Montauk school district
VOTING
2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Montauk School.
THE BUDGET
The district has proposed an $18,978,163 budget for 2016-17, a 0.08 percent decrease from the current $18,993,248. The tax levy would decrease by 0.98 percent, from $17,120,393 to $16,952,502.
This amount is within the district’s tax-cap limit of 0.16 percent, so a simple majority vote will be required to approve the budget.
School taxes on the average single-family home would decrease by 0.98 percent, from $3,298.74 to $3,266.40.
The proposed budget includes salary estimates subject to negotiations. No staff or service reductions are planned.
- District website:
www.montaukschool.org
THE CANDIDATES
There are two by-seat positions open. Thomas Flight and Cynthia Ibrahim are running for a seat made open because of a resignation. The winner of that race will serve the remaining three years of the term. Incumbent Patti Leber is running unopposed for a five-year term.
Thomas Flight
BACKGROUND: Flight, 37, is a business owner who runs six stores. He has a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Edinburgh and a master’s in business administration from the University of Cambridge Judge Business School. He was treasurer for five years for the Montauk Sharks rugby team, is a member of the Montauk Fire Department and is a certified emergency medical technician. He has three children who will attend the district school in the fall.
ISSUES: Educating children well is critical for the future and needs a balance of schooling and strong role models, he said. “Like everything there are areas we will need to evolve and reconcile over the coming years,” he said — a task he would like to help guide. Flight said he will work to ensure students continue to have an excellent foundation to their education, resolve teacher contracts and continue to evolve students’ exposure to technology.
Cynthia Ibrahim
BACKGROUND: Ibrahim, 52, is a real estate sales agent. She has a bachelor’s in accounting from SUNY Old Westbury, and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in security administration, both from LIU Post. She has volunteered as treasurer and board member at the Montauk Playhouse Community Center for five years and was a former PTA treasurer. Her daughter attends the district school.
ISSUES: Ibrahim said she doesn’t support Common Core standards and testing strategy, and if elected, would work to have it rescinded. “Not everyone learns the same way and not everyone should be forced to teach the same way,” she said, adding that teachers now must teach to a test. “There needs to be a voice on there who is not a teacher.”