Great Neck Board of Education Vice President Donna Peirez is running for re-election to continue what she called her purpose on the board: being a student advocate.
“My interest in being on the school board and in the schools has always been the students and what’s good for them,” Peirez said. “It’s always been my desire to be an advocate for students.”
Peirez compared her purpose to that of The Lorax, the Dr. Seuss creature who famously states he “speaks for the trees” in the popular children’s book.
“I was joking saying, ‘I speak for the kids,’ because I want them to be lifelong learners,” Peirez said. “I want them to love coming to school, I want them to use what they know to become fascinating, successful human beings.”
The Great Neck Public Schools confirmed that Peirez was the only candidate filing to run by the April 21 deadline. While Peirez will be the only candidate on the ballot, individuals will still be able to elect candidates via write-in in the district’s May 20 election.
The term will be for another three years, expiring on June 30, 2028.
Behind every move she makes, Peirez said, is the motivation to serve the students of the district. She said this inspiration is driven by her past as a teacher and the time she previously spent serving them.
She earned her master’s degree in elementary education from LIU Post and a bachelor’s degree in advertising/public relations from Boston University.
Peirez, a resident of Great Neck for more than 50 years, started as a teacher at the Great Neck Community nursery school after becoming active with the school while her children attended it. After first filling in as a sub, Peirez was a teacher at the school for 11 years before moving to the public schools.
She was a teacher at the Lakeville School and served on the district’s Shared Decision Making District Biennial Committee from 1992 to 2016 and as elementary director for the Great Neck Teachers Association. She also served as chairperson of the United Parent-Teacher Council and was PTA president for Baker School and Kensington-Johnson School.
She taught in the Great Neck Public Schools for 28 years before retiring in June 2016. It was only five months before she returned to the district, but this time in a different capacity as a Board of Education trustee.
“My dedication to public schools has been a big part of my life forever,” she said.
Peirez joined the Board of Education in December 2016, filling a vacancy left by Monique Bloom, who had resigned. She last faced an election in 2022, when she defeated Emil Hakimi by more than 1,100 votes.
Peirez was nominated as vice president of the district’s Board of Education last year and previously served in the position from 2021 to 2022.
She also serves as chair of the board’s Policy Committee, a position she has held since 2017, and previously served on the district-wide Safety Committee from 2017 to 2019.
What inspired her move to the BOE was a history of involvement in the district, Peirez said.
Peirez said she offers a unique background on the board, being the only member who has previously been a teacher in the district. This, coupled with her experience as a community member and a parent, gives her a “different point of view to looking at different issues that might come before the board,” she said.
Peirez said she is running for re-election to continue contributing to the re-energizing of the district through new and changing leadership, protecting the autonomy of the public schools, supporting the values of public school education and ushering in new curriculum that responds to technology and advancements with best practices for students.
She said she is seeking another term on the board in light of recent administrative changes and a desire to see through the onboarding of new administrators and district leaders.
This includes Superintendent Kenneth Bossert, who was brought in over the summer of 2023 and is nearing the end of his second year as superintendent.
She said he “brought a new energy to the district,” while other new staffing changes are making for an exciting time in the district. She said this is in part fueling her desire to continue to be a part of the board amid these changes.
Also featured on the May 20 ballot will be the district’s budget with a 3.05% tax increase, which falls within the district’s allowable tax cap. The district has not yet released its total budget amount proposed for the 2025-2026 school year.
Community members will also vote on using $8,868,019 from the district’s capital reserve for various Improvements at the North Middle School. One would be field improvements, including installing a synthetic field and drainage improvements, and the other would be renovating a former shop classroom into a multi-purpose room.
