As a mom of four kids, I have been so impressed with the caliber of faculty, the education, the athletics, art and music programs. My sons attend SSMS and SSHS and my daughters graduated in 2010 and 2012. Our district has a great reputation with colleges and I would hate to see this jeopardized. Of course we all want lower taxes but not at the expense of our children. John O’Shea has a vested interest in continuing to do both.

John understands school funding is an extremely complex issue. You don’t need a CPA to grasp that the real tax issues we need to unite against are coming from Albany in the form of unfunded mandates and a dysfunctional funding system. Pensions, health care costs and excessive standardized costs are beyond our board of education’s scope of control.

Of course the budget is a major issue. However, a trustee position encompasses so much more than that and requires tremendous dedication and commitment. It’s a full time job including lengthy board meetings, daily phone calls, PTA meetings, school concerts, plays, sporting events, graduations, meetings with administrators, conventions and more. John has clearly demonstrated his passion, drive, focus, and expertise in adhering to this demanding schedule.

John O’Shea has a proven track record of fiscal responsibility. We can rest assured that he will continue to make progress on this front without compromising on the educational value. I look forward to seeing what he can accomplish in a second term and I hope you join me in re-electing him.

Judy Griffin

Rockville Centre

O’Shea is right choice

To the Editor:

I am writing to urge my fellow residents to support John O’Shea in the upcoming Board of Education election.

During the financial crisis of 2008 when the board proposed the modified Princeton Plan — which would have dismantled our neighborhood schools — John assembled parents armed with petitions, examined the budget and pressed the board for answers. Upon learning of countless oversights, an abundance of waste in the budget, the negligence of capital improvements, mounting infrastructure issues, program cuts and absolutely no tax relief in sight; his frustration grew.