Meet the candidates running for West Islip's BOE

The West Islip Union Free School District will be having its Board of Education elections and budget vote on May 20. Voting will take place at the West Islip High School from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

For the 2025-2026 school year, the district is proposing a budget of $141,439,000. This is an increase from the 2024-2025 budget, which was $138,761,990. It is a total increase of 1.93 percent, or $2,677,010.

The district states that the proposed budget is within New York State’s tax cap, which is 2 percent.

This school year, the district received $36,387,359 in state aid. For the upcoming school year, it expects to receive $36,074,489, a $312,870 difference.

Additionally, there will be another proposition on the ballot. It will ask voters whether or not they approve of using $700,000 from an existing capital reserve fund toward security at West Islip High School. If approved, electronic locks and card access readers for all classrooms and bathrooms will be installed.

The district states that the $700,000 will not have an impact on the school tax rate.

School board members who are elected will serve three-year terms. It will begin on July 1 of this year and end on July 30, 2028. For this election, voters will have to choose three school board members.

There are four candidates running in this year’s election. Some have previously held positions on the board, and others are new but have been residents of West Islip for decades. Each will be running for a vacant seat; there are three available.

The candidates are Grace Kelly, Peter McCann, Christina Marks and Thomas Pastore.

Grace Kelly

Kelly has lived in the West Islip School district for 25 years. She received her bachelor’s degree from Stony Brook University and has been a trustee on the Board of Education for West Islip since 2022. Kelly has two children attending a middle school in the district.

The issue Kelly is concerned about in the district is the mental health of the students. She has worked with school administration to create the Mental Health Committee, which allows the district and community to provide support and services for their students. It brought together educators, parents, counselors, special education administrators, and mental health professionals to provide strategies for the district.

“As I began my first term, I focused on learning and listening—listening to the concerns of the community, listening to the parents and teachers in our schools, and listening to the other members of the board and the administration,” Kelly said. “As time went on, we came together as a board, making room for thoughtful discussion and understanding between the seven of us who don’t always see eye to eye. And yet, we have accomplished so much in the past three years. We have established many new technology programs, overcame budget challenges, bolstered safety and security throughout the district, as well as instituted services and support for mental health.”

Her next goal is to focus on the stigma surrounding mental health in schools by normalizing asking for help to create a welcoming and supportive environment.

Christina Marks

Marks has lived in the district for 22 years and was elected to the board in 2023 for a two-year term. She received her bachelor’s from SUNY New Paltz and her Juris Doctor from St. John’s University School of Law. Marks has been an active PTA member for 15 years and served on the executive board for Bayview Elementary and Beach Street Middle School’s PTA, where she was a former president in the latter.

Her two children have attended West Islip schools since kindergarten and she currently has one child in the district. Marks was previously elected in 2023 for a two-year term. One of her main concerns is funding.

“While fiscal responsibility is key, it should not prevent or detract from our district providing a strong education to all of our learners,” Marks said. “To me, this includes offering a wide variety of opportunities to our students.”

Some of the opportunities Marks would like to implement are offering advanced courses for college-bound students and the chance to learn a trade and be able to receive certification prior to graduation, as well as an increase in pre-K funding.

Peter McCann

McCann has lived in West Islip for 55 years and served on the Board of Education since 2019. He received his bachelor’s degree from Hofstra University. Two of his children graduated from the district and he has one child currently in school.

The most important issue for McCann is the budget. He says there is a plan to streamline expenses and examine creative revenue streams to be less dependent on New York State.

“Our district, as every district on Long Island, we’ll have the challenge of maintaining high-quality programs in the face of declining state aid,” McCann said. “We have been very successful planning for the future and are in a good financial shape, but we must continue to find alternative revenue sources and balance the community’s tax dollars.”

He spends his free time coaching soccer, basketball, hockey and lacrosse in West Islip. McCann is involved in several PTAs and is dedicated to his community. Additionally, McCann assists business students and is part of the Business Advisory Committee at the high school.

Thomas Pastore

Pastore has lived in West Islip for 33 years and received his bachelor’s from Saint Michael’s College. He currently has two children in the district. Pastore has previously not served on the board of education.

The most important issues to Pastore are to be fiscally responsible, provide community transparency, and support all students and teachers.

Currently, the West Islip School District has 3,716 students and 398 teachers. The district is responsible for seven buildings: four elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school.