At a time when school districts across the Island are being held accountable, fiscally and otherwise, there need to be some changes here at home. I truly believe that our West Hempstead School Board has the interests of our children as its driving force.

Issues arise, however, when one realizes the length of time some board members have served, and, most certainly, the manner in which our board of education trustees are elected.

When any organization has the same people leading, there is always the potential for stagnation. In our fast paced, ever changing world, we need fresh voices to enter the arena. To that end, I propose a fundamental change to the way we elect school board trustees.

The proposition:

Resolved that in all subsequent school district elections, members of the board of education, of the West Hempstead Union Free School District shall be elected on an "At Large" basis, such that the qualified voters shall cast votes equal to the number of vacancies on the Board of Education to be filled at said election, with those candidates receiving the most votes being elected to fill said vacancies.

Reasons leading toward the change:

Most often, incumbent board members run unopposed when it is their time to be re-elected. My feelings are this; since challengers must choose which incumbent to run against, few people feel comfortable creating animosity with a fellow resident.

As long as this system remains, the results will not represent the true wishes of the voters. Here's an example of what I mean. There are two incumbents running. The vote results for race one were 500 to incumbent A and 450 to challenger A. Incumbent A wins the seat. Race two has results similar to race one except incumbent B received only 425 votes and challenger B received 390. Since the incumbent beat his/her challenger by 35 votes, he/she retains the seat even though a larger number of community members voted for challenger A in the first race. If all candidates ran 'At Large' the candidate with the most votes will win and incumbent A and challenger A would fill the school board seats.

When the election system is changed, it is my feeling that a greater number of voices will step forward and look to fill positions on the school board. With diversity on the board, change can occur at a greater pace, and our children will benefit in the end.

Anyone interested in signing the petition for a change can e-mail me at sal964@aol.com. Thank you for the opportunity to be heard.

Salvatore Lombardo