The Massapequa School District will hold its budget and Board of Education trustee election on Tuesday, May 20.

The proposed 2008-90 budget calls for a 6.26 percent spending increase and a tax levy increase of 5.44 percent.

Total spending for the proposed budget is $166,369,911. The total tax levy is $135,925,774. According to school officials, district enrollment has remained remarkably steady, standing at 8,230, only up one student from the 8,229 in the 2007-08 school year. Under the proposed budget, personnel at the district's Central Office Administration will receive pay increases totaling three percent. The superintendent's salary would be $240,000 per annum.

The district's estimated 2008-09 reserved fund balance is $11,925,451, down from the $12,250,451 in last year's budget. The unreserved fund balance in the proposed budget stands at $3,396,278, up from the $3,146,278 that was in the 2007-08 document. Further information on the proposed budget is on the district's website, www.MSD.K12.ny.us.

In addition to the budget vote, two seats on the BOE are being contested. The following are profiles of the announced candidates.

Gary T. Bennett has lived in Massapequa for 30 years. He is a retired sheriff and currently works as a real estate investor developer. The following is his statement on his candidacy to the Massapequa School Board.

"School budgets are out of control causing an economic burden that is affecting the very core of Long Island's economy. In view of the difficult economic times on Long Island, the Massapequa School Board saw fit to give an administrator a whopping 33 percent salary increase against public outcry. Another administrator had his salary embellished with $95,000 in raises over the last five years. In 2003 it was $140,000, now it's more than $235,000 and now administrators say we have to ask for more state aid in spite of throwing money around like rice at a wedding.

"While shortage of State Aid is an issue, Albany is not without argument as aid means one is in distress. Therefore, we must control spending first in order to get any attention for aid from Albany. What is interesting is that we did get $2 million in extra aid this year and the board spent 25 percent of that on two administrators, one on suspension and the 33 percent acting superintendent.

"As taxpayers we cannot remain apathetic and allow special interests to control our schools. Apathy only breeds economic calamity and a degradation of our educational system.

"The public is being misled by these administrators who are only too glad to take advantage of an ill-informed public and fill their already overloaded pockets.

"On May 20 you must elect someone willing to say no and give you and your children a voice in education. Take control of your economy and schools, vote for Gary T. Bennett."

Jane Ryan, a lifelong resident of Massapequa, and a graduate of both Massapequa High School and SUNY Binghamton. Ms. Ryan is a candidate for the Massapequa School Board. The following is her own statement on her candidacy and the challenges facing the district:

"My experience and qualifications are unique in that I bring to the School Board a diverse knowledge and expertise in school issues important to parents and fiscal issues important to taxpayers.

"I am a certified public accountant and president of J.E. Ryan & Associates, located in Wantagh. My firm specializes in working with public and private schools regarding school finances, budgeting, internal auditing and fiscal reimbursement.

"We must reduce school district taxes. I have the fiscal knowledge in budgeting that comes from my profession and serving on the District Budget & Finance Committee. I have the legislative experience to work towards securing additional funding and advocating for needed changes in state aid formulas, assessments and unfunded mandates.

"I work closely with the Education and State Aid Departments, Division of the Budget and government legislators in securing additional funding for schools. This past year, I served as a fiscal advisor to a government task force in Albany to improve preschool special education funding. I have earned the bipartisan respect and confidence of our legislators.

"We must improve safety and work diligently to prevent violence in all our schools. I have the experience as PTA Council Chair for the Health and Safety & Wellness Committee and serving on the District S.A.V.E. Committee. I have the interest and determination from being a parent of a child attending the school district.

"This year and the years to follow will be critical to the future of our schools. It is time to have a fiscal presence on our School Board that has the extensive knowledge of school funding, direct involvement with Albany and the expertise and the ambition to ensure that Massapequa has a successful outcome with the initiatives to be presented such as consolidations and property tax caps. I am that presence. That is why I am confident that I will be a successful member of our School Board and a successful voice for Massapequa. There are no magic or quick-fix formulas that will solve our tax problems.

"I will work diligently in making difficult decisions, so that everyone living in the community can be proud of Massapequa schools and be able to continue to live in Massapequa and Massapequa Park," Ms. Ryan concluded. "With your vote and support, I can be successful for our schools and community."

Leslie Dowell, a candidate for the Massapequa School of Board, is a longtime activist in the Massapequa community. She has served as past PTA President of Massapequa Council of PTA's and Birch Lane Elementary School, the Vice President of Junior/Senior PTSA, and Shared Decision Team Member for SEPTA.

