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Mallie Jane Kim

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Ward Melville High School. File photo by Greg Catalano

By Mallie Jane Kim 

The Three Village Central School District Board of Education will have only six members this year, as one member resigned due to a career change making participation impossible.

At an Aug. 23 meeting last Wednesday, BOE president Susan Rosenzweig announced the change, explaining that the former board member in question, Jennifer Solomon, would not be replaced during this term. A special election would cost an estimated $25,000 to $30,000, diverting funds allocated to serve the school children, she explained. 

“Each of those dollars that we would have to use for something like that is taken out of the pocket of a child, so that didn’t interest any of us in any way,” she said, adding that appointing someone didn’t seem fair.

The chosen option is to do nothing, keeping the board at six trustees as they aren’t concerned about gridlock. “We all work very collegially and collaboratively together,” Rosenzweig added. “We’re not too worried about the even number.”

Last year was Solomon’s first year of a three-year term, but at a board meeting on April 26, she shared that this outcome was a possibility. During that meeting, a board member read an emailed public comment that mentioned rumors a board member planned to resign after the election, and suggested that person should step down before the election instead to allow the community to choose someone in their place. 

At the time, Solomon spoke up. “I suspect the author of that letter is referencing me,” she said, and explained the school district she was working for had cut her position, so she was forced to look for employment elsewhere. “Being on the Three Village Board of Education is a role that I care about deeply, and it’s my intention to continue on the board, provided my circumstances allow me to,” Solomon said.

As Rosenzweig shared at last week’s meeting, Solomon “has taken a position that precludes her from continuing her service to the board.”

Five excessed teachers recalled

The administration recalled five of the teachers whose positions were previously eliminated due to budgetary issues, according to Superintendent of Schools Kevin Scanlon, in some cases to keep class sizes low in each of the primary schools. 

Teacher contracts require the district to keep the average class size in each grade below a certain number, but individual class sizes can vary within that average. 

“We don’t want there to be an imbalance between one school and another school,” Scanlon said. 

But the administration had to get creative to find that balance. “In order to get to those numbers, it’s not as if there was a magic pot of money,” he said. “We actually had to make cuts in some areas.”

For example, the administration cut three permanent substitute teacher positions — a year-to-year appointment — to make room in the budget to reinstate one section of second grade at Setauket Elementary as well as to help cover costs for special areas, such as physical education, art, health and music.

Scanlon also mentioned the district’s declining enrollment, a concern that spurred ongoing considerations to reorganize the schools, is still happening — but at a slower pace. He said there are 77 fewer students enrolled this year compared to last year; last year’s decline was 140 students and the year prior was over 200.

A major factor in enrollment fluctuation is families moving in and out of the district. According to district data, there are more families in the district this year compared to last, but fewer kids. 

“That’s a very unusual thing to contemplate, but it’s just that the families are having less children,” the district superintendent noted. “A family used to have three or four children. They’re now having maybe one or two children.”

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Robinson’s Tea Room is tucked into the back corner of Stony Brook Village Center. Photo by Mallie Jane Kim

By Mallie Jane Kim

Robinson’s Tea Room provides the quintessential English experience of high tea, but for manager Dan Bussey of Sound Beach, it’s about far more than that. 

Tucked into a back corner of Stony Brook Village Center at 97 Main St., the cozy, floral tea shop provides a backdrop Bussey hopes will transport visitors out of their daily Long Island lives to better focus on the people around the table.

“Our hope is that it’s more than just about food and tea — it’s about connections you make with the people who you come with,” Bussey said. “We hope we can facilitate that by providing really good tea and really good food.”

Manager Dan Bussey greets customers at Robinson’s Tea Room in Stony Brook Village Center. Photo by Mallie Jane Kim

The tea room serves soups, salads and sandwiches, but of course the star is the classic three-tiered tea service, complete with fresh-made scones, finger sandwiches and sweet treats. The menu boasts more than 50 choices of tea to sip.

Michael and Donna Aliperti of Shoreham, Bussey’s parents-in-law, bought the tea room after it was shuttered in fall 2022, to the surprise and disappointment of its patrons at the time. 

The Alipertis, a mechanical engineer and registered nurse, respectively, were convinced to invest after their daughter Michaella suggested they save Robinson’s, a tea room the Alipertis enjoyed, and that Michaella and Bussey visited on trips to Long Island while they were dating.

Bussey, who was born in England but raised in Nairobi, Kenya, because his parents are missionary teachers, grew up drinking both the sweet, milky chai typical in Kenya as well as the customary British Earl Grey at home.

When he moved to the United States to study music at Houghton University in Upstate New York, Bussey brought the tradition with him. He remembered late college nights preparing tea with his brother and a few friends from different African countries. The group soon grew to about 10 friends from eight different cultures, he said, including Michaella, now his wife.

“The experience of having tea together has been a big thing in my life,” he said. “It’s a time to connect and do life together and enjoy something tasty.”

When the opportunity to run Robinson’s came up, Bussey had just settled on Long Island after finishing his master’s in vocal performance at Penn State — he had been commuting back and forth to see Michaella, who is an elementary music and chorus teacher in Central Islip. 

