Meet the Glen Cove City School District Board of Education candidates

Although many aspects of daily life have been halted because of the Covid-19 crisis, members of the Glen Cove community will be able to vote on the district’s budget and choose two new Board of Education trustees. 

David Huggins, Monica Alexandris-Miller, Alexander Juarez and Maria Venuto are running for two seats. One was vacated by Trustee Robert Field and Alenxandris-Miller, the board’s vice-president hopes to win her reelection bid for the other seat. All of the candidates have previously served on the board and have children that attend the district.

Glen Cove residents will be able to vote with an absentee ballot that they received in the mail. Ballots must be sent to the district by June 9.

Glen Cove Herald Gazette: What inspired you to run?

David Huggins: I want to run the whole place. The reason that I am rerunning is because there is no one on the board presently sitting who has any clue about building and grounds. We need to keep the infrastructure working. If the building is falling apart, then the kids can’t learn. It’s not safe for them.

 Monica Alexandris-Miller: I would definitely continue my commitment to transparency, to accountability and I’d love to work on communication as well. It’s also not news to anyone that the buildings are old and are in desperate need of repair and I spent three years trying to repair school buildings.

Alexander Juarez: I’d like to make sure every child has equal opportunities regardless of their language. I think having a diverse Board of Education and having an honest [one] will help the entire community.

Maria Venuto: My platform now is very much on the issue of distanced learning and what we’re doing with the pandemic and how we are going to move forward with educating kids.

Glen Cove Herald Gazette: What implications of the pandemic are you most concerned about?

Huggins: Fortunately, my son who is in second grade got incredible instruction and is getting incredible instruction even though there is remote learning. I am in a unique position. I have a wife who is a schoolteacher in another school district, so we kind of get this stuff. But because of the demographics of Glen Cove, is everyone getting this? And that’s my concern.

Alexandris-Miller: I believe that the two things that the board has to deal with is how we are going to deal with [reductions] in state funding that we are expecting and because of the Foundation Aid Formula used in Albany, Glen Cove doesn’t get its fair share of funding. The other big issue is figuring out how we are going to open schools in this climate. Kids still need an education and the services they rely on from school. So, we really have to figure out how we are going to move forward in a safe way.

Juarez: I would want to look at our mental health. I would want to make sure that every staff member, every child knows that there are options for them to speak to somebody if they need to. Second would be exploring how we’re going to deal with finances. I believe that there is no area within the school district that is going to be touched and that’s going to have to be reevaluated. Money? We can always find money. There is always a politician out there to give something out when it’s time for election season.

 Venuto: I’m a grant writer by trade and the last time I was on the board I was able to raise $84,000 for the district. On the top of my list is really to bring more money from other sources into the district.

Glen Cove Herald Gazette: Would you say that you would be able to work effectively as a team with your fellow board members?

Huggins: I question everything and because I’m very intelligent, I understand how to read contracts and negotiate and understand because I know where all the skeletons are buried. I’ve been around the district for a long time. I am not a team player per say. I do what’s right for the kids and for the community and ultimately the taxpayers who are fitting the bill for it.

Alexandris-Miller: I think communicating your perspective effectively, being able to listen to people who may not agree with you and have a civil discussion on how to move forward are very important.

Alexander Juarez: I think first and foremost I have to remember that the children come first above everything. However, at the end of the day I stood my ground when I served on the board. I walked out of meetings.

Venuto: I can work with anyone who I need to. Kids come first.

Glen Cove Herald Gazette: How would you keep the taxpayer, including those who do not have children in the school district, in mind?

Huggins: We have to make sure every student gets an education and we have to be fiscally responsible for everyone, not just people with kids in schools who come to the school board meetings.

Alexandris-Miller: All taxpayer monies are important. We’re going to have to make some really tough choices about where money is being spent. So I think it’s really important to be accountable for every penny and understand how the budget works.

Juarez: When someone is asking us to spend, I’m looking at every possible way to make that dollar become three dollars.

Venuto: We have to think about what’s realistic for our whole community. I’ve volunteered at the high school [food pantry] a little bit to try to help and I’ve seen the need there and how many families are struggling to put food on the table. Seeing that we’re at that point, I think we have to really take a look and figure out what makes sense for everyone.