Candidates charge into Lawrence race

Six candidates are on the ballot for three trustee seats on the Lawrence Board of Education.

With. Solomon Blisko not running for re-election, three candidates are vying for his seat: Jesse Lunin-Pack, Tova Plaut and Dov Herman, all first time candidates for public office.

Incumbent Trustee Nahum Marcus is running for a third term. He is opposed by former board member Michael Hatten. Juan Zapeda

petitioned to be on the ballot, then decided not to run at this time. His name remains on the ballot.

Running unopposed is longtime Trustee David Sussman.

All terms are three years and begin July 1 and end June 30, 2016. District residents can go to the polls to vote on the budget and for school board trustees on May 21.

Jesse Lunin-Pack

Concerned about the board representing the interests of the public school district, Lunin-Pack, 40, an Atlantic Beach resident, who has been involved in his community as a Atlantic Beach Rescue EMS lieutenant and serving on the Youth and Education board of the Hewlett-East Rockaway Jewish Centre.

“I have had enough of a school board filled with members who never show up for school concerts, plays or events,” he said. “I have had enough of a school board without real public school representation.”

Fearing that the public school community is “demoralized and cynical” about Lawrence schools, Lunin-Pack said the whole public school community needs to become more engaged and the board needs to improve how it communicates to the residents. “We need a process that is open to all members of the community — private school and public school families alike,” he said.

With money being tight, Lunin-Pack said looking at all options to improve and fund education should be explored. “The budget must be fair to every taxpayer in the community, public school families, private school families, and returnees with no children in either situation.”

Tova Plaut

A director for a private nursery school in Commack, Plaut, 43, a Cedarhurst resident, believes that her background would make her a good board member. “I believe in a quality education for all the children in our district,” said Plaut, adding that she serves a diverse student population in her job.

A proponent of the 2 percent tax-levy cap, Plaut said she believes in being fiscally responsible and wants to seek out “creative solutions” such as federal and state grants to help fund programs, services and needed teaching staff. Plaut would also like to enhance the current high school program that provides vocational education and involves local businesses helping to train students.

For the district to be successful in educating its children and to avoid battles between community members, Plaut said communication and participation is needed. “I what to hear what residents have to say and we need quality parent involvement.”

Performing volunteer work at a post-Sandy neighborhood relief center made Plaut aware of what has to be done after a crisis. “I would do everything I could to make sure the children are safe and the community is secure,” she said.

Dov Herman

Believing a need exists to end what he called “the competitive sentiment between public and private school parents,” Herman, 46, seeks to unify these groups. “I hope to help unite our community and make our school board’s deliberations and dealings more open and transparent to parents, taxpayers and to our community,” the Woodmere resident said.

Instrumental in establishing the Five Towns Community Coalition, which worked to defeat the proposed sale of the Number Six School, he said the March referendum “was a voter-mandate for transparency.” “I will work to ensure that the bidding and sale is done with full public knowledge and input,” said Herman, a home building inspector.

Herman said that the district has “used gimmicks and smoke-and mirrors to keep taxes artificially stable,” and now taxes will rise as though tactics failed this year. “I believe in zero-based budgeting,” said Herman, adding that he and Nahum Marcus agree on this point. “Every dollar spent must be absolutely necessary. We will examine our school district budget item-by-item and line-by-line to find unnecessary expenses and any duplication of services.” He also supports holding school board work sessions to improve communication between the trustees and the community.

Nahum Marcus

Marcus, 53, wants to help ensure that the educational improvements made by the district continue and are enhanced. “I also know that many a time I have been a lone dissenting voice on the board when I felt things weren’t being conducted with the best interests of the entire community or the utmost integrity. I am running to preserve that sense of integrity, honesty and concern for all children in the district — public and private — that I believe I bring to the board,” he said.

As a member of the board’s academic excellence committee, he assists in reviewing classroom materials, students and teacher performance and making necessary changes. “We must raise overall student test scores, but also pay attention to each individual’s performance and skill set,” said the Cedarhurst resident, who is a rabbi and ritual director at Woodmere Rehabilitation & Health Care Center, and is a professor at the Landers College for Women in Manhattan.

District finances need to be handled in a “more comprehensive and realistic manner,” he said. “Rather than putting ‘Band-Aids’ on 100 little cuts, our school board and administration must make tougher choices to end wasteful spending and duplicate services, and to find other revenue sources instead of raising property taxes,” said Marcus, adding that trustees should provide residents with an understanding of agenda items and actions during board meetings.

David Sussman

Running for his seventh term, Sussman, 62, a urologist, has been on the school board for nearly 19 years. Enjoying making a contribution to the community and his belief in education as a tool for advancement are the primary reasons he continues to serve, Sussman said. “The board has come a long way in reaching out to everyone in the community,” the Lawrence resident said.

He acknowledges there are challenges facing Lawrence, including the increased costs of health care and pensions for retired district employees, contracts for current staff and the state’s 2 percent tax-levy cap. “We need creative solutions more than ever,” Sussman said. “We don’t have the resources just to increase pay.”

Sussman said that expansion of the school day should be studied as well as a change in the curriculum to help ensure students are prepared for the future job market. “We have to figure out a way to work with teachers,” he said, adding that teachers could earn more money by working more hours. “We have to be result driven, not necessarily test driven.”

Michael Hatten

Hatten, 68, the president of Far Rockaway-based Global Business Institute, calls himself a “professional educator” who he says will act as a “unifying voice” for the community. GBI is a two-year, vocational business school that employs 132 and educates more than 2,500 students annually, according to Hatten.

A former Lawrence trustee ((2006-09), he believes his educational experience and prior record on the board qualifies him as a “strong candidate, who is uniquely positioned to serve the entire community.”

If elected, the Cedarhurst resident said he wants to meet with community leaders, educators, PTA members and students to learn what think about the way money could be spent to further education in the district. “Stakeholders will not always get what they want, however they should be able to express their views and receive a thoughtful response,” he said.