Smithtown School Voters Guide 2010

VOTING

6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Accompsett, Nesconset, Smithtown and St. James elementary schools.

THE BUDGET

Smithtown is proposing a $211,486,370 budget, an increase of 0.11 percent over its current $211,260,000. If passed, the tax levy would increase 1.66 percent from $155,916,532 to $158,508,213.

A home with an average assessment of $6,000 would pay $7,818 in school taxes next year, an increase of 1.66 percent over the current $7,690.

The budget proposal includes an unspecified amount for salaries for staff covered by the teachers contract and civil service contract, which expire June 30 and are being negotiated.

The district plans to cut 16.85 full-time or equivalent teaching jobs as well as seven tutors, three science lab aides, one teaching assistant and two senior clerk typists. The district said most programs will be affected to some extent by the cuts.

District website:

www.smithtown.k12.ny.us

THE CANDIDATES

Incumbent Louis Liguori is unopposed. Incumbent Theresa Knox is running against Richard Antonacci and Pam Farino. Both seats have three-year terms.

Richard Antonacci

BACKGROUND: Antonacci, 49, is a bank executive. He and his wife, Ilka, have four children, all of whom are attending district schools. Antonacci received a bachelor's degree from SUNY Cortland. He is on the board of trustees for the Roy White Foundation, which raises money for underprivileged children, and donates time to the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. This is his first run for the school board, although he is on the advisory board for the district. He has lived in the district for 10 years.

ISSUES: Antonacci wants to bring his 25 years of experience in the financial industry to the board to help cut costs where possible. "If you look at things line by line, you can usually find money," he said. He also wants to continue the present superintendent's progress in transparency to give more disclosure to the board so it can make proper decisions on expenditures.

Pam Farino

BACKGROUND: Farino, 41, is a stay-at-home mother. An 11-year resident of the district, she and her husband, Michael, have two children attending Smithtown schools. Farino received an associate degree from Davis and Elkins College in West Virginia. She is a trustee at Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown and a former deacon at First Presbyterian Church in Smithtown. This is Farino's first run for school board, although she said she has been attending public board meetings for seven years and most committee meetings the past two years.

ISSUES: Farino said the district must "aggressively promote detailed tracking of needs for each school," including finishing construction work that was promised in a 2000 bond vote. She praised the board for the present budget but said the district needs to see where money can be saved as enrollment declines "but not at the expense of educational quality."

Theresa Knox

BACKGROUND: Knox, 57, is a 23-year resident of the district. She volunteers her time for the district's college scholarship committee. Knox and her husband, John, have three grown children who graduated from the district. Knox received a bachelor's degree from Stony Brook University. She served on the school board from 2000 to 2006 and most recently has been on the board since 2007.

ISSUES: To reduce costs, Knox said one of the major areas of expense is personnel. "Personnel cost is obviously one place where the board can have a major effect, particularly in a year when two of our major contracts are being negotiated," she said, referring to the teacher contract and civil service contract. "Costs built into contracts are not limited to salary lines. It is a benefit to understand the subtleties of work titles and impact of work rules which can add to costs." Dealing with personnel costs could loosen up funds needed for infrastructure needs, she said.