Commack - Meet The Candidates

No surprises at the Commack School District’s candidate forum held Thursday evening. There are three candidates and two trustee positions in contention:  Mary Jo Masciello is an incumbent running unopposed, Michael Chacon and Peter Wunsch are vying for the vacant trustee position. The term of office for a trustee is three years.

Mary Jo Masciello has served on the Board for thirteen years and has been president of the Board for the past ten years.   She is an educator who has raised her children in Commack.   She hopes to continue her work on the school board to ensure academic excellence for the students. “In this economy our utmost priority is the funding of quality education. We must attack this issue from every angle by lobbying for our fair share of state aid revenue, by challenging the burden of unfunded mandates, and by continuing to seek additional revenues as we have successfully done this year. Of course, we must continue our efforts to control spending with a “zero-based” budget development process and to communicate with all bargaining units for possible solutions.” (Commack Courier May 2011)  

The two candidates seeking the open seat, Michael Chacon and Peter Wunsch, are both long-term residents of Commack.  Both feel they are uniquely qualified to serve as a trustee. 

Michael Chacon has been a resident for sixteen years and currently has children who are students in the district. Michael has a BSN in Nursing and works for the New York State Nurses Association.  Michael feels that his experience in negotiating contracts will help steer the district through these tough economic times.

Peter Wunsch has been a resident in Commack for twenty-nine years. He has one child, a graduate of the Commack school district. He has a BBA in accounting and is a financial consultant for not-for-profit agencies. Peter has served on the Board before and has held the position of Vice President and President.  He also feels his expertise in negotiating contracts is a strength that will benefit the district. 

The forum allowed the residents of Commack to submit questions to the candidates through a moderator. The candidates were unanimous in their concern for the cut backs in state funding. All candidates replied “NO” to a tax cap, emphasizing that a cap would have a negative impact on the educational experience the students receive. They were in agreement that a tax cap would not address the areas most costly, including pensions and state mandates.  They were also in agreement that there are adequate reserves at this time, and they shared the concern about using reserves and putting the district in a position where it could not meet unanticipated expenses.

On the issue of term limits for trustees all candidates said voting is the appropriate forum to address the issue.  A question was asked about seniority and “first in, last out” hiring policies. Mary Jo Masciello and Michael Chacon expressed the concern that teachers in the district with seniority are very passionate and knowledgeable and salaries should not be the basis for dismissing teachers.  Chacon stated emphatically “salary cannot be a factor for layoffs.  Seniority has a role, absolutely has a role, and there must be a value placed on employees.” Peter Wunsch suggested that there is a role for evaluations and internal reviews.

A question was raised about the candidate’s perspective on what weaknesses there are in the district. Masciello responded that she would like to focus a bit more on the children who are in middle academically.  Wunsch and Chacon thought community apathy and using technology for outreach was an area that could use strengthening.

All candidates agreed that it is important for everyone to get out and vote on Tuesday, May 17.