misinformation but disagreement so we can walk away and respect each other. The board has provided listserve, columns in the paper, a new superintendent-all to get us on the same page.

Aitken: In Jericho there is exposure to numerous languages and I would like to put back science. I would look at what other districts do, I would benchmark them, see what programs they provide and if they deliver them in more cost effective ways. We are not the only district, we are all grappling with the same thing.

Aloia: We lost third grade strings and elementary Spanish and both are very important. Recently Kitty Klein wrote an article about how students must distinguish themselves in non-academic ways as colleges are so competitive. Our foreign language and music programs are great here and I would put them back.

Penn: Adding services is a difficult issue, every dollar spent must be spent wisely. Have to reach a minimum threshold, I can't say you can add lots yet. We must benchmark, compare with others. Maybe share services with other districts. Be innovative.

Penn: For the budget, from the budget reports handed out at the meetings. For performance I looked at the school reports, so, "directly from the source." When you ask the district for information on how many classes the teachers teach, you must file a Freedom of Information Act request. There is a transparency issue. Data suggests the administration is top heavy, but you can't get the information from them.

Aloia: I had a different experience. I joined the CAC Finance and lots of information was available to me. You can go on the web site this year and any information is there. Student achievement report is available without the Freedom of Information Act request. I got budget information from the meetings.

Aitken: There are different kinds of information, I am on the CAC for Finance too and there is financial information, there are internal reports, budget reallocations, website, listserve, but kids are sometimes the best source of information. Kids are in school every day, they know what is going on. I thought I might wait until they were older to become involved, till they were out and gone, but then there would not be the same connection -sometimes more valuable than what you read in the newspapers.

Penn: Each course taught to the best minimal standards with 10-15 to start a class, not five. Quality control is important, to show trend analysis where all scores are shown for several years. We get lots of data but they are snapshots in time, not trends.

Aloia: I choose to comment, too. To restore excellence we need to restore a sense of pride in the district and a sense of pride in the community. The new superintendent will restore structure. We have too many interims in the district, and when we restore stability at the top excellence will follow.

Aitken: The current board made great strides and their 4.4 percent increase is one of the lowest, and it says clearly that they were listening. They strengthened the business office and that is a reason to trust them. The board will hire a new superintendent, and in the absence of one the board had to step into the vacuum. The new superintendent will be responsible for building his team and that will restore confidence.

Aloia: A lot is outlook. I agree with everything Pat just said. Maybe not everyone knows how hard the board worked. There should be confidence in the board and we should support the board. We have a choice when we vote to pass the budget and make a great educational system. To not vote for the budget means more austerity and no one will want to work here.

Penn: The board has done a good job. The 4.4 percent increase is the lowest in a while. We have to look at where we are today because in 4-7 years taxes could double again. We need more productivity gains because now department heads teach one class with few students. We need to ask for productivity gains, a little give back, to use every teacher in the district to the best advantage.

Penn: I do not have a specific number in mind. After my review of the budget there is still waste that could be cut and still maintain an excellent education. Administrative costs are 14 percent higher than they should be and productivity can be improved and not just be business as usual. We need to see help from everyone-especially the administration and the teachers regarding productivity.

Tom Maimone directed his comment to John Penn, that an ad in the Manhasser Press said to stop school budget waste and counseled people to vote against the budget, and that it was placed by the Independent Citizens Advisory Council (ICAC). John Penn said he was not a member of ICAC and that he gets his information from as many sources as he can.

Aitken: Yes, I am for the budget. A 4.4 percent increase is only $500,000 more that an austerity budget.

Aloia: Yes, I am for the budget, and that is very important what you pointed out. The budget is a statement of the community or that there is not enough of a community to come together and put forward a budget for the children. We can't allow it to continue and have to pass the budget. The board worked hard. This is our community's statement to the children and to the rest of the world.

Penn: All must decide personally how they feel about passing the budget, and for myself the answer is no.

As a proud parent with three children in the Manhasset public schools, I have experience with our schools at all grade levels. I have personally seen the tremendous benefit our children receive - the caring support of their dedicated teachers, the academic excellence and high quality of education, and the extracurricular enrichment offered in our schools.

I want - and am committed to - what is best for our children and what is best for Manhasset. But it takes more than good intentions and high aspirations to be an effective school board member:

It takes strong leadership, yet someone who is fair and who knows how to compromise. It takes a good listener - someone who understands the importance of honestly seeking the opinions of others and who can keep an open mind in those discussions. It takes someone who can weigh perspectives, because they understand the implications of their decisions.

It takes someone who can apply common sense and good judgment to support the positions they advocate. It takes someone who is decisive - who is not afraid to make a reasonable and objective decision, yet someone who also understands the importance of building a consensus. It takes someone who knows how to bring people together and unite them to build that consensus. It takes someone who is able to think strategically and who can build the underpinnings of a long-term plan. It takes someone with initiative, and the creativity to seek new solutions to old problems. It takes someone who is collaborative - who is able to bring people together to work to solve those problems.

