To my friends and neighbors,
As most of you are aware, next Tuesday, May 20th, is the annual date for the school budget vote and district trustee election. I am asking all of you to support my colleagues, Dr. Michael Cohen, Laura Schlesinger, and April Neuendorf. Though I wouldn’t have expected it, given the tremendous progress the current school board has made during this transitional period, the election has once again become a contentious issue dividing the Syosset community. The current school board, consisting of 9 members, has worked so diligently for the past year in finding both an outstanding Interim Superintendent and permanent Superintendent, as well as new attorneys to address all the district policies, new architects and other consultants, that I can’t understand why someone would want to disrupt the progress.
The only point raised by the challenger to the incumbents is that they were on the board while the previous superintendent was still employed. He likes to suggest that the 5 most recently elected board members are the only reason that the district has changed. However, though no one will deny that the new members have contributed, the story is not quite that simple. The Board consists of 9 members, and EVERYTHING requires a majority of at least 5 trustees, to happen. The change in the district’s direction couldn’t happen until the School Board elected new leadership. There wasn’t a majority on the board willing to make that change until Chris DiFilippo and Josh Lafazan joined myself and the 3 incumbents and elected Michael Cohen and April Neuendorf to be School Board President and Vice-President. They opened the way and gave the forum to allow the new trustees to ask their questions and express their opinions. I may not have agreed with some of the ideas, and I certainly do not agree with the methods, but the openness was appropriate, and the right of all the trustees to be heard was respected.
This Syosset Board of Education, consisting of all 9 members, was able to find an outstanding Interim Superintendent in Dr. Ronald Friedman, who embraced this community as his own. In the same vein, this Board has appointed Dr. Thomas Rogers to be the next Superintendent, and we all are excited about Syosset’s future with him at the helm. The 9 current board members hired Dr. Rogers, and he deserves the opportunity to work in a stable environment with the people that brought him in.
Though some might like to dwell on the past, this election is not about the past, but rather about the future, and the future of the Syosset School District depends on it. Please come out to vote next Tuesday…don’t rely on your neighbors to do it for you. Please vote for Dr. Michael Cohen #1, Laura Schlesinger #2, and April Neuendorf #3.
VOTE TO CONTINUE THE EXCELLENCE.
VOTE TO CONTINUE THE PROGRESS.
VOTE TO CONTINUE THE STABILITY.
It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3!
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and
Best Wishes,
Alan Resnick
