Updated: PTA Council Hosts BOE Trustee-Candidates Forum

Huntington taxpayers had an opportunity to meet the school board candidates at a forum hosted by the Huntington Council of PTAs Wednesday at Jack Abrams Intermediate School.

Huntington's PTA Council President Denise D'Attolico introduced representatives from the Suffolk Region PTA who acted as moderator and timekeeper.

Prior to answering questions, that were provided in written form from audience members — a relatively sparse group — to the moderator, each of the three candidates, Rich McGrath, John Paci and Adam Spector, had three minutes for an opening statement summarizing qualifications and reasons for running, as seen in the two videos accompanying this article.

Questions from the audience ran the gamut of topics from the budget to building-space issues to the importance of funding new technology in the district.

The first question asked the candidates if they feel they represent a constituency or the entire district, including those who disagree with them.

McGrath said that he feels he represents the entire district. "The hard part is figuring out what that is," he said. "The group I believe needs to be at the table, and now more than ever,  is the taxpayer [without children in the district.]  They 're not here tonight but they're going to vote no so we need to reconigze and be cognizant of them."

Paci said he feels similar to McGrath on this issue.

"I have been very vocal on a number of issues. I put my personal stance behind me when it comes to voting." He said that he does his due diligence when it comes to reading the fine print, going through contracts with a "fine-tooth comb." He said that he believes he has led the current Board of Educaiton on this issue. "I feel like there are only one or two people on the board who do that and I think I drove that."

Spector said that during the campaign, he has spoken to people from all over Huntington and has made a personal point of getting input from a broad range of district residents.

"From the water to the border, I have been out there. I go to community  meetings, police conferences, town board meetings, door-to-doro, and ask everybody what they think is the most pressing issue.

Another question related to how the candidates see technology being implemented in the district while improving communication and lowering costs to taxpayers.

Spector said that he supports more use of e-boards, an online communication tool currently used by some teachers in the district.

"They allow teachers to communicate with students at home and to give assignment info. There's a lot of money being wasted and trees being cut down where we could use electronic media be it email or websites and lighten the load on the backpacks. And I love the idea of where the textbook is gonig to be an iPad-type device. When implementing technology there is a little bleeding edge, people say, but I think of it as a leading edge."

McGrath said that when he first joined the board in 1998, all the communicating was done by paper or phone. "We've made tremendous strides. The e-board is nice. It's starting to get traction. We did make an investment in expanded bandwith. Anything we can do to reduce paper usage is good."

Paci said he is all for reducing the use of paper, but said that the Board of Education has to be mindful of the various economic levels of Huntington families.

"We do have a diverse community," he said. "Many do not have a computer at home, so you're going to cut out a large portion of our community. I would focus on technology in the classroom. I'd love to cut out paper, but realistically in our district that's never going to happen."

Another questiion related to what the candidates would programs he would cut out if an austerity budget becomes a reality.

McGrath said that would not be easy because the district has a "polarized community" in relation to the creation of a districtwide sixth-grade center at Jack Abrams Intermediate School.

"We have to get the word out that the real-life impact will have what $3 million in cuts really means. Everything mandated eats up the budget and that leaves "not many places you can go. What do you have left? Sports?Kindergarten? I think we need an education on the front end. It's a horror show, whatever we cut."

Paci said that he believes the district has a knowledgeable community and he does not believe the budget will get voted down.  

"I think the community will vote for it. I am really not worried about austerity. And if it does go down we're all gonna pay. The key is its contractual. Eighty-two percent of our bduget is contractual. So what we sit up here and vote on is 18 percent of this budget because contractual stuff is still going to get paid."

Spector said that he is worried about the district being placed on an austerity budget.

"I am worried about people using the budget vote as some kind of tool. What about the person who says, 'well, I was only going to vote it down the first time. I was just trying to send a message.'  Well, send a message another way. Write a letter. Call someone. When we talk about cutting $3 million out of $108 million budget, that's not really the case. It's really $3 million out of $22 million."

The candidate election and vote on the 2010-2011 school year budget is May 18 at Huntington High School.