Shaorui Li and Stanley Bak congratulate each other after winning seats on the Three Village board of education. Photo by Mallie Kim
By Mallie Jane Kim
Three Village voters reelected the two incumbent board of education members and, in a close race for third, selected Stanley Bak to finish out a one-year term that was up for grabs.
The 3,280 residents who voted also accepted the district’s $236.1 million budget for 2024-25, with 65% approval (2,140-1,140).
As district officials tabulated results from each area of town on screen during the May 21 board meeting, it was a nail-biter for Bak and fellow candidate Amitava Das, who were neck and neck. In the end, Bak won the seat by just 5 votes — 1,688 to 1,683.
Bak said he is relieved, but also grateful the campaign was so civil. The two-week campaign saw a collegial rapport between the four candidates, all of whom spoke highly of the slate of people willing to volunteer to serve the community.
“I think that reflects very strongly on Three Village,” Bak said, adding that he’s ready to start working on the goals he stated during the campaign, including fiscal sustainability, later secondary school start times and enforcement of the district’s cell phone policy.
“We’ve done the campaign part, and now the hard part comes because we have to do the work,” he said.
And Bak may get a chance sooner than he anticipated. At the meeting, district officials realized that since he is filling a currently vacant seat left empty by a board member who had to resign for personal reasons, his term may begin immediately. They planned to consult the district’s lawyer to seek out an answer, though one was not available by press time.
Shaorui Li, with 1,976 votes, and Susan Rosenzweig, with 1,970 votes, easily recaptured their seats for another term.
“If I can serve and be useful to the community, I’m more than happy to continue,” Rosenzweig said after the results were certified. “I think it’s a really productive board, and we’ve done really good work.”
For her part, Li, who spoke during the campaign about protecting the extracurriculars the district provides, was excited to be reelected but already looking to the difficult job the board has ahead of it.
“We still want to support extra programs, but with the budget, it’s always a balance,” she said. “It’s going to be tough, but with support from the community, we’re confident with it.”
2024 school budgets, propositions and candidates results:
Three Village CentralSchool District:
Budget Vote:
Yes: 2,140
No: 1,140
Board of education election: elect three, third highest gets one-year term.
Ward Melville High School. File photo by Greg Catalano
By Mallie Jane Kim
Four candidates are vying to serve on next year’s school board in Three Village Central School District. Terms are up for incumbents Shaorui Li and Susan Rosenzweig, who are both running to stay on the board. Newcomers Stanley Bak and Amitava Das have also thrown their hats in the ring.
In addition to the two full terms up for grabs, a third partial-term seat was left open by former board member Jennifer Solomon, after she resigned last summer for personal reasons. At the time, the board opted to wait until this election to fill her seat for the term’s final year, rather than spending additional money on a special election last fall.
Whoever earns the third highest number of votes will fill this one-year term.
The candidates, profiled below in alphabetical order, opened the two-week campaign season by introducing themselves at a May 6 Three Village Civic Association meeting.
Stanley Bak
Stanley Bak
Bak teaches computer science at Stony Brook University and runs a research lab investigating the safety of artificial intelligence, which he said involves budgeting and managing millions of dollars in funds.
He suggested the main issue facing the district today is financial.
“We need a long-term financial plan,” he said. “One that acknowledges that taxpayers exist and one that can sustainably provide excellent programs and services for our students.”
Bak, who was a member of the district’s cellphone committee last fall, praised the district’s recently strengthened policy, but added that its success hinges on enforcement.
He also pointed out that, though elementary schools comprise more than half the grade levels in the district, the board does not currently have representation from elementary families. His oldest child has started elementary school, with two others following.
“As a parent with three young children, I have a vested interest in the long-term health of all of our schools,” he said. “Representation matters. I will help bring this perspective to our board.”
Bak published information on his priorities at the website bakforboard.com and emphasizes that he is running independently and will not accept any funding from outside groups. He has received public support from the Residents for Responsible Spending Facebook group, and is a participant in the Three Village Parents Alliance.