As a parent involved in the day-to-day lives of our children and our schools, I surely possess the passion for the positive future of our school district and understand what is important in educating our children.

And it is my professional experience - a proven record in corporate restructurings and turnarounds - the ability to manage, to lead, to resolve conflicts, to identify efficiencies and to emphasize sound financial practices - that confirms that I also possess the business and financial expertise, as well as the strong leadership and interpersonal skills to effectively serve the Manhasset community as a member of its board of education.

We all may know the challenges facing our school district today - but there certainly will be other challenges that arise tomorrow. On May 17, the community will be asked to select among three talented individuals - three individuals who may share high aspirations for our schools and our community, but three individuals whose abilities lie in very different areas.

I hope tonight I have been able to convince you that my talents, my passion, and my drive are the ones best suited to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow, and to and keep our schools and our community moving in the right direction.

I look forward to your support on May 17 and I thank you all for your time this evening

I would like to leave you with these thoughts about why I think you should vote for me -

Commitment - I have proven my commitment to the community and to children with hours and hours of service. I made a career choice becoming an in-house attorney so that I would have the time to devote to my family and my community. My knowledge of how the district works and what people are thinking and feeling reflects the time I had to spend and the time I did spend listening to people with concern. Positive vision - I feel we can achieve efficiency through collaborative efforts. I have a positive vision of a talented community working together to make the district better than it ever was.

Best Fit - We already have good financial people on the board - Larry Belinsky from Wall Street and a CPA from a major firm in Aline Katchadorian. They have already started to turn things around financially. I think I bring a balance to this board with my deal-making experience as an attorney who handles major transactions for a major financial institution.

Systems approach - I am a systems thinker, I will consider the effect of every decision on the system as a whole. Sensible Leadership - I will not make rash decisions and will show leadership by standing up to anyone whose sole purpose is to offend our system. Collaboration - I believe in shaping our district through collaboration. I think my willingness to listen to people will help.

Our biggest challenges/issues facing us are: Stability - we need to fill interim positions and support our administrators to maintain and improve educational standards; Continued responsibility - we need to continue the work of the current board in setting controls, being accountable through site based budgeting and other initiatives; Enrollment Growth - we need to make short term and long term decisions relating to it; MESPA Contract - we will have a difficult union challenge, my experience with unions in real estate in hotels and New York City properties should add value; Facilities repair - we need a fresh real estate approach to this issue. I feel I can add value here as well.

On May 17, you have to decide who you think will truly commit their time and effort to do the best job with the new board and new superintendent to overcome these challenges and to improve our system. I believe I am that person, and I promise I will serve all of you to the best of my ability.

Thank you.

Ladies and Gentlemen thank you for giving me your time, attention tonight.

I especially want to thank the League of Woman voters for putting together this important forum for the candidates to meet and present our ideas to all concerned residents of Manhasset.

If elected to the board of education I pledge to you to always lead the effort to improve the education standards of our children as the utmost important factor for our board.

Secondly I pledge to you that if elected I will improve the transparency of our school system so that any member of our community can easily obtain meaningful information regarding the performance of our children today, over the past several years and in direct comparison to all other districts in our area. This information is vital to every parent and concerned citizen to ensure that we are always moving forward improving our public education to the very best of our ability. I also pledge to you to always be accessible to listen to your comments, suggestions and concerns to ensure that each and every one of you is fully represented in an open and fair manner.

My third priority and pledge to you if elected will be to ensure that every tax dollar spent is done so with utmost care and forethought. We need to spend as much money as possible on our children's education but be sure that that money reaches the class room in a meaningful and productive way and is not wasted on bureaucratic overhead.

Dr. Austin Gavin has stated that we need to cut our administration costs and if elected we will do so in a thoughtful and purposeful way. We will cut our administration costs as outlined by the CAC that indicates we should reduce these costs.

If elected I will continue to support our schools diversity of courses offered, but only if, each elective course has a minimum number of students subscribed to participate in these studies.

If elected I will also pledge to you that I will make every effort to have all current and future spending proposals must be put forth to the community in a way that everyone can fully understand their immediate impact, as well as the compounded effects upon your future obligations to the school and the future school children who will be attending our schools.

Remember, if we maintain the current level of spending at just a 4. 4Budget increase our taxes will end up more than doubling in as little as seven years based upon how these increase actually affect your school property taxes.

The proposal to outsource our transportation will save us well over the $4 million over the next three years. Please also consider the facts that if we do not outsource our school transportation we will have to replace most of our aging bus fleet and build a new bus garage with new bond issues. The true cost of keeping our transportation in house may end up costing us millions of dollars possibly totaling over $10 million over the next several years.

We need to spend our money wisely so that we can provide transportation to every child that needs to be safely taken to and from school. No parent should have to worry, ever again, that their children are at risk just walking to and from school especially across major roads in our area.

Thank you again for you time, your attention and providing me this opportunity to serve my community.