Two Mineola district parents are running for seats on the Mineola School Board in the first contested board election since 2015.
Stacey Tyson-Tracy and Bob Citro, who both have eighth-grade children affected by the Build Your Own Grade program, have entered petitions to run for the seats currently occupied by trustees Patrick Talty and Margaret Ballantyne.
Neither of the current trustees has publicly confirmed whether they will seek re-election.
At-large board elections are scheduled for May 19, the same day as the budget adoption vote.All polling will take place at the Synergy Building at 2400 Jericho Turnpike. Petitions for candidacy must be filed with the district clerk no later than 30 days prior to the election, on April 19.
This academic year, the school board was under close public scrutiny due to a controversial digital learning curriculum implemented by the district in eighth-grade classrooms. The curriculum, Build Your Own Grade, was found to have originated with Quave LLC, owned by Michael Nagler, who resigned as superintendent in the wake of the controversy.
Both new candidates said their career experiences would be a valuable addition to the board’s skill set.
Tyson-Tracy said she has worked for the New York City School Construction Authority for 15 years, has dealt with procurement and financial transparency, and was a private-sector lawyer for a decade before that.
“I have seen the challenges of a construction bid environment,” she said. “I have seen the challenges of representing the taxpayers, advocating for the taxpayers’ best interests, and I understand the need for transparency.”
Citro said he has a business background and has overseen large budgets, as well as worked with financial ethics codes and fiscal transparency.
“I would never question lesson plans because I’m not a professional teacher,” he said, “I do know about other things, like financial fraud, ethics violations, and things like that. I deal with that stuff all the time.”
Citro said that he doesn’t blame the current board for the Build Your Own Grade issue because Nagler was acting as the chokepoint for information and misleading them.
“I think that they did the best that they could with what they had. I think fresh perspectives are a good thing,” he said. “From the outside looking in, people have been on the board for a while, which is not a bad thing. But I have some ideas, too, that I feel like I can probably contribute a little bit to helping push this forward.”
Tyson-Tracy said her experience as a parent and active member of the Parent-Teacher Association has put her in a unique position to advocate for students, parents and teachers.
“I get emotional at my parent-teacher conferences,” she said, “because I know what these teachers give to the kids, and I think they deserve a board that reflects their interests as well.”
She said she has respect for current board members, particularly Board Rresident Cheryl Lampasona, and hopes to provide additional breadth to trustees’ areas of expertise.
“I think it’s a wonderful opportunity to collaborate and effect change. I think the board needs more tangents to the community than it currently has despite its belief that it’s reached out in significant ways,” she said. “I want to see what I can bring, and sort of bridge the gap between the parents and the board. in a meaningful way.”
Citro also said he hopes to collaborate with the board and offer a new perspective.
“I work in a financial services environment,” he said. “This kind of oversight is stuff that I do, maybe not in a government capacity, but I feel like I can help, maybe ask some questions that haven’t been answered.”
He said he wants to pay particular attention to procurement issues.
“Whatever the procurement requirements are for a government function like this, I would want to follow them. And I don’t know that they’ve been doing it,” he said. “And I don’t blame any of them for it specifically because they’re volunteers.”
Talty said he will make public any updates on the future of his role with the board.
“I respect anyone willing to serve the community, and voters will ultimately make their decisions through the election process,” he said. “I’m focused right now on continuing the work of the board and serving this amazing district through the remainder of my term.”
Efforts to reach Ballantyne were unavailing as of Tuesday, Feb. 17.
