Meet the candidates: Miller Place School District BOE

Residents are able to vote between two local residents for the upcoming board of education and budget vote on May 18. 

One seat is up for election this year, and up to the plate are candidates Desiree O’Neil and Bryan Makarius. 

When elected, the position will count as a three-year term, beginning July 1 of this year through June 30, 2024.

Both are first-time runners. 

Bryan Makarius 

Bryan Makarius brings his experience in education to the table when it comes to running for the Miller Place Board of Ed, but being a father of two in the district, he said he also wanted to give back. 

“I wanted to make a difference and I know I have that skill set in order to help make those decisions,” he said. “I really understand what’s going on in the community.”

Makarius has volunteered with the Port Jefferson Fire Department since he was a teenager — serving more than 24 years. He said the experience he gained there, and while holding elected positions in the department, provided him with “invaluable growth as a community leader.” 

He and his wife, Leah, decided to pack up and move to Miller Place in 2012 to raise his family.

By day working in the Longwood School District, Makarius said he chose to run not out of anger towards the district — he wants to give back. 

“I think the district has done a good job. I think the people there have done a good job,” he said. “But I just want to be able to get back to my community more.”

He said he wants to keep continuing the quality education that Miller Place is known for. One task he wants to tackle is making class sizes smaller. 

But he said he’ll be there to listen to any and all concerns.  

“If there is something that the community really wants, in which they have said over and over again, we have to find out a way to make that work within the budget,” he said. 

Desiree O’Neil 

Born and raised in Miller Place, and a graduate of Miller Place High School class of ’96, Desiree O’Neil decided to run for board of ed because she believes the district needs more transparency.

“The biggest concern right now in the Miller play school district is the lack of communication from administration and the board of education,” she said. “This past year was obviously very difficult for many school districts, and our district was not very willing to work with the community to offer choices for their children.”

O’Neil said the district did a poor job navigating the pandemic — elementary schools were back in school all year, while secondary students weren’t back full-time until March 1. 

“We weren’t given an option for families for a virtual platform until quite a few months into the school year,” she said. 

If elected, O’Neil said she wants to address the different limitations the district has, including a better curriculum for gifted and talented students in the elementary level. 

O’Neil graduated from Stony Brook University with a Bachelor’s in English and works as a senior benefits consultant profession with more than 20 years of industry experience.

The mom of two is active in the Miller Place School District athletic programs, helping put together the Section XII rally with other local school districts last year.