The gambit is paying off. The tea shop is often booked up on weekends and “healthily busy” most days, according to Bussey. And feedback has been positive. 

Customer Mia Gilardi, 6, sips tea at Robinson’s Tea Room. Photo by Jess Gilardi

Recent guest Jess Gilardi, of East Setauket, brought her daughters Anna, 10, and Mia, 6, for a “girls’ day out” and birthday celebration at the tea room. The girls were thrilled, and they said they loved the food. “It was very awesome and very cool,” Mia said. “I wish I could do it one hundred million times.”

Bussey acknowledged that, like any food service establishment, there have been kinks to work out, but he’s been eager to learn and grow. He spent several months training under the previous owner, Glenn Treacher, who reopened to show him the ropes before the official change of ownership in March 2023. 

Treacher, who Bussey considers a mentor, also helped him build the employees into a team which, Bussey said, is one of his favorite parts about his job. If the power of tea is bringing people together, the employees are another model of that. “We’ve tried to set up a culture where each person has the other’s back,” he said, like busing a table or bringing out food if another worker is swamped. “It’s really about helping each other out.”

He hopes to provide a nonjudgmental environment that makes something traditionally British accessible, whether people come dressed up for a high tea or pop in on a whim after a hike at Avalon Park. He doesn’t want guests to worry whether they are pouring the tea correctly or adding too much sugar. “I’m English — I love all the pomp and circumstance that we attribute to things, but I don’t want that to hold people back from getting the experience. Tea is something everyone can enjoy.”

Robinson’s Tea Room is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. 

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Capitol Building. Photo from Wikimedia Commons

By Mallie Jane Kim

Peter Moloney, 58, of Bayport, was arrested June 7 for his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Moloney is co-owner of Moloney Funeral Homes, which has seven locations throughout Long Island. He is now on administrative leave with no involvement in day-to-day operations, according to the business.

“We will not allow his actions on January 6 to distract us from our everyday focus on providing care and comfort for families during their most difficult times,” read a June 8 spokesman’s statement.

Moloney, who was identified as the protester dubbed “Black Bono Helmet” by internet sleuths two years ago, now faces eight charges related to his alleged actions during the Capitol riot. Court documents say Moloney, donning a bike helmet and protective eyewear, sprayed law enforcement officers with Black Flag Wasp, Hornet, & Yellow Jacket Killer. This kind of preparation, documents say, “indicates that he went to the Capitol on January 6, 2021, prepared for violence.”

He is also accused of attacking members of the news media, who were there to photograph the breach of the Capitol.

On the day of the arrest, his brother and co-owner Dan Moloney said in a statement, “For over 90 years the Moloney family has served our neighbors during their most trying times and has a long and proud history of supporting the law enforcement and first responder communities. The alleged actions taken by an individual on his own time are in no way reflective of the core values of Moloney Funeral Home, which is dedicated to earning and maintaining the trust of all members of the community of every race, religion and nationality.”

Peter Moloney appeared at the federal courthouse in Central Islip June 7 following his arrest, and was released on $100,000 bond. Outside the courthouse, his lawyer stressed that Moloney has not entered a plea, and the arraignment is scheduled for June 20 before a District of Columbia judge. “He is presumed innocent pursuant to the laws of the United States of America, and we’ll proceed accordingly,” the lawyer said.

Moloney is one of more than 1,000 individuals from around the country who have been arrested in connection with the riots since the incident in 2021, according to the Department of Justice, and more than 270 of those have been charged with “assaulting or impeding law enforcement.” The DOJ investigations continue.

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A visitor stands atop Patriot’s Rock in Setauket. Photo by Mallie Jane Kim.

By Mallie Jane Kim

Local parks and trails took center stage at the Three Village Civic Association monthly meeting Monday night, June 5. The civic’s land use chair Herb Mones took attendees on an impressive slideshow tour of the area’s offerings for walkers, cyclists, view seekers and the like. 

The sun sets over Setauket Harbor Marina. Photo from Mallie Kim

These natural spaces “are unique and different, and enable us to be proud that we’re Three Villagers,” Mones said. “I always say there are two types of people: Those that live in Three Villages, and those that want to live in Three Villages.”

Among the more-than-20 properties Mones highlighted were well-known spots such as Frank Melville Memorial Park, Avalon Nature Preserve, Gamecock Cottage and the Setauket-Port Jefferson Station Greenway Trail. 

Also featured were lesser-known gems such as McAllister County Park located in Belle Terre near the eastern entrance to Port Jefferson Harbor; Old Field Farm County Park adjacent to West Meadow Beach; and the Besunder property on North Road at the entrance to Strong’s Neck.

Nearly all of the sites on Mones’ slideshow boast trails or harbor views, or both. Among his favorites, he said, is the Flax Pond Tidal Wetland Area.

He also mentioned a particular point of pride in Patriots Rock Historic Site, acquired by the Three Village Community Trust. “For the first time in 300 years, the site is open to the public,” said Mones, who is president of the trust. According to him, the trust plans to add trails surrounding the location to enable the public to enjoy the entire property.