Amitava Das
Amitava Das
Das, a parent of a junior high student in the district, said his experience in technology management has given him a firm foundation in communication, collaboration and compromise toward a shared goal of serving clients while being fiscally responsible.
“These are things from a business perspective that I hope I’m able to bring to this role,” said Das, who is an engineering manager at a major global technology firm. He indicated he hopes to “work with the staff, the teachers, the taxpayers, the parents — I hope to gain your input and your support and understand what your needs are.”
Das served on this year’s Budget Advisory Committee and volunteers as a computer science teacher for sixth through ninth grades with SchoolNova. He said by email that he previously served on the technical advisory board for Per Scholas, an organization that trains a diverse workforce in technology and helps connect newly-skilled talent to businesses.
He recognized the “tireless effort” of the teachers, administration and staff, but added that he’s also a taxpayer. “There’s a need to balance that aspect of it,” he said. “Are the dollars going toward the right programs, being spent in the right way to deliver the best product for our shareholders — which is us, the taxpayers in the district?”
Das, along with Li and Rosenzweig, is endorsed by the Three Village Teachers Association. He said in a phone call that he hopes to reimburse his portion of any campaign costs — typically, TVTA pays for advertising, including lawn signs and a postcard to each union member, past and present.
TVTA president Brian Pickford confirmed to TBR that this option is open to any candidate.
Shaorui Li
Shaorui Li
Li, also a district parent, has served on the school board since her election in 2021. She is an electrical engineer with 17 years of experience, including at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and is currently heading a microchip-development startup to advance the field of quantum computing.
She shared that she has given lectures in the elementary schools regarding NASA projects she was involved in, and has served as a mentor for Science Olympiad.
These STEM skills, she indicated, along with the leadership and management experience she’s gained throughout her career, are what she brings to the table. “I just want to contribute my analytical skills and my love of solving problems and engineering to the board,” she said.
Li praised the board’s efforts in gaining input from all stakeholders for the new cellphone policy as well as in fine tuning the Budget Advisory Committee based on feedback. “The intention is to have input from the community,” she said. “We actually keep changing how [the BAC] will be and probably going forward it will keep changing — the goal is to make it more effective.”
Li invited residents to reach out with questions about district policy to her or any board member, as she said she values understanding community concerns. “The role of the board member is not simply voting ‘yes’ or ‘no’ based on personal preference,” she said. “As a board member, I would actively research … listen to our community and make decisions based on inputs from a broad range of resources.”
Susan Rosenzweig
Susan Rosenzweig
Rosenzweig, the current board president, was also elected in 2021. She said her background in radio and television news have served her well as a leader on the board. She pointed to her ability to approach situations with a neutral position — focusing on facts and data in decision making — as well as her ability to communicate thoughtfully and clearly.
“I believe these qualities have helped usher in a new era of openness with our community,” she said, adding the board has “a renewed rigor in thoroughly analyzing all of our decisions for their impacts not only on our staff and our students, but on the district’s fiscal health and our overall well-being.”
Rosenzweig has made a full-time job of volunteer opportunities related to her children’s education, including on the board of trustees at Play Groups preschool and as PTA president at all levels. She has also been a leader for Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts.
She called the district’s new cellphone policy “a good start,” but indicated the whole community needs to chip in to help kids — especially since students involved in advising the new policy recognized the distraction and pressure that comes with the current cellphone culture. “We’ve only got them for seven hours a day,” Rosenzweig said. “The rest of the 17 hours, we need help.”
Voting details
Voting will take place on May 21 at Ward Melville High School between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. Early voting is also available this year, and information can be found on the district’s website on the Budget Information page under the Board of Education menu. A PTA-sponsored Meet the Candidates event at the high school is scheduled for May 9, at 7 p.m., and will be livestreamed.
Link to view Meet the Candidates event: https://www.youtube.com/live/o1Tos3A4wSQ?si=nmflK9MHH57onXJs.
