Budgets and candidates at a glance

On Tuesday, May 17, Rockville Centre residents will go out and vote for the school and library budgets, as well as candidates to fill seats on the boards overseeing both institutions.

John O’Shea is the only one running for his seat on the Board of Education, which is the only open seat this year. Charlie Kelleher and Christine Glass are running to hold their seats on the library’s Board of Trustees. They, too, are running unopposed.

In addition to the trustee seats, voters will also have a chance to cast ballots for the $109.5 million school budget and the $3.4 million library spending plan.

Residents might also want to give themselves a little more time when the go to the South Side High School gym to vote this year: this is the first year that the scanning-type machines are being used for school elections.

John O’Shea

O’Shea, 56, is running for his third term on the Board of Education.

He said he is running because he feels there’s still work he can do on the board. “I still feel that I’m accomplishing things,” he said. “And I still feel a need to accomplish more.”

During his years on the board, O’Shea has closely watched the district’s budget, and wants to keep making sure that residents’ tax money is spent wisely and goes to help the students.

“I’m looking forward to looking at the budget to keep more [money] in the classroom and try to scale down the administration side of the budget instead of taking anything out of the classroom,” said O’Shea. “All school districts on Long Island are going to be heading that way.”

One of his greatest accomplishments from his time on the board, O’Shea said, was the work he did constructing the district’s recent budget, which allowed additions to be built at Watson and South Side High School, as well as funded needed improvements and repairs all over the district.

Charlie Kelleher

Kelleher, 50, is running for his fourth term on the library board.

He said he is running again because he views the job as public service and wants to keep giving back to his community. “It’s my contribution to try to maintain the infrastructure of the community,” he said. “Libraries have become so much more than just the books, not that books aren’t important.”