Great Neck resident Chien Huang on Monday filed a petition to challenge two members of the Great Neck Board of Education’s Board of Trustees in this year’s district election, school public relations coordinator Jessica Vega said Tuesday.
Huang will be running against Lawrence Gross, vice president of the board of education, and board member and policy chair Susan Healy for two open seats on the board.
The deadline to file to run was Monday, April 21, according to school district Clerk Diana O’Connell.
Efforts to reach Huang for comment on his candidacy were unavailing.
Gross, the longest serving member on the board, has served on the board of education since 1981 and has been elected president of the board three times.
He is also an alumnus of Brown University and a veteran of the U.S. Navy, and is the managing director of Concurrent Industries Group, which manufactures products for the food service industry.
Healy was first appointed to the board in 2007 and in 2012 was named its policy chair.
An alumna of William Paterson College, Healy is a former executive vice president and treasurer of the Great Neck South Middle School Parent Teacher Association.
In an interview with Great Neck News, Healy said she hopes district voters keep her experience and that of Gross in mind when going to the polls.
“I would like everyone to know that I really think that as we said at every board meeting that these are challenging times,” she said. “I think that experience counts for something.”
Residents will have a chance to go to the polls on Tuesday, May 20 from 7 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. at E.M. Baker Elementary School, located at 69 Baker Hill Road and Great Neck South High School, located at 341 Lakeville Road.
The election will also include a vote on the district’s $213 million budget, which calls for a 1.37 percent increase in the tax levy.
The board is scheduled to adopt the budget at its Thursday, April 24 meeting.
Residents will also vote on the Great Neck Public Library’s $9.6 million budget, which calls for a 1.19 percent increase in the tax levy and was adopted by the library’s board of trustees two weeks ago.
Reach reporter Anthony O’Reilly by e-mail at oreilly@theislandnow.com, by phone at 516.307.1045 x203 and on Twitter @ reilly_anthony. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.
