Glen Cove School Voters Guide 2010

VOTING

7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Finley Middle School, Landing School, Connolly School and Glen Cove Boys & Girls Club.

THE BUDGET

The district is proposing a budget of $70,382,381 for the 2010-11 school year, a 1.55 percent increase over the current budget of $69,309,879. The local tax levy would rise to $59,095,087 from last year's $56,984,902, an increase of 3.7 percent.

Taxes on an average single-family home assessed at $595,934 would rise from $5,745.27 to an estimated $5,958.02, an increase of 3.7 percent.

The proposed budget includes a 3.25 percent salary increase for teachers and a 3.5 percent step increase. Administrators plan to take a salary freeze.

The district cut 10 teaching positions and made reductions in athletics, transportation and capital costs, for a total of $2.78 million in cuts.

District website:

glencove.k12.ny.us

THE CANDIDATES

Incumbent Ida McQuair is running against Roni Jenkins and Grady Farnan for two seats with three-year terms. Richard Tortorici is retiring.

Grady Farnan

BACKGROUND: Farnan, 48, is a director of property and marine insurance for a Tokyo-based global insurance company and a lifelong resident of Glen Cove. Farnan graduated from Glen Cove High School and received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Adelphi University. Farnan and his wife, Camille, have three children, all in district schools.

ISSUES: Farnan said he will reach out to state representatives to maximize grants from Albany. In an interview, he said he's previously been able to get state money for a defibrillator for a local junior lacrosse program. He said he would tout the district's accomplishments to keep Glen Cove from losing state money. Farnan said the current board had done a good job, "and I'd like to see the positive direction that it is going continue."

Roni Hausch Jenkins

BACKGROUND: Jenkins, 41, is a partner in a marketing and media consulting firm. A 36-year resident of the district and Glen Cove High School graduate, she has a bachelor of science degree in finance from SUNY Old Westbury. She and her husband, David, have three children, one in a district elementary school and two who are preschool.

ISSUES: Jenkins says the district must do a better job of convincing residents why tax increases are necessary. "Perception becomes reality, and when the people, right or wrong, feel as if they're not being heard, you have to do your best to listen to them and educate them," she said. She said in an interview that she would use her marketing background to improve lines of communication between both sides. "They need to be reaching out," she said of administrators and board members. "They need to be seen at school events." Jenkins said she also would push to improve transparency and connect with students through social networking.

Ida McQuair

BACKGROUND: McQuair, 37, is a legislative assistant for State Assemb. Michael Montesano (R-Glen Head). She is a lifelong resident of Glen Cove and a graduate of Glen Cove High School. She has a bachelor's degree in accounting from Hofstra University and a master's in mathematics education from Long Island University's C.W. Post Campus. She and her husband, Charles, have two children, one of whom attends a district school and one who attends a school for students with autism. McQuair, the current board president, is seeking her second term.

ISSUES: McQuair said she wants to end the district's practice of paying out school tax refunds with its own money, something she says is unique to Glen Cove. "In all other school districts, throughout the state, the refund to the taxpayer is paid by the county containing the school district," she said in an e-mail. "The Glen Cove resident is strapped with the burden of paying for the refunds of its own district while paying for the refunds of other districts as a county taxpayer." She said she will lobby local and state government to change the practice. McQuair said she also hopes to oversee expansion of the district's honors program and the hiring of a new superintendent.