Three longtime Wantagh residents, Laura Reich, Brian Lapp, and Jennifer Perfetti, are running for the Wantagh Board of Education. Each candidate brings with them experience and objectives to get things done.
Lapp is a first-time contender while fellow candidates Jennifer Perfetti and Laura Reich are running for re-election. The five seats on the board are for three-year terms.
Reich, a mother of four, has lived in Wantagh for 21 years. Reich has served for two terms and is running for re-election for a third. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Massachusetts before pursuing a law degree locally at Hofstra University.
Although she works as an attorney, she does not practice law full time. She also works in real estate and accounting.
At home, Reich and her family are big sports fans, with her daughter taking the court as a D1 volleyball player at Seton Hall and her son playing college basketball. Reich’s preferred game is baseball, and she is a big Yankees fan with the rest of her family.
Reich says her past professions have helped prepare her for the job as a board member.
“Having a law degree helps with any kind of contractual negotiations that we do within our district,” she said. “Working in accounting gives me a better perspective on our financial situation in the district.”
Reich has been a member of the board for six years, saying that the district has made progress with its academics.
“We’ve continued to move our academics forward, introduced new programs for our students academically and extracurricular programs,” she said.
The passing of a bond during her time on the board has also enabled other projects to begin. Projects, Reich says, that she would like to continue to watch play out and hopefully see their completion.
Lapp is a father of three and has been a longtime resident of Wantagh.
He graduated from SUNY Farmingdale with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and computer security in 2006. Currently, Lapp is the senior vice president of safety and security at New York City Transit.
Coming into the race as a first-time candidate, Lapp has several goals if elected.
“A universal goal I want to push is involving the community more,” he said. “I think it’s something that’s said every election cycle by every candidate, but I think I’m the only candidate who cares enough to move that forward and make that a reality, and not just a talking point.”
Another goal that Lapp said is vital from an educational standpoint is focusing on Universal Pre-Kindergarten.
“I would like to figure out a way where we can allocate internal funds to supplement whatever the annual distribution is from the state to ensure that every child in the district who is eligible for Universal Pre-K gets Universal Pre-K,” he said.
The Wantagh school district remains the only district on Long Island that redacts its audit reports, according to Lapp. By law, districts are to publicly release their audits, an issue Lapp is determined to address as a board member under the approach of “trust but verify.”
“My one main goal there would be to unredact those reports and show the public exactly what’s going on and what the status of the district is, because if you don’t identify this problem, you will never fix the problem,” he said.
Perfetti is a mother of two, and she has lived in Wantagh with her family for 11 years. Perfetti is a current board member and is seeking re-election for her second term.
Perfetti’s two children attend Wantagh High School, which prompted her involvement with the PTA. Perfetti went on to hold several executive positions within the PTA before becoming the co-president for some years.
Outside of the PTA and Board of Education, Perfetti works for a large-scale software company where she is a senior program manager.
According to Perfetti, her professional experience reinforced the skills that she brings to the board, She said her roles in people management and operations have enabled her to have a better understanding of the budgeting process on the board and other responsibilities.
During her first term on the Wantagh Board of Education, Perfetti assisted in implementing multiple programs to better the district, such as reduced class sizes in the elementary schools, upgraded safety features, building renovations, and more.
“One of the things I’m proud of is not only did we add college-level and AP classes, but we added some additional classes for those who are interested more in the trades,” she said.
Perfetti has been a part of the Wantagh Board of Education for the past three years and is looking forward to another term with big ambitions. “Expanding educational excellence and making it so that every student, no matter what they’re going to do,” she said, “cannot just get through school, but thrive in school.”
Wantagh community members can vote on the board candidates, along with the district’s 2025-26 budget on Tuesday, May 20.
