Interviews of the four remaining candidates running for the two Great Neck Public Schools Board of Education trustee positions are expected to air on Wednesday, May 3.
The interviews will be viewable on the school district website at www.greatneck.k12.ny.us or at the GNPS/TV website at tv.greatneck.k12.ny.us. The 40-minute program may also be viewed in the incorporated villages of Great Neck on Cablevision Channel 75 and on Verizon Channel 32 at 8, 9 and 10 a.m. and 12, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 p.m.
Candidates Nikolas Kron and Jeffrey Shi are running for Lawrence Gross’s trustee seat. Gross is not running for reelection. Candidates running for Susan Healy’s trustee position are Ilya Aronovich and Rebecca Sassouni. Healy is not running for reelection. Michael Golden and Grant Toch, who were running for Gross’s seat, withdrew as candidates and were not interviewed.
Carol Frank, former associate editor of the Great Neck Record and a current board member of the Water Authority of Great Neck North, conducted the interviews. Frank conducted similar interviews last November for the special December board election, as well as for an election a number of years ago.
Candidates were each asked six questions, which they were not given in advance. Their timed answers for each of the following questions were limited to no more than three minutes.
• What do you think are the primary functions of a Board of Education trustee?
• What do you foresee being the most difficult part of serving on the board?
• If you were magically on the board starting tomorrow, what are the initial things you plan to do within the first six months you serve?
• You were given a comprehensive list of the functions that board members try to attend each year. Which of them do you anticipate attending?
• There has been much talk about continuing to find ways to increase revenue in the district.
Can you enumerate what would be your suggestions to increase revenue?
• Aside from personnel costs and operating expenses for the buildings, a significant portion of the budget for school districts in New York State goes for unfunded mandates. Could you explain what some of them are?
Voting for the two school board trustee positions, the 2017–18 Proposed Budget and the 2017 Revised Bond Referendum will take place on Tuesday, May 16, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Qualified voters residing north of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) can vote at the Baker School. Qualified voters residing south of the LIRR can vote at South High School.
Applications for Absentee Ballots for the May 16 voting may be printed at www.greatneck.k12.ny.us or picked up at the Office of the District Clerk, Great Neck Public Schools, Phipps Administration Building, 345 Lakeville Rd., on school days, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 516-441-4020 for more information.