There are also undeveloped, “emerging” places to watch, Mones said, such as the Suffolk County parkland known as the Sand Pits along the Greenway Trail; the Patriots Hollow State Forest across from the shopping center on Route 25A in East Setauket; and the Stephen D. Matthews Nature Preserve in Poquott. Each of those areas, he said, could use trails and added public access.

Mones urged members to keep a careful watch over these local natural assets. “Parks are so special, parks are so desirable, parks are so beautiful that you have to be ever vigilant because somebody is always trying to acquire, buy and obtain it,” he said.

Mones added that he plans to publish his presentation on the civic association Facebook page.

Police scam warnings

Also at the meeting, Suffolk County Police Community Liaison Officer Sergio Moller, from the 6th Precinct, warned about the prevalence of scams popping up in the area, particularly electronic scams. 

According to Moller, residents are receiving texts purportedly from utility or media companies warning service will be halted unless the person clicks a link to pay their bill. “What a scammer wants you to do is hit that link, so they can get access to your computer,” he said at the meeting. “So don’t do that, please.” 

He also urged the audience to be skeptical of calls from an unknown number alleging a loved one has been arrested or needs money — even if the voice on the other line is familiar. “Artificial intelligence can reproduce your voice to a T, so it may sound like you’re talking to your grandson … it may sound like you’re talking to a loved one,” he said.

As with the texting scams, Moller said people should call the person’s known phone number to verify whether they actually need assistance. 

“Please don’t give money to anybody, especially if they ask you for gift cards,” he said. “If they are asking you for gift cards, this should be an automatic red light in the back of your head that this is not legit.”

Birds and Bees Protection Act

George Hoffman made an impassioned plea for civic members to lobby state Sen. Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk) and state Assemblyman Ed Flood (R-Port Jefferson) to support the imminent Birds and Bees Protection Act.

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The Stratford Shoal Light Station is going up for auction June 12, with a starting bid of $10,000. Photo from Josh Moody.

By Mallie Jane Kim

The Stratford Shoal Light Station in the middle of Long Island Sound is going up for auction June 12 through the U.S. General Services Administration’s real estate website, but locals with knowledge of area waterways doubt it will become the next tourist hot spot.

The Stratford Shoal Light Station. Photo from GSA

Other historic lighthouses around U.S. coasts have become vacation rentals, local government offices or museums. Such a fate might be tricky for the lighthouse at Stratford Shoal, also known as the Middle Ground Light, a stone building constructed in the late 1870s and perched on two partially submerged rocky islands halfway between Old Field on Long Island and Stratford, Connecticut. The U.S. Coast Guard will retain ownership of all navigation aid systems active at the lighthouse, regardless of a future owner’s development plan.

“Whoever decides to do something, it’s not going to be easy,” said Pete Murphy, owner of Sea Tow Port Jefferson and Murphy’s Marine Service. Murphy passes the lighthouse fairly often through his service rescuing stranded boaters and said the area seems most often used as a fisherman’s hot spot. 

Murphy would welcome a commercial use of the property, like a bed and breakfast, and he could see expanding his shore-to-boat harbor taxi service to include ferrying visitors to a commercial entity at the lighthouse. According to Murphy, though, any potential renovations on the shoal would face challenges since it’s so far out into the sound. “The safety is getting there,” he said. “You’ve got to pick your weather to get out there.”

That isolation and exposure to waves and storms made the shoal lighthouse a tough posting for its keepers before it was automated in 1970. One assistant keeper, a newcomer from New York City named Julius Koster, reportedly suffered a psychological breakdown at the lighthouse in 1905, attempting to attack a colleague, then the lighthouse itself. Eventually he made an unsuccessful attempt on his own life.

“Every one of us probably wanted to live on a lighthouse by ourselves.”

— George Hoffman

Local water quality advocate George Hoffman agreed the lighthouse probably won’t see any major development since it is so far from shore, but it could entice someone who wants to get away from it all. “I think there’s a million people on Long Island who would like to live there,” he said. “But I think the reality is a bit harder because everything has to be brought in on a boat.”

Hoffman, who co-founded the Setauket Harbor Task Force, a volunteer environmental group that works to improve water quality in Port Jefferson and Setauket Harbors, isn’t concerned about the environmental impact of potential construction on the shoal, as any development would have to comply with government environmental regulations.

Still, Hoffman finds the idea of living on the shoal romantic. “Every one of us probably wanted to live on a lighthouse by ourselves,” he said. “Though movies about lighthouses all tend to end badly.”

The Stratford Shoal structure is on the national register of historic places and is one of four lighthouses the U.S. General Services Administration is auctioning this year, alongside six others to be offered at no cost to eligible historical, educational, nonprofit or local governmental agencies. The lighthouse had been awarded to lighthouse enthusiast Nick Korstad under the latter designation in 2016. But Korstad, who has made a career of buying and renovating lighthouses around the country for use as destinations, gave up his stewardship of the water-bound site after his plan to use the lighthouse as a museum where guests could stay overnight faced too much regulatory red tape.

The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2020 allows the federal government to convey ownership of lighthouses to promote preservation of these historical sites and also to save taxpayer money on federal real estate costs. The starting point for bids of the Stratford Shoal Lighthouse is $10,000.

