Re-Elected Comsewogue Board Trustees Look to What Lies Ahead

A week after voters in the Comsewogue school district overwhelmingly approved the 2013-2014 school budget of $81.1 million, the two newly re-elected school board trustees discussed their reactions to the vote and what lies ahead for the district.

Rob DeStefano said the budget passage is an "endorsement" of the school district's work on the budget and the educational programs. He said he felt honored that the community re-elected him. "I'll gladly continue in this role for as long as the community allows me. We still have much work to do," he wrote in an email to Patch.

Francisca Alabau-Blatter said she was happy to see that the budget passed and said she was "pleasantly surprised" to win another term on the board.

The current school board has been working together for two years now, with the upcoming 2013-14 school year its third. Alabau-Blatter said the continuity is good for the school district.

"In the past three years, it's been good for everybody," she said. "With the decisions we make, and the way we've been challenged and resolved issues, I think the community is happy with that and the vote kind of turned out that way. I'm very excited to see that the whole board is on board with getting trying to better the educational experience for the students."

They both stressed that there are financial challenges coming up, such as finding ways to meet the state's unfunded mandates and paying for all the tests and development associated with the system of student evaluations and staff performance reviews.

DeStefano said the board is working in particular on adding technology for the students via grants, with no impact on the taxpayer.

"We still have a lot of work to do to offset the underfunded mandates from Albany," he said. "We need to make sure that the academic progress continues – that our children continue to receive a sound education, in spite of the fiscal challenges."