Five Candidates Vying for Three Huntington School Board Seats
Five candidates will be on the ballot when Huntington School District residents go to the polls Tuesday, May 20 to fill three seats on the School Board. For the first time in many years, no incumbents or former trustees will be among the candidates.
Christine Bene Kimberly Brown, Arthur Danziger, William P. Dwyer and Crystal E. White submitted petitions to District Clerk Elizabeth Troffa by the April 21 deadline and qualified as candidates.
Residents will elect candidates to the seats as follows: a) one member of the Board of Education for a term of three years to commence July 1, 2008 and expire June 30, 2011; b) one member for a term of three years and 41 days to commence May 21, 2008 and expire June 30, 2011; and c) one member for a term of one year and 41 days to commence May 21, 2008 and expire June 30, 2009. Voting will be held at Huntington High School from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Among the candidates are (in alphabetical order):
Christine Bene
Christine Bene has lived with her husband Andrew in Huntington for the past 35 years. Her daughter Brooke and son-in-law Tom are both teachers. Her son Andy is currently a freshman at Huntington High School. Her daughter Kimberly graduated from Huntington in 1994.
Mrs. Bene has been a member of the PTA Council Board for six years, the last two as president. She has attended School Board meetings for the past four years and is currently a member of district committees on safety, curriculum and nutrition as well as the Lowndes Avenue Task Force. She has served on five shared decision making teams and has been a member of many district PTAs. Through the years she has worked closely with administrators, town and school officials. Mrs. Bene has also served as a Family Service League board member for the past 18 years.
Kimberly Brown
Kimberly Brown, a graduate of Huntington High School, is a lifelong resident of the Town of Huntington, where her family has lived for more than three generations. She resides in Halesite with her husband, Dave and their two daughters, Morgan and Haley.
Mrs. Brown currently works as the assistant to the Town of Huntington’s Director of Maritime Services. She is the corresponding secretary of the Huntington Foundation for Excellence in Education. She has also served as a past-president, vice-president and council delegate for the PTA and has regularly attended PTA and Foundation meetings for the past seven years.
Mrs. Brown has worked part-time in the school district as a teacher aide and as a substitute teacher. She participated in the formation of the existing Southdown Primary School PTA. She is also a member of the Marble Hills Civic Association.
Arthur Danziger
Arthur Danziger has lived in Huntington for the past nine years. He has two children with his wife of ten years, Oksana. Five-year old Daniel and eight-year old Katherine both attend Flower Hill Primary School.
Mr. Danziger obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1972 at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where he completed many education courses and student-taught seventh grade. He has been a business owner for more than 30 years. Among his financial responsibilities are overseeing the company controller, authorizing and signing paychecks for employees and checks for accounts payable, hiring personnel and negotiating all leases, construction and bank loans.
In his free time, Mr. Danziger serves as a YMCA soccer coach, attends School Board meetings and is active in the PTA.
William P. Dwyer
William P. Dwyer has lived with his wife, Karen in Huntington for the past ten years. Together they have three boys attending district schools. Mr. Dwyer recently founded a publishing company which he operates from his home. He is a member of St. Patrick’s Church and the Ancient Order of Hibernians, a community service group that is well known for its organizing of the St. Patrick’s Day parade in the village.
Mr. Dwyer is the president of the Huntington Village Lacrosse Club, which serves more than 650 boys and girls ranging from kindergarten through eighth grade who live in the district. When not running around town with his children, Mr. Dwyer enjoys taking his family to Mets, Jets and Islanders games.
Crystal E. White
Crystal E. White was born and raised in Huntington Station. She attended kindergarten through 12th grade here and graduated from Huntington High School. From 1992 to 1995 she was an assistant to the program coordinator at the Huntington Family Service League. She began serving as a special needs worker at the Huntington Tri-Community Youth Agency later in 1995.
Ms. White was honored in 1999 by the Town of Huntington Youth Board with the Invest in Youth Award. In 2000 the Town of Huntington named her “Woman of the Year” and in 2004 she was appointed one of the presenters for the All-American City competition in Atlanta. From 2001 to 2004 she served as the appointed secretary for the town’s Anti-Bias Task Force. She currently serves as a member of the Suffolk County Youth Board Coordinating Council and as designee on the Town of Huntington’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity Complaint Review Committee.
Voter Eligibility
To vote in the election, an individual must be a U.S. citizen, 18 years of age or older, a resident of the Huntington School District for at least 30 days and registered to vote in a general election or with the school district.
Absentee Ballots
Applications for absentee ballots may be applied for at the District Clerk’s office at the Administrative Offices, 50 Tower Street, Huntington Station, at least seven days before the election if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter or up to the day before the election if the ballot is to be delivered personally to the voter. Absentee ballots must be returned by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20 for them to be counted in the 2008 election and budget vote.
For information on voter eligibility or absentee ballots contact Mrs. Troffa at 673-2126.
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