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Fair John O'Shea, Donna Downing to vie for Rockville Centre school board
When polls are open on May 17, two candidates will vie for one seat on the Rockville Centre Board of Education.
Current President John O’Shea and challenger Donna Downing will each be on the ballot for the school board vote.
O’Shea was first elected to the Board of Education in 2010 and will be running for a fifth term. He is a lifelong village resident, and in 1982, after attending Nassau Community College and Farmingdale State University, he started his own landscape design and maintenance company, which he still owns and operates.
He has been active in the school district for years, and is a former co-president of the Riverside Elementary School PTA. His family has been active in school and village sports programs, and O’Shea has been an active PTA member since 2002, serving on many committees. He has organized events and fundraisers and has been a proponent of many new PTA programs at Riverside.
Downing has also been active in the school community, volunteering at book fairs and field days, writing grants and coordinating town hall forums across the district. She said she values collaboration and has a productive relationship with district officials.
Additionally, Downing created the RVC PTA’s Parent University, with the goal of helping families understand the programs RVC schools offer, which was met positively by many parents, teachers and administrators.
Downing is a teacher in the English Department and the Experiential Academy at Molloy College.
According to her website, a large part of Downing’s platform includes transparency, and she said she aims to provide school leaders the chance to explain the paths available to RVC students so they can follow a course of study that matches their individual skills and interests.
She said she is aiming to provide leadership, collaboration and cooperation, a commitment to students and a clear vision
