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Contested race for West Babylon School board; other districts ready for Tuesday, May 20th vote
Since his election, Nocera has worked with his colleagues to expand programs, add an additional academic period to the high school, expand the district's athletic teams and replace many of the district's worn out school buses. In addition, he and his wife have adopted a 9-month-old girl. The district has also seen the retirement of its longtime Superintendent Mel Noble, and the hiring of its new man in charge, Anthony Cacciola. What has not changed is that Nocera continues to work to restore the 1920 Victorian home he and his wife bought in Fredrick Shores, Babylon almost five years ago, and he continues to maintain a passion for volunteer service. "I've learned a lot and have enjoyed serving my community," said Nocera who is running for reelection to another 3-year seat. "I've also learned that West Babylon is not like Roslyn, and that taxpayer money here is spent wisely, carefully watched and that not a nickel is wasted." Nocera joins two other school board incumbents, Carmine Galletta, the board's president and James Bocca, in this year's election. They are challenged by former school board member Kathleen Jennings who lost her bid for reelection last year, after serving three years on the board. The three candidates, who receive the highest number of votes in the at-large election on May 20, will be seated. Galletta has been on the board since 1995, and has lived in West Babylon since 1984. He and his wife Janet have a son who graduated from West Babylon and a daughter attending school in the district. He is the owner and operator of a heating and air conditioning company. When he ran in 2002, Galletta said that a large part of the responsibility of school trustees is to watch over taxpayers' money. Over the years, he, like Nocera, said he believes he and his colleagues have done that. This year's school budget is a $5.3 million increase over the current year's budget of $84,309,025, or 6.4 percent. The board and administrators have worked closely with the community, providing more information to the public, said William Hill, president of the West Babylon Taxpayers Association. "We certainly did not get everything we wanted, but the district has worked with us this year, and I think we have a budget that is the better for it." Jennings has been a resident of West Babylon since 1980 and is an R.N. She works for the Veteran's Administration, assisting returning Iraqi veterans. She and her husband, a lifelong West Babylon resident, have two children, both of whom graduated from the district. When she ran for reelection to a second threeyear term last year, she said she was proud to help the district's students reach academic excellence, and wanted to continue to support the students, programs and staff responsible for those achievements. Prior to running for the board (she lost her bid for reelection in 2007) Jennings was a familiar face at school board meetings. For more than two decades, she attended them as a parent of two children in the district, and as a resident. While she was on the board, the district completed a multi-million dollar capital improvements project, including construction of the PAC and fitness center at the high school. Work also included repairing some elementary school roofs and other upgrades. "The project went well, was on time and within budget," she said, adding that she'd like to bring a fresh perspective to the board. "The board is committed to what they do and I respect them," she said. "I just think I would like to work to bring a new perspective." Bocca has been on the board six years and lived in West Babylon 15 years. He and his wife Jennifer have three children, James, who attends St. Joseph's College, Joseph, who attends West Babylon High School and Laurie, who attends West Babylon Junior High School. His decision to run for reelection is based on the fact that he enjoys working for the community, "and for the kids," he said. He views himself as an individual who can work well with his colleagues, students and staff. "I don't try to create waves," he said. "When people work together, everything falls into place and it is a great feeling to be part of something so worthwhile." In other local school districts votes: •Babylon: See story in this week's edition. •Copiague schools are proposing a $98.3 million budget, up 7.7 percent from the current budget of $91.2 million. The district anticipates a state aid package of $43 million, up from $37.8 million this year. Two incumbents, Brian J. Sales and Rosemary Natoli are seeking reelection to three-year terms and face a challenge from Darline Jackson; •Deer Park is proposing at $94.5 million budget, up 4.8 percent from $90.12 million this year. That represents an increase in expenditures of $4.4 million. The district's state package is expected to go from $22.7 million to $25.9 million. Incumbent trustees Dennis P. Ryan and Ronald Wayne are seeking reelection to three-year seats and face challenges from Magda Parvey and Nick Cangero. •Lindenhurst is proposing a $134.2 million budget, up 5.39 percent from the current spending plan of $127.3 million. That represents an increase in spending of $6.9 million. State aid is expected to increase from $46.5 million to $49.8 million in 2008-09. In the election for trustees, incumbents Ed Murphy Jr., Robert Brandenberger and Robert Spero are running unopposed for three-year terms. •North Babylon is asking voters to approve a budget of $105.7 million, up 3.45 percent from last year's budget of $102.2 percent. That is an increase in spending of $3.5 percent. The district expects to receive $44.6 million in state aid, up from this year's package of $42.6 million. Trustees seeking reelection are Barbara Ferguson, Barbara Leun, and Janet Meyerson. They face no opposition.
•West Islip: See story in this week's edition.
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