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Board also addresses issues of racism in the district

By Mallie Kim

The Board of Education will welcome newcomers Karen Roughley and David McKinnon to the table in Three Village Central School District, alongside returning trustee Jeffrey Kerman. The school board announced and certified the results during a meeting on Tuesday night, May 16.

David McKinnon and Karen Roughley, above, along with incumbent Jeffrey Kerman, won seats on the board of education. Photo by Mallie Kim

Roughley and McKinnon are no strangers to the board room, as they often attend meetings to advocate for district issues they are passionate about. During a fraught two-week campaign, the two, who campaigned together, emphasized their status as independent candidates — that is, not endorsed or financially supported by any bargaining unit, something both candidates have said could be a conflict of interest.

“This was a good win for the community. We were community-backed,” said McKinnon, a professor of neurobiology and behavior at Stony Brook University, adding that his win comes after several years of building confidence within the community. McKinnon ran unsuccessfully for the board twice before, and during the campaign conveyed a strong interest in improving curriculum and instituting forward-looking financial planning. “I hope this paves the way for other independent candidates to run for the board.”

McKinnon received 2,101 votes, coming in second behind Roughley, who brought in 2,222 votes.

This was the second bid for Roughley, who has been a vocal advocate for the special education community over the years, and during the campaign she highlighted the budget and bullying as top issues she would want to address. She received the most votes, at 2,222.

“I’m very proud,” she said after the meeting. “I’m very honored to be representing all the community of Three Village.”

Rounding out the trio, Kerman, a dentist, received 1,777 votes and said he was very proud to have voter support again. “I have a lot of experience, and I can help the new [members],” said Kerman, referring to the fact that he has served 17 years on the board, including two years as board president. During the campaign, he expressed gratitude for all the district did to help his two children succeed. “This is pay back and pay forward,” he said. “I’m here to help the district and keep it good.”

The community also approved the 2023‒24 district budget with 2,332 yes votes over 1,559 no votes. The vast majority of registered voters in the district skipped the election, despite the fact that the district’s budget makes up a large portion of each resident’s tax bill. A total of 3,891 voters participated, out of 36,396 qualified voters in the district.

Assistant Superintendent Jeff Carlson congratulates incumbent Jeffrey Kerman on his win. Photo Mallie Kim

Superintendent addresses racism, district OKs book up for review

Also, during the May 16 meeting, Superintendent Kevin Scanlon presented a strongly worded message against incidents of racism in the district and said the administration has brought in consultants to help address it, including one member of the Little Rock Nine, the group of black students who desegregated their school in Arkansas in 1957.

Scanlon said he would soon share with district families more details about a specific incident under investigation, and he compared racism in schools to drugs and alcohol. “If anyone in a school district tells you that they don’t have an alcohol and drug problem, they’re lying,” he said. “Every district in this country has an alcohol and drug program, and we are no exception to that rule.”

The district has curriculum and counseling staff to specifically address alcohol and drugs, and Scanlon said the same needs to happen to quash racism and bigotry. He pointed to the work of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committees, but said the entire community also needs to act.

“Enough is enough,” he said. “We have to address this not only in our schools, but in our homes and throughout our community every single day. That’s the only way to stop it.”

The board also heard the results of a recent instructional materials review triggered by a parent complaint.

According to Assistant Superintendent Brian Biscari, the book “All the Colors We Are: The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color,” by Katie Kissinger, is used in second grade health classes districtwide. A concerned parent emailed a complaint, Biscari said, calling the material in the book “damaging and racist.”

A committee made up of an administrator, a second-grade teacher, a library media specialist and a parent convened and reviewed the book’s subject, themes and appropriateness for the age level. No committee members had objections to the book. “The content of the book was related to the science of skin color, including melanin, ancestors and family and exposure to the sun,” Biscari read from the committee’s recommendation to keep the book in the curriculum. “The themes represented in this book are appropriate topics for students in the second-grade health classes.”

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Participants start the 5k with Jessica Baisley, winner in female category, right. Photo by Mallie Kim
10-year old Nassakeag students Loam Lapidus and Miko Alfredsson after finishing their first 5k. Photo by Mallie Kim
A family completes the 5k. Photo by Mallie Kim
Participants start the 5k with Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn, waving. Photo by Mallie Kim

By Mallie Kim

Runners and walkers wound through the hilly roads of Stony Brook for a Mother’s Day 5K race last Sunday, May 14, hosted by local advocacy group Sidewalks For Safety. At the event, a mix of athletes and local sidewalk fans numbering about 300 raised awareness in their bright “safety green” T-shirts as they made their way to the finish line at The Long Island Museum.

Sidewalks For Safety founder Annemarie Waugh was thrilled with the turnout, and said she looks forward to taking what she learned from this inaugural run to make it an annual event.

“There was such great energy, great cheer, and so many people in support of more sidewalks, especially around the schools,” she said. “I’m really hoping we can put children and pedestrian safety first.”

