Residents of the Plainedge School District were introduced to the three candidates seeking a seat on the Plainedge Board of Education Monday evening at the annual Meet the Candidates night in the cafeteria of North Massapequa's Plainedge High School.

The three candidates are seeking two open seats on the Plainedge Board of Education. Incumbent Tom Dolise is seeking a third term on the board with newcomers Michael Davis and Daniel Yuengling seeking the seat left vacant by the resignation of trustee Bob Spina. Two of the three candidates with the highest vote totals on May 19 will win the seats.

Each candidate was given two minutes to respond to each question asked by a moderator from the League of Women Voters. The questions were written by residents of the Plainedge School District who attended the forum.

Daniel Yuengling is a retired detective from the Nassau County Police Department who grew up in Uniondale and moved to Plainedge in 1986. He has an A.A. degree in criminal justice, a B.A. in government and business, and is completing his M.A. in criminal justice this May. Yuengling has two children.

Tom Dolise is a 13-year resident of Plainedge. He is an incumbent who served two terms on the school board. Dolise has a MA in social work and is a former member of the Plainedge PTA. He has two children.

Michael Davis is a 10 year resident of Plainedge and is the current Plainedge High School PTA president. He has a master's degree in business administration and he works for a company where he negotiates contracts. Davis is also a retired United States Army officer with two commands in Vietnam.

Yuengling said, "I've always been a strong supporter of teachers and I've never had a problem with paying the teachers a fair salary. However, the districts ability to pay must be considered."

Yuengling said that he would be in favor of retroactive raises for teachers as it is a part of the final settlement. He also said that the teachers share of medical and dental insurance premiums should reflect the business community.

"We must continue to negotiate," said Dolise. He takes credit for the contract settlements with the superintendent and the administration which resulted in many salary cuts and/or salary freezes.

Dolise said that he would be in favor of some kind of retroactive pay, but that "complete retroactive raises is a problem for any district." He also said that the current health insurance system should remain in effect.

Davis said that the contract settlement should be a "win, win situation for both sides." He said that he was apprehensive about giving teachers retroactive raises. "Maybe it's not the most effective approach," said Davis.

Davis also said that the employee contribution to health insurance costs should increase. "We cannot afford to pay 100 percent," he said.

Each candidate agreed that the current demands of the Plainedge Federation of Teachers (PFT) can not be met by the district because of its ability to pay. Each candidate also rejected getting any support from the PFT or an endorsement.

Yuengling said that since he retired in November from the police department, he has attended every board of education meeting. He said that it was difficult for him to attend meetings prior to that because he worked at night. Dolise said that as a trustee he has attended almost every meeting, and Davis said that he has been to 90 percent of the meetings. Yuengling said that he is in favor of extending kindergarten to a full day, if the money becomes available. Dolise said he would like to see a full day kindergarten, but that money is not available for it. Davis said that the current two hours of kindergarten is enough but that he would like to see the district get the most instruction out of that time.

"Kids that sell drugs aren't contributing to the education of others in any way whatsoever," said Yeungling. He said that he is in favor of strict drug enforcement at the high school.

Dolise said that he would be in favor of drug busts by administrators or police in the high school. "I would definately support any effort to eliminate drugs," he said.

Davis said that he would be in favor of drug busts, but only if the situation warrants it. He said that he supports harsh penalties for drug sellers and expulsion for students caught selling drugs.

Each candidate agreed that they would need to see what the costs for tearing down the Packard School versus repairing the building would be before making a determination. "If the money is economical, I have no problem with leveling the old one and rebuilding a new one," said Davis. Each candidate agreed that the school board should set the policy, but the administration should implement the policy. However, Yuengling argued that the board should act as a watchdog to ensure that the board's policies are implemented. Yeungling said that he favored term limits for board of education members. Dolise said he favored term limits, but not for too few terms. Davis also said he favors term limits and suggested a limit of two terms.