School board candidates address issues at forum

Perry Bodnar, left, a retiring teacher at Long Beach High School, and Board of Education President Roy Lester, seeking reelection, squared off at a candidates forum on Monday.

Joseph Abate/Herald

As the public prepares to vote in the Long Beach school board election on Tuesday, dozens of residents gathered at Lindell Elementary School on Monday to hear the two candidates in the race address a variety of issues affecting the district.

Board of Education President Roy Lester, an attorney who has been on and off the board since 1999, shared the stage with high school science teacher Perry Bodnar, who has worked in the district for 30 years and is retiring in June. The two discussed fiscal responsibility, the Common Core curriculum, special education, the district’s goals moving forward and other school-related matters.

The forum was hosted by the Long Beach Central Council PTA, and a moderator from the Nassau Region PTA posed questions to the candidates, many of them submitted on index cards by audience members. After three-minute opening statements, the candidates had two minutes each to respond to the questions, and were asked to refrain from any rebuttal or debate.

Though he was up against an incumbent with extensive experience on the board, Bodnar stressed the need to have an educator on the panel who will advocate for student interests. “My opponent is an attorney with no experience in education,” he said in his opening statement. “… I am here as an educator who believes that our great school district is in need of an educator’s voice on the board.”

As the two agreed on their support for the opt-out movement and the need to revise Common Core testing, Lester said he would look to administrators for a replacement for the exams, highlighting his philosophy of trusting people the board has appointed.

“I don’t pose to be an expert in education, nor do I think somebody who has just been in the classroom and is not an administrator is necessarily an expert in education,” he said. “I think that’s why we hire people and pay them … because they’re the experts.”

He added that an effective board member is one who sets policy but does not micro-manage. Both he and Bodnar said that, above all, listening to the community is paramount.