Long Island has fewer sidewalks because the suburban population expanded in an era when car was king. “Long Island’s sidewalks are here, there, everywhere and nowhere,” The New York Times noted back in 2004, adding, “The Island’s network of sidewalks is so haphazard.”

Waugh, a mother herself, makes the case to the public and to the Town of Brookhaven that sidewalks are a key part of keeping children safe as they walk to school and bus stops. She gathers volunteers as she goes — including this reporter, who proofreads the Sidewalks For Safety newsletter and helped check in participants at the race.

Waugh’s advocacy centers around connecting existing sidewalks in the Three Village area, particularly around the schools. She pointed out that secondary school track teams run on local roads. At Old Town Road in front of Ward Melville High School, that means students are running in the street alongside big construction trucks and heavy traffic. 

Detractors fear sidewalks would give the Three Village Area a more “urban” feel.

At the finish line, Setauket mother Dr. Samone Zarabi said she would like more sidewalks so she and her young son can be safer while walking their dog around town.

Zarabi brought her family to the 5K also to celebrate Mother’s Day. “I just wanted to do something healthy and good for the entire family — no expectations, just being together,” she said.

First-time 5K participants Loam Lapidus and Miko Alfredsson, both 10-year-old Nassakeag Elementary School students, said they found the race “tiring.” But they care about sidewalks, they said, because they don’t want people or animals “to get run over.” Miko also had a particular reason for joining. “My mom wanted me to do it,” he said.

Local politicians also came to support Sidewalks For Safety, including town Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) and Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket), who said she grew up in the area and supports safe, walkable communities, especially for children. Sidewalks “they connect communities — people to each other, people to places like parks, downtowns,” she said. “All these things are important for a sense of place in a community.”

The top three men and women finishers went home with flowers in lieu of medals, on theme for Mother’s Day. First-place male was Keith Forlenza, of Stony Brook, who ran the 5K in 16 minutes, 55 seconds, and first-place female was Jessica Baisley, of Centereach, who finished at 21:45.

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The district’s 2023-24 budget is also up for approval

Ward Melville High School. Photo by Greg Catalano

By Mallie Kim

The Three Village Board of Education has three seats up for grabs this year and six candidates looking to fill them, including three newcomers, one incumbent and two making repeat bids for seats.

The board candidates, profiled below in ballot order, faced an audience of more than 100 online and a large gathering in person at the Setauket firehouse on Main Street during a Three Village Civic Association meet-the-candidates session Monday, May 1. Questions posed on behalf of the civic by Herb Mones were answered by the candidates about a variety of topics, including the district’s strengths and weaknesses, school security, diversity, equity and inclusion, along with district transparency, communication and their own resumes. 

The candidates were due to face questions from the community once again Monday, May 8, but the event was postponed for reasons not provided to the public. The meet the candidates night hosted by the PTA is rescheduled to Friday, May 12 and will be live-streamed on the district’s website.

Voting for board trustees will take place at Ward Melville High School Tuesday, May 16, together with the vote to approve next year’s $230.9 million budget from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. 

A short budget presentation at the civic meeting was made by Jeffrey Carlson, deputy superintendent. In order to stay within the district’s 2.65% tax levy increase cap mandated by the state, the district is cutting 30 full-time positions. 

Superintendent Kevin Scanlon said at the board’s budget hearing May 3 that at least half of those positions will likely be at the elementary level, and he added by email that though every school will see teaching positions cut, the district can’t provide specifics at present as the adjustments are ongoing. 

At the same budget hearing, Scanlon dismissed what he called “false rumors” that class sizes will skyrocket to over 30 in elementary classes, and referred to a chart in the budget presentation that lays out the maximum allowable averages for class sizes in each elementary grade. He compared next year’s projected averages to those of this year and the pre-COVID 2018-19 school year. The biggest projected jump is in fifth grade, which should see an average of 23 students in each section across the schools. There were 21 fifth graders per class on average in 2018-19, and 20 this year.

The superintendent also mentioned some high school classes currently have 15 or fewer students. “We can’t afford to do that anymore,” he said. “That is not fiscally responsible, and we must tighten the belt in those areas.”

All of the board candidates at the civic meeting raised concerns over the budget, an issue of community interest as the district has been working to recalibrate to account for declining enrollment and increasing costs. The candidates also agreed increased transparency from the board would benefit Three Village residents.

Karen Roughley

Roughley, mom of two teens in the district, said she wants to maintain the current quality of staff and student experience for the future. To do that, she said, “we must be taking a close look at the budget to ensure that the district will be financially sustainable for years to come.”

Roughley spent her career working in corporate communications, business continuity and crisis management for an investment bank. Since staying home with her children, she has served in many volunteer positions in the district, including as president for multiple-campus parent teacher associations as well as for the Special Education PTA. She was on the reopening task force during the COVID-19 pandemic and the districtwide Diversity, Equality & Inclusion Committee, among others. At present, she sits on New York State’s parent advisory committee for the Blue Ribbon Commission on Graduation Measures.

She has publicly advocated on many issues she feels are important for Three Village students, including later secondary start times and the policy nicknamed “do no harm,” which only allows state Regents exam scores to be factored into classroom grades if the scores do not lower the grades. The board recently extended this policy for an additional year and is planning to look into whether or not to make the change permanent.

