Manhasset to vote on school board seat, budget

A contested seat on the Manhasset school board and next year’s budget are at stake in Tuesday’s election, being held with absentee ballots.

The candidates for the board seat are incumbent President Patricia Aitken and resident Evan Mandery.

At a remote candidate forum held by the League of Women Voters of Port Washington-Manhasset, Aitken, a financial professional, touted the district’s financial and curricular achievements during her time on the school board, and said that aside from the coronavirus pandemic, the district’s issues included “high enrollment, aging physical conditions of [the] schools, the need to offer a challenging curriculum and diverse extracurriculars, and school budgets that pressure property taxes.”

Aitken added that while she hoped that students could physically return to schools in September, remote learning would most likely be a feature of the district’s future.

“Remote learning cannot replicate vital academic, social and emotional interactions between teachers and among classmates,” Aitken said. “Our plan for September was to put students where they learn best: back in the classroom with their teachers and friends. With the impact of COVID, however, those restrictions mean that schools will look different, and remote learning in some shape or form will likely be a feature. In developing detailed guidance and scenarios, we must incorporate the needs of at-risk populations, compliance with state mandates, technology logistics, financial realities, health and safety, as well as teaching and learning the curriculum.”

Mandery, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City as well as a novelist and nonfiction writer, said at the event that he was running to “change the board.”

“The status quo isn’t working,” Mandery said. “I’m running to change the board and give voice to different experiences and perspectives.”

Citing his 20 years of experiences in creating curricula and building budgets, Mandery said he had been taught three lessons.

“Schools are about teaching, school boards must hold administrators accountable and be good fiscal stewards, and listening to parents sustains excellence,” Mandery said.

The candidate also criticized the district’s at-home education upon closures due to COVID-19.

“What’s gone on for the past two and a half months isn’t education,” Mandery said. “Sending home assignments isn’t teaching, and four hours a week of school isn’t enough. It’s less than what our neighboring districts have offered, and more importantly it’s less than what our children need. I’ve yet to hear any administrator acknowledge these basic truths. We are observing a failure of leadership.”

Concerning the budget, the district said that its maximum allowable tax levy for the 2020-2021 school year is 2.9 percent, however, the Board of Education “chose to reduce the planned tax levy increase related to the proposed budget from 2.9 percent to 1.9 percent,” citing “the impact that the global pandemic has had on our community.”