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 19 to fill three seats on the School Board. Voting will be held at Huntington High School from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Elizabeth Black, Kimberly Brown, Bari Fehrs, Emily Rogan and Judith Thompson are all running after submitting petitions to District Clerk Elizabeth Troffa by the April 20 deadline and qualifying as candidates. The top three vote-getters in the election will earn three-year terms commencing July 1, 2009 and running through June 30, 2012.
The Huntington PTA Council is sponsoring a Meet the Candidate Night on Monday, May 4 at 7 p.m. in the School Heritage Museum (room 140) at Huntington High School. The event is being moderated by the Suffolk PTA to insure impartiality.
Snapshot profiles of include:
Elizabeth Black
Elizabeth Black is completing her sixth year on the Huntington School Board. A graduate of SUNY College at Geneseo (Bachelor of Arts in English Education) and SUNY Stony Brook (Master of Arts in Liberal Studies), she earned her state school administrator certification through the College of New Rochelle.
Mrs. Black and her husband Edwin have three children: Brady Rose, Brendan and Kieran. She has worked as an English teacher in the Kings Park school district for the past 33 years. She is also an adjunct professor for Syracuse University.
Mrs. Black has been a member of both the District Mental Health Task Force and the Internal Audit Committee, which was mandated by the New York State Legislature to provide enhanced oversight of school district financial operations.
Kimberly Brown
Kim Brown has served on the Huntington School Board for the past year. A graduate of Huntington High School, she 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 assistant to the Town of Huntington’s Director of Maritime Services. She has served as corresponding secretary of the Huntington Foundation for Excellence in Education and as a past-president, vice-president and council delegate for the PTA.
Prior to her current position with the town, Mrs. Brown worked part-time in the district as a teacher aide and as a substitute teacher. She is a member of the Marble Hills Civic Association.
Bari Fehrs
Bari Fehrs, a 19-year district resident, has served as PTA president at Southdown School and Finley Middle School and on the executive board of the Woodhull School PTA. A graduate of New York Institute of Technology, she worked for 12 years in catering sales before becoming a full-time mother.
Mrs. Fehrs resides in the Southdown area with her husband, Tom and their sons Max and Will and daughter Cameron. The children are currently students in Huntington schools. Her stepsons, Jeremy and Michael are Huntington graduates.
Mrs. Fehrs has attended School Board meetings for six years and served on various district committees. She has participated in regional educational and legislative workshops and has organized and chaired PTA events and programs. Her interests also include running, tennis and reading.
Emily Rogan
Emily Rogan is completing her first three-year term and currently serves as vice-president of the Huntington School Board. A graduate of Huntington High School, she earned a Bachelor's Degree at Cornell University and a Master’s at New York University. She works as a freelance writer.
Mrs. Rogan’s husband, Bob, is also a Huntington graduate. Their son Henry is a seventh grader at Finley Middle School and their daughter Julia is a third grader at Washington Primary. The family is active in community leagues and organizations.
Since joining the School Board, Mrs. Rogan has been a member of the Lowndes Avenue Task Force, Comprehensive Health Advisory Committee and an active participant on a team of school administrators and educators working with experts from NYU to improve the school climate.
Judith Thompson
Judith Thompson works with developmentally delayed individuals in a special education setting. She is also a licensed mental health counselor with her own practice in Huntington.
Ms. Thompson, who holds a Master’s degree from New York Institute of Technology in Human Relations and Bachelor’s degree from SUNY College at Old Westbury in Psychology, is designated as a Diplomate with the American Psychotherapy Association.
Ms. Thompson’s diverse background includes being elected board president six times for a hundred-home community where she represents 400 constituents and has responsibility for fiscal management, community safety, external relations and policy setting.
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 19 for them to be counted in the 2009 election and budget vote.
For information on voter eligibility or absentee ballots contact Mrs. Troffa at 673-2126.
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