Freeport School Voters Guide 2010

VOTING

6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Caroline G. Atkinson, Columbus Avenue, Bayview Avenue, Leo F. Giblyn and Archer Street schools and the Freeport Family Community Center.

THE BUDGET

The district is proposing a 2010-11 school budget of $146,286,027, a 1.88 percent increase over the current $143,587,930. The school tax levy would increase 5.45 percent, to $78,891,812, over the current $74,817,119.

The district said it could not provide the tax increase for an average single-family home because complete information was not yet available from the Nassau County assessor.

The budget proposal includes a 2 percent contractual salary increase for teachers which does not take effect until February, resulting in an actual increase of 1 percent.

The proposed budget would close the district's Alternative Learning High School in 2010-11, sending the students there to Freeport High School. The district is also reducing allocations for its Extended Day Program, professional development for teachers, materials, textbooks and supplies.

The proposed budget also cuts 20 positions, including 15 teachers, three clerical workers, one security person, a part-time custodian and part-time social worker.

District website:

freeportschools.org

THE CANDIDATES

Fidel Abreu, Thelma Lambert Watkins, Sandra Richardson and incumbents Debra McQuillan and Michael Pomerico are running for two seats with three-year terms. McQuillan and Pomerico are running as a team.

Fidel Abreu

BACKGROUND: Abreu, 29, is an associate real estate broker with a Freeport firm. He was born in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic, and his family immigrated to the United States in 1986, when he was 5. Abreu grew up in Freeport and attended district schools, but he graduated from Long Beach High School after his family moved to Point Lookout. He moved back to Freeport 10 years ago. He attended Nassau Community College and is six credits shy of an associate degree. Abreu is single. He is a member of Latinos for Progress, a Freeport-based community assistance organization. He became a U.S. citizen on April 26.

ISSUES: Abreu said, "there is a missing link between parents and the kids in Freeport." He added, "As a product of the school district and as a youth coming up with friends in the community, I realized that I can bridge this gap between the parents and the kids." Abreu said that having been a student-athlete who wrestled, he learned discipline and the value of a multicultural environment.

Debra McQuillan

BACKGROUND: McQuillan, 46, has lived in the district for 24 years. She is seeking a third term on the school board and has served as president the past four years. She was vice president from 2004 to 2006. McQuillan is a stay-at-home mom. She attended Nassau Community College and Farmingdale State College, where she majored in business. McQuillan and her husband, Paul, have three children, one of whom is a district graduate and two of whom are currently attending district schools. McQuillan received a Master of Boardsmanship Award from the New York State School Boards Association in 2009, for completing additional intensive school board training.

ISSUES: McQuillan said that "as a current board member my primary focus is student performance, student safety, and attracting and retaining highly qualified teachers. This must all be completed while keeping a sharp eye on finances and the school budget that we put before the community." McQuillan continued: "With the hire of our new superintendent, Dr. Kishore Kuncham, we have set aggressive goals before the district and raised the bar for graduation rates tremendously. . . . Identifying and intervening with students at risk has been the top priority. If I were re-elected I would continue this focus."

Michael Pomerico

BACKGROUND: Pomerico, 49, is a patrolman with the Freeport Village Police Department and has been on the job for 21 years. He has lived in Freeport all of his life. He has served on the school board since 2007 and is currently vice president. Pomerico has a bachelor of science degree in business administration from the New York Institute of Technology. He graduated from the Nassau County Police Academy in 1989. Pomerico and his wife, Margaret, have two daughters who graduated from Freeport schools. Pomerico is the executive director of the Freeport Police Athletic League, which manages youth sports in the community.

ISSUES: Pomerico said: "My main concern is to continue to elevate student performance. In the past three years we have done a good job in raising student performance and graduation rates. Right now the graduate rate is 70 percent, and it was about 53 percent when I was first elected." Pomerico said that as a board member he has supported "decisions that hired qualified administrators and teachers. We did this while maintaining fiscal responsibility to the community." He said that the board has cut costs "across the board for the whole school district, from top to bottom."

Sandra Richardson

Richardson did not return repeated calls for an interview.

Thelma Lambert Watkins

Watkins could not be reached for comment.