Patch sent the same questionnaire to all candidates running for school board this year. The following response — which has not been edited by Patch — is from Dov Herman, who is seeking a seat on the Lawrence Board of Education in an election against Jesse Lunin-Pack and Tova Plaut.
Tell us about yourself (age, town, profession, family, etc.)
I am a 46-year-old Woodmere resident. I am home inspector and successful small business owner. I have been married to my wife Vickie for 20 years and we are the parents of five children who range in age from age 2 to 18.
What qualifies you to serve as a member of the school board?
I sincerely have best interests of all Lawrence School District children and the best interest of my community at heart. I believe every child deserves the best possible education and services from our public schools. I believe every parent and taxpayers should have school board members who safeguard their tax dollars and protect their interests. I will be that school board member.
Why are you running for the school board?
I’m running to maintain and to improve the quality of education and services for all students, public and private in our school district. We need to end the competitive sentiment between public and private school parents and their students. So, I hope to help unite our community and make our school board’s deliberations more open and transparent to everyone in our community.
What is your opinion of the budget that has been presented to the community? What you have done something differently with it?
I cannot support this year’s tax increase when I do not believe our current school board has done everything possible to avoid it. While it may appear they have done a good job, I believe that our school board has been using one-time gimmicks and smoke-and-mirrors to keep taxes artificially low. This year, those strategies did not work. I would prefer to stabilizing or reducing taxes the right way — by examining our school budgets item-by-item to find and eliminate wasteful spending that drives up taxes and by finding alternate revenue sources.
Aside from the budget, what do you think is the biggest issue facing the school district?
The sale of the Number Six School remains a top priority for all Five Towns taxpayers. Our school board will soon be seeking new bids and entering new contracts to sell the Number Six School and its 5.7-acre property. I will work to ensure that the bidding process and sale is done with full public knowledge and input from the community. The Number Six School should be sold to offset our taxes, but that property should still be a community benefit to our families and our children.
What is the school district’s greatest strength?
Our greatest strength is good people. We have a school superintendent who genuinely cares about all our children and who works hard to serve their interests and meet their needs. We also good teachers, paraprofessionals and support staff who work very hard to provide the best possible education and services.
What is its greatest weakness?
Like all school districts, our district must strive improve basic skills education in reading, writing and math. We must also improve overall student performance on standardized tests. We need to promote in-service training and continued training for our teachers so they work at peak performance in our classrooms.
If you are elected, what is the one thing you’d like to see accomplished during your term?
I will continually urge our school board to be more open and transparent in its business dealings and more responsive to our parents, their children and our entire community. Our school board handles taxpayers’ money, so all taxpayers are entitled to know how that money is used. There should be no secrets and far fewer closed-door executive sessions. Public business should be openly discussed in public. Our school board’s inability to communicate with our community has been a source of divisiveness. Open, honest communication will help unify our community.
Where do you see public education on Long Island going in the future and what role do you hope to have in it?
Public education is a necessary and time-tested concept, but providing a quality public education is not as easy as it once was. State-mandates, the economic climate and the continually rising cost of salaries, benefits and utilities are all burdensome pressures we must somehow contend with in the years ahead. Our school district and districts like ours cannot continue to conduct business-as-usual. School boards need independent, innovative thinkers and fresh perspectives and ideas. That is why Nahum Marcus and I are seeking seats on our school board.
Would you like to add anything else?
Considering my wife is a New York City public school special education coordinator and my running mate, Nahum Marcus, is an outspoken champion for our district’s special needs children, I would be remiss if I did not mention that I too will be an advocate for these children who need our help most. Our school district must continue to be responsive to these children and we must ensure that we have the best trained therapists and staff on hand to support our special-needs children.
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