Five candidates are campaigning for two trustee positions on the Carle Place Board of Education. Vying for the two seats are incumbent Joan Manley and challengers Thomas Kane, Eric Rogers, Thomas Sobszak and Bill Waters. The vote will be held May 16.

Here is a brief introduction to the five candidates.

Thomas Kane has lived in Carle Place for 21 years, and has two children who attend school in the district. He is secretary of the Carle Place Civic Association, and was previously involved in the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and other organizations. This is his first time running for a position on the school board.

Kane said he would strive to achieve four major goals if he is elected into office. First, he would focus on preparing all students to pass the new Regents requirements for graduation.

Second, he would endeavor to ensure that, in the process, athletics, electives, extra-curricular activities, and field trips are not neglected. "These are things we have always considered part of a well-rounded education, even if they aren't measured by a test," he said.

Maintaining security in the Carle Place schools is another of Kane's priorities. "Even though we live in a pretty safe area, we still have to be careful," he said.

Finally, as a trustee, Kane said he would make sure that tax dollars are spent wisely.

"I have always felt that Carle Place schools are good schools," Kane said. "I still feel that way, and I would like to be part of helping to keep that quality, and possibly make improvements."

Eric Rogers has been a Westbury resident for over 10 years. He owns a CPA firm in Mineola. Currently, three of his children attend Carle Place schools. Rogers is chairman of the Pre-K/K Advisory Committee, past chairman of the Budget Advisory Committee, Budget Committee member for three years, and is a member of the Facilities Committee and Scholarship Committee. This is the second time he has run for election to the board.

This year, Rogers said he is running to enforce the new educational programs on the horizon. He fully supports the new full-day kindergarten program, which various committees have been promoting for the past three years. "Full-day kindergarten is a much better program," he said. "The kids have been shown to score better on the 4th grade assessment tests. Clearly, it is a much better product."

Rogers' concerns for the district center around recent tax increases. "For two or three years now, we have seen 10 percent tax increases," Rogers said. "We are looking to start holding the line, to develop educational accountability through a minimum of tax increases. We have a 9 percent increase this year, we had a 9 percent increase last year, and we are expecting almost the same next year. We have to start thinking about how we can hold that line."

To conclude, Rogers stated, "I am the most experienced person running. Do we want to have a $24 million budget with a bunch of rookies running it?"

If Joan Manley is elected May 16, this will be her third term as a Carle Place School Board trustee. Manley is a homemaker with one child currently attending Carle Place schools. She was the PTA Council president for two years, and now teaches religious education for Our Lady of Hope.

Manley believes that because she is a stay-at-home mother, she is able to maintain close involvement with the parent group, which gives her a good feel for the community. "I have always been available to the community," she said. "What I can now add to that is the experience that I didn't have five years ago."

A major issue currently affecting Carle Place residents, according to Manley, is meeting new state mandates without overburdening taxpayers. "I think that the majority of this current board is very cognizant of the tax burdens, and we also know what our responsibilities are towards the state mandates," said Manley. "I think we have tried to strike a balance, so that educational needs are met and offset the tax and additional expenditures we must impose.

"I fully expect that Carle Place students will not only meet new state mandates for graduation, but exceed them," Manley said.

"I hope that voters will allow me to continue to be a voice of the community," she concluded.

Thomas Sobszak currently has two children at Carle Place schools, but he was involved in the district for six years before they attended.

"I believe in this district," Sobszak said. "I believe that there is a sense of community here. This is a wonderful group of people and they deserve the best. Unfortunately, they are not getting it from the people who represent us."

Sobszak cited figures in the current school budget that show a 20 percent increase in board members' travel and conference expenses, a 20 percent increase in miscellaneous expenses, an increase in guidance salaries by 18.9 percent, and a 5 percent increase in psychological services. Cuts in the budget, according to Sobszak, included funding for textbooks, field trips, and equipment maintenance.

"This is a bad budget this year," said Sobszak. "Now is the time to concentrate on our children's academic education, especially in light of the new state mandates. The board should not take one dime out for themselves in the budget until each student in the district has the tools necessary to pass all of those Regents with flying colors."

Sobszak also stated that taxpayers pay for social services in the Town of North Hempstead, and through Nassau County. "Do we really need a third layer of social services in the school district, especially when it requires us to cut textbooks, to cut enrichment programs?"

He concluded, "It is time to get this budget back on track, with the right kind of leadership, this school district can once again be an educational jewel in the center of Nassau County. I can and will provide that leadership."

Bill Waters is a member of the Carle Place Civic Association, the Carle Place American Legion, the Knights of Columbus, and the Vietnam Veterans of America. He also coached Little League for many years. Waters has two children in the Carle Place school system. He ran for the board three years ago.

Waters said that disciplinary procedures are a major problem for the Carle Place Schools. Early morning detention creates friction for parents at home, he contends, because parents are often unavailable to take students to school at that time. He also said that too many letters of a disciplinary nature are being sent home to parents too quickly.

"What I propose is that school officials use what I call a 'step program.' Instead of going right for the jugular, call a kid in, leave him in a room for a little while. If that doesn't work, leave him there longer. Don't bring parents in for every little thing."

Waters also cited poor communication between the school district and the voters of Carle Place, something he said he would try to remedy if he was elected. "They are building a library," he said. "I tripped over the library is how I found out about it." Waters also said that school board meetings as forums for voter concerns are impractical. "School board meetings are a waste of residents' valuable time. If they want to speak, they have to wait until the meeting is over."

Poor quality food being served in the cafeterias is another of his concerns.

"I'm not on the inside," Waters said. "My résumé might not look like the other candidates. But I'm here to get things done right."