Roughley, whose two children have received special education services, is passionate about inclusion and diversity, and believes the DEI committee could do more to include the special education population, and also to prevent bullying on district campuses.

As an independent candidate, Roughly said she supports community involvement in major decisions, especially divisive decisions.

When asked about the idea of putting armed guards on school campuses, Roughley made it clear she believes all stakeholders should be part of any discussion — teachers, parents and the community at large. “Part of being a board member is you’re an extension of the community,” she said. “It should not be a decision from anyone from the board without having community input first.”

Roughley also ran for a board seat in 2021 and is running on the same ticket as David McKinnon. 

David McKinnon

McKinnon, father of three and a 30-year-plus resident of Three Village, has a “longstanding interest in public education,” and indicated he is passionate about providing an independent voice on the school board. He made clear at the event that he, like Roughley, was not taking endorsements or campaign support from any lobbying group, referring to the fact that all the current board members won their elections supported by the Three Village Teachers Association.

McKinnon, a professor of neurobiology and behavior at Stony Brook University, has served on the districtwide DEI and budget advisory committees, and is a founding member of the Three Village Parents Alliance, through which he has advocated to improve Three Village schools in light of what he called “remarkably bad statewide education outcomes” in New York education, generally. He expressed specific concern about elementary math and literacy education.

“The community — us — deserves an independent voice on how our district is run,” he said. 

“This is not a partisan issue, this is solely about effective management. My goal in running is to create a school board that represents everyone.”McKinnon said he believes the board should rely heavily on the community for decisions about curriculum and running the schools. One of McKinnon’s concerns, though, is bullying. “I don’t feel that the DEI committee was serious in its approach to bullying,” he said. “You can’t learn if you don’t feel safe, you can’t learn if you’re scared.”

On the topic of armed security guards, McKinnon worried that a large-presence, visible security also takes a toll. “There is a downside to all this security in the kids’ lives,” he said. “It makes them less willing to take risks, more likely to have emotional problems, and so this has to be balanced.”

He said school shootings are a tricky issue to address due to the suicidal motivations of the shooters themselves, one that armed guards alone won’t solve. He suggested reintroducing ethics education at the elementary level and gave a vote of confidence to the district’s security and safety coordinator, Jack Blaum, and his efforts over the years to make school buildings secure.

This is McKinnon’s third bid for a seat on the board, after running in 2020 and 2021.

Kristen Gironda

Gironda, who grew up in the Three Village district, said serving on the board would be a way to give back to the community for the quality of her education — a quality she said she wants to help uphold as she is raising her two children here as well. She is a middle school teacher in the Shoreham-Wading River school district, though she has also taught several elementary school grades, and has worked with special education students and English language learners over her 23 years as a teacher.

Gironda and fellow first-time candidate Michele Siegel are sisters, and both are endorsed by the Three Village Teachers Association.

Gironda said the biggest challenge in the district now is “resolving these issues with the budget while simultaneously trying to do what is in the best interest of our students’ well-being and health, with initiating a later start time and simultaneously reconfiguring the schools — and doing that in a fiscally responsible way.”

She has held several volunteer positions in the community, including as a trustee on the board of Play Groups School, and as vice president of the PTA at Minnesauke Elementary School. Also, she was on the reopening task force for the district during the COVID-19 pandemic, and served on the DEI committee for Minnesauke. She has coached for Stony Brook Soccer Club and was recently elected to the board of the Three Village Swim Club.

Gironda said she is not opposed to armed guards, but would take into account the expertise of the district safety team and local law enforcement. She said, after reviewing the district’s safety plan and speaking to Blaum, “I felt with full confidence that I was sending my children to school each day and that they were safe — that every precaution was being taken to protect our children and our staff by our security team.” 

She also said that the board could do better to find out what community members are thinking. “One thing that I think we could improve on is seeking out those voices that maybe aren’t being represented, figuring out who those people are,” she said. “We can work to have a more open and transparent and ongoing dialogue so people feel comfortable sharing their opinions, their views, their thoughts.”

Gabriela Alvanos

Alvanos, a 16-year resident of Three Village, said she would like to bring her particular experience to bear in addressing bullying and inclusiveness issues in the district. Her two elementary-aged children both receive special education services. She is the founder of NuPrisma, an organization that empowers individuals with disabilities, and works with businesses and communities to create more accessible and inclusive environments.

“I am here to be in service of all of our students, whether they are part of the English language learners program like I was, or part of special education like my children are, or general education or the gifted program,” she said. “Every student, regardless of their background or ability, should have access to opportunity that builds, supports and challenges them to excel in their learning and that empowers them to live and integrate in society with dignity.”

Alvanos, the third independent candidate, said she believes it is time to move from awareness of DEI issues to practical implementation of inclusion, down to the classroom level. She also cautioned that though many efforts are well meant, sometimes DEI programming can be implemented in a way that unintentionally increases bias.

She mentioned after the event that one issue that spurred her to run this year was concern over sixth graders moving up to middle school — she said she wants to be on the board to make certain the district puts social and emotional supports in place to aid the transition to secondary school for children at that age.