Ms. Dowell has been a member of several Massapequa School District Committees, including Ranking; Grading; Code of Conduct; Shared Decision Making/Site Based Teams; and the Safety Task Force. Currently, she is a member of the MSD Budget & Finance Committee. Among other honors, Ms. Dowell has been a recipient of New York State PTA's Honorary Life and National PTA's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Ms. Dowell is a former New York Telephone/NYNEX employee with 20 years leadership experience, including budget management, labor relations, customer relations, quality assurance, policy and procedure documentation, and interdepartmental communications and presentations.

"The most important issue facing the Massapequa School District is how to control skyrocketing costs (fuel, salaries, health benefits, pensions, insurance, transportation, etc.) while struggling to obtain additional state aid and still maintain academic rigor and excellence," she said. "This issue is not unique to Massapequa, and is the same issue facing most Long Island school districts. The results are the same, higher taxes for all Long Island property owners. I believe that we have to learn to do more with less. We must evaluate job descriptions/titles, work processes, and assign accountability (i.e. personnel efficiency study) to determine duplicity of functions to possibly consolidate or eliminate positions. We need to explore new avenues of increased revenue (grants), and work with our state legislators to reform outdated state aid formulas (require a regional cost factor), and operating restrictions (Wick's Law). We must lobby with all educators and organizations to decrease the amount of New York State's "unfunded mandates" that continue to burden our school districts with additional expenditures. I have been a volunteer with various organizations that work closely with the Massapequa School District and community. I feel confident that along with my employment background, I will bring that knowledge to help bring about the changes necessary to reduce costs, but keep academics a priority."

Gary Slavin is a 50-year resident of Massapequa. He has been a member of the Massapequa Chamber of Commerce since 1994 and is a past president. He is a former president of East End Disability Foundation, responsible for raising money for special needs families on Long Island.

"I have been an agent of change within our community for several years," he told The Massapequan Observer. "I organized civic and sports organizations to demand that County Executive Tom Suozzi give up plans for an industrial complex on the site that is now the Field of Dreams. We worked with the Town of Oyster Bay to get our fair share of the recent bond issue, an amount that reflected our 28 percent of the Town's population. It was this effort that brought my attention to the ineffectiveness of the school board.

"While negotiating with the town on the 28 percent, the school board was disturbingly silent. Some board members were quietly supportive behind the scenes, but their collective, public face was neutral, and in some opinions, apathetic. We found their silence disturbing. Without the school board's support we got our fair share and now we want our fair share of the rest as well.

"In a recent calendar year, Long Island sent $9.2 billion to Albany and got back only $6.7 billion in state aid. Who allows such a disparity? In the same year, we sent $24.5 billion to Washington and got back only $17.4 billion. That is a total deficit of over $10 billion. When did Long Island become the cash cow of the state and federal government?

"Not all of our problems are based in the siphoning of money from our communities. Outdated laws bog our district down with bureaucracy, resulting in red tape that ends up costing more money on simple improvement projects. Other communities have exemptions to such laws, why shouldn't we?

"Our children are falling behind immigrants in math and the sciences. It's time for a strong initiative to improve these areas within our schools.

"We need to review school operations to find out where duplicate responsibilities lie and reduce wasteful spending.

"I have a proven track record that shows my ability to build partnerships and find effective solutions to community problems," he concluded. "During my conversations with you my fellow Massapequans and taxpayers, it's obvious where your concerns are. Our tax bills are outpacing our income levels and making life in Massapequa difficult. I believe that together, we can change this trend and bring sanity back to our school system."

Stephen Archipolo is not the average school board candidate. In fact, he currently is a student at Massapequa High School and is set to graduate from there this spring. Archipolo plans to attend Nassau Community College in the fall of 2008.

Archipolo has worked for Massapequa school district as a student helper (custodian) at Lockhart Elementary in the summer of 2006 and 2007. He is Vice-President of the Peer Aids Educators Club. He is also G.O. Publicity Coordinator of Massapequa High School, itself a position in the student government at the high school. At MHS, Archipolo has even taught some classes, including 10th grade global history class, plus teaching 2nd graders about government, economics, and how a community functions. He was an intern at Sen. Charles Schumer's office from September 2007 to March 2008.

The following is the statement of his candidacy to the BOE.

