Stris unopposed in District 13

With three decades of experience on the District 13 Board of Education, Bill Stris is no stranger to making tough decisions. That’s just a part of the job, he says, but for Stris, who has also served on the Valley Stream Central High School District Board of Education for 25 years, that’s a part of the job he likes.

“It’s challenging,” he said, “more challenging now than it was years ago, it’s not boring. You find out what you’re made of — one minute you’re talking about a $250 flag pole and the next minute you’re talking about borrowing millions.”

Stris, who will be running unopposed on the May 15 ballot, said the goals for both boards he serves on have a common objective that is shared with every board in New York State: providing a quality education to students at an affordable cost to the tax payers.

He added that some of the major challenges the District 13 and high school boards will be facing in the years to come are the 2 percent tax levy cap that debuted this year — which limits the amount a district can increase taxes — and also the Annual Professional Performance Review which rates teachers and principals in the state.

“That has caused not only us, but all districts in the state, to restructure and that’s exactly what we did,” Stris said of the tax cap. He cited the rescheduling of shifts for the maintenance workers in the high school district as ways the board cut costs.

Stris said he would like to see direct elections for high school board members in the future. “We have indirect representation for the high school board and I don’t think that’s right,” he said. “These are things that the school board can’t do but the state Legislature can.”

He would also like the residents of District 13 to join forces with the board and, “demand from the state legislature that we get some money from the state park. We used to get taxes from the park, but it was removed from the tax roll in the 1940s when Robert Moses put in the Southern State.”

Stris is also in favor of centralizing the Valley Stream educational system to make one district instead of four, although he said that would take years.

There are different sets of dynamics for each board Stris is a part of, he said, but the high school board poses greater challenges. “Little kids, little problems; big kids, big problems,” he said.

About Bill

Age: 68

Family: Married to his wife, Emilie, for 37 years; son, Peter, attended James A. Dever Elementary School and North High School before Chaminade High School

Career: Retired New York City schoolteacher after 32 years