Alvanos said she is in favor of well-trained, vetted armed security only on the perimeter of school campuses — not inside school buildings. She also supports making the “do no harm” policy permanent.

Dr. Jeffrey Kerman

Kerman, the only incumbent in the group, has served 17 years on the board — including two years as president. He said he wants to continue serving to keep the district “as good as it is” and even help make it better. Kerman told the audience, live and online, that he serves out of gratitude for the district educating and preparing his two sons to succeed in society. Both received special education services, he said, and both became honors students in high school and college. “Our district did wonderfully with them,” he said. “I want to pay back how great they did with my sons. It was wonderful.”

Kerman, a dentist, praised the district and spoke of ways the board has served the community. “We’re always planning and always looking forward to making things better,” he said, pointing to this school year’s strategic planning commission that culminated in a survey to narrow down which restructuring plan stakeholders preferred. 

The board recently charged the administration with in-depth research to see what the costs and logistics would be, should the board adopt the plan. “We always try and get information from our community, from our parents, from our teachers, from our administrators, so that we on the board can make the best informed decisions that can help the district,” he said.

On the topic of school safety and armed guards, Kerman pointed out that Three Village has served as a model for Suffolk County in implementing school safety procedures. “We are very, very strong as far as our safety goes for our students,” he said, adding that the board has been discussing the pros and cons of armed guards carefully.

Michele Siegel

Siegel, mother of two elementary-aged students in the district, said she and her firefighter husband are proud to raise their kids in the district where they both grew up. “I feel passionate about giving back to the community that has helped shape the person I am today,” she said. “I’d be incredibly honored to be able to represent the voices of our entire district to make informed decisions.”

She called herself a “numbers and facts individual,” and is the associate director of research for a media company, with experience applying evidence-based strategies and managing budgets, teams and contracts. Siegel, alongside Kerman and her sister Gironda, is supported by the teachers union.Siegel previously served as president of the board at Play Groups School, and has coached for Stony Brook’s intramural soccer teams and is a team manager for the Stony Brook LGN travel soccer program. She also mentors students at her alma mater, Muhlenberg College of Allentown, Pennsylvania.

When asked about armed guards in schools, Siegel said if she were elected, she would request a meeting with Blaum at the district and law enforcement professionals “to understand every factor that would have to be considered and how it may integrate and align with the existing overall emergency plan — the emotional well-being and physical safety of our students and staff is a priority.”

She added that she would come into a trustee position open to learning. “I do not know the answer to every single question,” she said. “It’s for me to reach out and understand the experiences of everyone in this community to make informed decisions.”

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Ward Melville High School. Photo by Greg Catalano

By Mallie Jane Kim

New York Regents exam scores won’t hurt high schoolers’ classroom grades this year in Three Village Central School District, after the Board of Education extended the policy nicknamed “do no harm,” under which the scores are only factored into classroom grades if they improve the grades. 

The extension of this COVID-19-era policy went against the recommendation  of the district’s grading committee, which had taken up the discussion after a groundswell of concern from parents who preferred the policy, asserting it unfairly hurts students who don’t test well or face anxiety over a one-day test that can hurt a grade they’ve worked for all year. 

The board will still need to decide whether or not to change district policy permanently.

Regents scores already appear on student transcripts, per state regulations. Before “do no harm,” these scores also counted for 12% of a student’s grade in classes where a state exam is required. “It truly is double jeopardy,” said BOE president Susan Rosenzweig during the board’s lively discussion at an April 26 meeting. She suggested students who work hard and succeed in class all year long shouldn’t be affected so badly by a one-day test. “Twelve percent is a lot — it’s a lot,” she said.

Last year, the district announced the end of the pandemic-era policy, and teachers have been planning grades accordingly. According to Brian Biscari, assistant superintendent for educational services, the district’s grading committee — made up of administrators, teachers and guidance counselors — concluded after “extensive discussion” that the policy should end as planned, primarily because students weren’t taking exams as seriously, he said, and scores were slipping.

BOE trustee Deanna Bavlnka strongly disagreed with the grading committee’s recommendation, especially the idea that most students shrug off the test scores, as they do still appear on transcripts. The majority of Three Village students, she said, “want to do well — they don’t want to screw up, they don’t want bad [scores] on their transcripts.” She added that inevitably there will be students who don’t care and don’t take the exams or their grades seriously. “Like anything else, there’s outliers.” 

Bavlnka and other board members also raised concerns about issues with Regents in general, including past state tests they said have not matched curriculum well, or are graded on a steep curve, like chemistry.

“As a teacher, what would you rather have as your tool?” Rosenzweig said. “Do you want a tool that was created by the state, or do you want a tool that was created closer to home and perhaps — I would hope — more reflective of what you’re doing in the classroom?”

Board member Jennifer Solomon suggested the pandemic isn’t fully over. “We’re no longer wearing masks, no more social distancing,” she said. “But we know the social and emotional well-being of our students is still impacted by COVID. I think that extending [the policy] is appropriate.”