"The issues that we face in our district are special education, energy costs, and character. The cost of special education is rising and the numbers of students are growing. We need to look at programs and the equipment we have at our disposal. We have to look at every program and see which programs we can try to consolidate. This way the child's education is not being destroyed but reorganized, so we can better educate them. I am a former special education student and I know how things are. The next issue is energy cost. I am proposing that we put in solar panels on the roof of the high school. This way we can conserve energy and save money. If anyone else has any idea that will help us save money, please share your ideas. The final issue is character. The reason why I say this is because of the current Board of Education and some of my fellow candidates. They say they did this and that, but what can they do for you? Some of the issues like Mrs. Flaherty and the board member with Atlantic Instruments are important to me. It is time that the power of the board of education returns to the community. The real board of education is you."

Richard Krebs has been a member of the Massapequa School Board from 1994-1997. He was elected again to the BOE in 2002 and is seeking re-election.

Krebs has lived in the Massapequa district for the past 27 years. He is an 18-year member of the Massapequa PTA, which has awarded him the New York State PTA Distinguished Service Award. For the past 29 years Krebs has worked for the Suffolk County Department of Labor. He has been the Director of Suffolk Works Employment Program for the past three years. Previously he was Director of Youth programs and a member of the County Youth Bureau.

"All students are entitled to reach their full educational potential and should be encouraged to do so," he has said, listing his educational philosophy. "As School Board trustees, we are asked to maintain and improve the quality of education offered by the district for its students. To accomplish this, I believe a framework for analyzing the quality of the district's improvements and changes should be used. The district should always be in a state of continuous improvement. Three elements should be included: sustaining direction and focus; the capacity to act strategically; and a shared vision for the future."

On the subject of fiscal constraint, Krebs said, "In order to maintain the current level of education in the district educational programs could not be eliminated. The current School Board has worked to maintain class size and to improve the educational programs offered in the district. In times of fiscal constraint, any new program proposed by administration (unless mandated) would have to be weighed and compared to the costs incurred in running the program.

"The most important issue facing Massapequa is maintaining and improving educational programs during difficult economic times," he continued. "Over the last six years that I have been on the Board, Massapequa has expanded opportunities for students by now offering almost 40 college level courses; improved elementary programs by differentiating our reading programs, expanding district wide enrichment programs and refining curriculums. In middle school, an award winning Robotics program, Tec Prep program, and Honors by Achievement were introduced. This has all been accomplished by spending $3,000 less per student then the average Nassau County district.

"If re-elected I will continue to work with the board and our local legislators to maintain our programs in a fiscally responsible manner and will continue to lobby for more state aid," he concluded. "Massapequa spending per student is near the lowest in the county while their educational scores and achievements are near the top in the county."

Christine Lupetin Perrino has been a Massapequa resident for the past 21 years. She has been a trustee for the Massapequa Board of Education for the past six years, serving also as Board Vice President for the past five years. In addition, she has been the board's Student Advisory Chair for the past six years. The following are her statements on her re-election campaign to the BOE:

"I believe all children should have every available opportunity to be challenged to reach their individual capabilities. It is our responsibility as a district to provide all our students with the resources and support to achieve this goal. An exceptional education should prepare students to be well-rounded independent thinkers and achievers.

"I believe that all the current curriculum programs our district offers are essential to maintain the needs of our student population and their diversified learning styles. We must continue to provide academic intervention services to those students who need them as well as continue our efforts in the area of inclusion. All our programs are continually assessed to ensure their significance for the academic achievement of our students. I have been very conservative in my approach to new initiatives so as to provide our community a program that is fiscally and educationally responsible.

"I have seen firsthand in the last six years areas in which students needed increased support and advocated for changes to program structure and for new initiatives," she continued. "It was imperative that the middle school be re-structured with a Flex period for added support, that keyboarding start at the elementary level, thus allowing elective opportunities to begin at the middle school, that we added reading programs with technology components for diversified learners, that we expanded athletic opportunities due to our growing enrollment and that we expanded AP/Scale/elective offerings at the high school to better prepare our students for their college experience. My perspective as a parent, coupled with my long-term business experience, has assisted me in being an effective board member in the course of reviewing budgets, analyzing data, disseminating information to the community and representing the district effectively. I have continually sought to bring our students the educational excellence that is expected in the most fiscally responsible manner. I will continue to remain active with County Executive Suozzi's Working Group on Property Tax Reform and support all efforts on lobbying the state for a more equitable share of state aid and the legislative changes that would save our taxpayers money. I believe now that our program has come as far as it has over the years, it is time to look at the structure of the various departments within the district and re-assess if they are working efficiently. This could potentially have good saving implications for budgets going forward."