As the 2024-2025 school year winds down, there are decisions to be made for the upcoming academic year, including the Board of Education elections.
School districts across Nassau County will have their communities vote on the 2025-26 budget May 20 and board seats that will be up for election. The deadline for candidates to put their names on the ballot was Monday, April 21.
The Hicksville School District has two seats open as Annette Beiner and Linda Imbriale both seek re-election. Faisal Mirza is running for Imbraile’s seat on the board as well.
Vice President Seth Greenberg and trustees Tara Rock and Jared Goerke are running unopposed for the Plainview-Old Bethpage School District board.
Greenberg is a lawyer, and a managing partner and owner of a boutique law firm. Rose works in education law and Goerke is a public servant currently working for the Scott J. Beigel Memorial Fund, according to his LinkedIn.
The Bethpage School District has two incumbents and one new candidate up for election. John Lonardo and Christina Scelta are running for a new term on the board, while Craig Morgan is looking to join.
The Plainedge School District could see a large shake-up on its board. Trustee Raymond Paris is not running for re-election. Instead, Michael Ponticello is running unopposed for his position. Ken Auer is running against incumbent Jennifer Maggio for a three-year term and Kathleen Versace is running against Farjana Khan to fill an unexpired term.
The Massapequa School District has just one open seat currently held by Chris Brooks. He is running unopposed for re-election.
The Levittown School District has two board seats open. Vice President Peggy Marenghi and 2nd Vice President Christina Lang will both run unopposed to retain those seats.
The Island Trees School District has two incumbents running unopposed: Larry Ortolani and Vinny Papandrea.
Ortolani has been with the board since 2022 and is a retired police officer. Papandrea is the director of Admissions and International Student and Scholar Affairs at John Jay College.
The Seaford School District has two at-large seats open, with both incumbents, Lisa Herbert and Heather Umhafer, running unopposed.
Herbert is the board president and is a commercial litigator at a large law firm in New York City. She has been practicing law for nearly 20 years, and has two children in the school district. Herbert received her undergraduate degree in political science from Quinnipiac University and her Juris Doctor degree from New York Law School.
Umhafer is a trustee and the vice district clerk on the board, as well as the owner and co-founder of Downstage Dance in Seaford. She has been teaching dance for over 25 years and has three children, two of whom are students in the school district. Umhafer received her undergraduate degree in mass communications from Quinnipiac University.
The Wantagh School District has two seats up for re-election: Trustees Jennifer Perfetti and Laura Reich. Brian Lapp is also running for a spot on the board.
Perfetti has been a trustee since 2022 and has lived in Wantagh since 2014 with her husband and two children. Perfetti has been actively involved in the school community as a PTA leader and president and she works as an IT consultant and program manager.
Laura Reich has been a trustee since 2019. She has served as both the board president and vice president and has been a member of the audit committee, according to the district. Reich has lived in Wantagh since 2004 with her husband, and they have raised four children there. Her youngest child is currently a senior at Wantagh High School. Reich is an attorney practicing real estate and works part-time as an accountant’s assistant.
