Harborfields
BUDGET
SPENDING $88,019,552, a 2.25 percent increase from the current $86,086,696.
TAX LEVY 3.11 percent increase, from $64,588,569 to $66,600,280. This is within the district’s 3.12 percent tax-cap limit, so a simple majority vote is required for approval.
TEACHER PAY / PROGRAMS Includes a 2.27 percent salary increase. A part-time assistant principal will now be a full-time position at Washington Drive Elementary School and the proposed budget adds a new guidance administrator. It also adds two Advanced Placement courses.
WHEN | WHERE
2 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Oldfield Middle School. www.harborfieldscsd.net
CANDIDATES
Lauri Levenberg, Freda Manuel and incumbents Hansen Lee and Colleen Wolcott are running for two at-large seats. Terms are three years.
Hansen Lee
BACKGROUND Lee, 55, has lived in the district for 24 years. Lee is the director of operations at Enzo Clinical Laboratories. He has a bachelor's in science from NYU Tandon School of Engineering and an MBA in quantitative analysis from St. John's University Graduate School of Business. He is a current and active member of Harborfields Community Education Foundation, a district volunteer, a member of the Harborfields Business Advisory Board, member of the Greenlawn Civic Association and a PTSA volunteer. He has three children, two of whom graduated from the district and one now in school. He has served two terms on the board.
KEY ISSUE "In the past six years, we have made positive changes to our district. We have invested heavily in technology and we now have Wi-Fi in all four schools, instituted Chromebook use in the classrooms, instituted technology related clubs and classes and recently started a 1-to-1 Chromebook program … Moving forward I plan to continue the momentum on our past successes … and also continue our current conversations around school security and our upcoming bond proposal."
Lauri Levenberg
BACKGROUND Levenberg, 50, has lived in the district for 24 years. She is a speech/language pathologist and Committee for Preschool Special Education chairwoman for the Three Village school district. She has bachelor's and master's degrees in speech pathology from Hofstra University. She is a member of the Greenlawn Civic Association and past trustee and past vice president of education at Temple Beth El of Huntington. She has three children, two who have graduated from the district and one in high school.
KEY ISSUE "I have been privileged to see the dedication and creativity of our staff and administrators who provide an A-plus learning environment every single day. As an educator I know we must always stay on top of the most current research in our field, and that research points to educating the whole child … The most important topic our district is facing at this very moment is the new bond proposal."
Freda Manuel
BACKGROUND Manuel has lived in the district for more than a year; she declined to give her age. She is the senior director of real estate operations, Hudson River Park Trust. She holds a master's of science in real estate from New York University, a master of business administration from Suffolk University and a bachelor of arts from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. She is a member of the PTA, St. Paraskevi and Philoptochos, a philanthropic organization of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. She has a daughter in third grade and a daughter in prekindergarten.
KEY ISSUE "I am running for school board to advocate for 21st century learning in our classrooms so that every child is equipped to be successful in the workforce and past-secondary education. This involves engaging our children to actively problem-solve, think strategically, analyze data and … create innovative solutions with an understanding of the global and cultural diverse environments in all disciplines."
Collen Wolcott
BACKGROUND Wolcott, 49, has lived in the district for 17 years and is the owner of Gold Coast Impressions, a marketing and graphic design firm. She is a member of the Harborfields Special Education PTA and several PTAs at the district's schools. She is member of the Greenlawn Civic Association and a Harborfields Alliance for Community Outreach board member. She has served on the board since 2016. Wolcott has a bachelor’s degree in elementary and special education from SUNY Old Westbury, and she has two school-aged children, one of whom attends a district school. She has served on the board since 2016.
KEY ISSUE "Oversight of those most vulnerable in our schools is most needed. … In addition to Harborfields' already strong academic status, I believe public education should promote the development of vocational/trade, domestic science and the arts programs … Due to the increase in school shootings and tragedies over the past few years, I think the need to soften the insides of schools while hardening the outside is becoming more and more apparent."