Research into restructuring plan approved

The board also voted to authorize district administration and staff to analyze and report on the logistics of a restructuring plan preferred by the community — that is, to move up sixth and ninth grades to middle and high school, respectively — alongside moving secondary school start times later. 

The board voted at an April 12 meeting to table the restructuring plan pending more information on cost and logistics and in order to greater prioritize the start time change.

The body of logistics research described by Superintendent of Schools Kevin Scanlon is in line with what he has previously said would have been the next step anyway.

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Supervisor Ed Romaine, center, left, and Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich, center, right, visited the North Country Administration Center in Stony Brook to announce the winners of the 2023 T-Shirt Design Competition for Sidewalks for Safety. Photo from the Town of Brookhaven

By Mallie Kim

Three Village Central School District Board of Education unanimously approved a $230.9 million budget for the 2023-24 school year, paving the way for a community vote on May 16. 

The board gave its approval of the budget — a 3.07% increase — at a meeting Wednesday, April 12. 

The proposed budget stays within the district’s state-mandated maximum 2.65% tax levy increase cap, and therefore requires only a simple majority for community approval.

Assistant Superintendent Jeff Carlson, who leads the budget process, said due to increasing costs, the administration needed to cut $4.7 million to stay within the tax cap. 

The district’s transportation costs will jump by nearly $600,000 for next year, and salaries and benefits at current staffing levels would have increased by more than $9 million. 

A plan to cut 30 full-time staff positions accounts for the majority of the cuts, and the rest came from belt-tightening.

“We went through all of the budget codes, all of the supplies, equipment and contracted services … and we came up with $1.6 million in reductions,” Carlson said. “And I can tell you not everybody’s happy about that, but there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Shari Fontana, a representative from the Budget Advisory Committee — a group of parents, students, community members, board members and district employees — spoke in support of the budget.

“The BAC has seen that during these very difficult economic times, our district has always kept the goal of filling the educational, social and emotional needs of our children as their main priority,” Fontana said, noting that the many presentations the committee heard from the district made clear that Three Village is working toward increasing fiscal stability. 

“We realize that no budget will ever be perfect, but our district is truly doing the very best it can under the circumstances,” she added.

Fontana said the committee recommended that the district convenes next year’s Budget Advisory Committee earlier in the year and provide more specific information, down to the line items and dollar amounts, of each topic presented. 

She reported the committee urged prioritizing later secondary school start times, with the board also taking a more forward-looking approach when hiring in light of the decreasing enrollment projections.

“We know that hiring is easy, but reducing staff is not,” Fontana said.

Restructuring tabled, for now

The Board of Education also decided to table a vote to adopt a district restructuring plan, over lack of data on what it would cost, and because it does not address concerns that secondary school start times are too early. 

The plan, which was the clear preference among options presented in a recent community survey, would move sixth graders and ninth graders up to middle school and high school, respectively. 

Currently the junior high schools start at 7:40 a.m. and Ward Melville High School begins at 7:05 a.m., and without a change to those start times, sixth graders and ninth graders would begin school even earlier than their current schedules require. 

District elementary schools, where sixth grade classes are currently housed, begin at 8:43 a.m. or 9:25 a.m.

None of the survey options included cost impact information, and this uncertainty gave some board members pause. 

“I would also like the administration to move forward to give the board and give the community information on: Can this work? If it can work, how much would it cost?” said board vice president Vincent Vizzo. 

“At the same time, give us the figures also for the delayed start time, because right now that’s a health issue.”

Superintendent of Schools Kevin Scanlon agreed changing start times needs to be prioritized, but added that any delay in adopting a restructuring plan could make it harder to enact any changes by the original target school year of 2024-25. 

Restructuring “is not a matter where it’s dire, where we need to get it done immediately,” Scanlon said. “I do think the start time is dire and that does need to be addressed as soon as possible.”

Scanlon estimated the administration could figure out by September the information the board is requesting on cost and plausibility of the restructuring plan with start time changes dovetailed in.

Sidewalks For Safety prizewinners

Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) and Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) made cameo appearances at the meeting to present awards to Ward Melville students who won a T-shirt design contest for Sidewalks For Safety. 

This is a local advocacy group working to get more sidewalks installed in critical places around the community, primarily for pedestrian safety — especially for Three Village students walking to schools and bus stops — but also to promote healthier lifestyles and increase foot traffic for local businesses. 

Romaine and Kornreich, the competition judges, awarded first place to Melina Montgomery, second to Julie Yang and third to Zoe Xiao; Lila Dabrowski and Rebecca Fazio each received an honorable mention for their art. Sidewalks For Safety printed the designs by Montgomery and Yang on bright, “safety green” T-shirts for use in an upcoming 5K walk/run on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 14.

“Sidewalks are extremely important but they cost money, and we have to balance the budget,” Romaine said, adding that not everyone is a fan of sidewalks in more rural areas of Brookhaven. “But here in a busy community where a lot of children ride their bikes or walk to school, it is something that we want to do.”

Romaine also praised the winners for using artwork to engage in lobbying to “make sure the government does the right thing,” adding that his neighborhood does not have sidewalks.

 “I have to walk my two little dogs, and I could tell you I wish I had sidewalks, particularly when people go speeding by,” he said.

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