If Christine Napolitano wins in Mineola’s May 15 election for the Board of Education, which is likely in the uncontested race, it will be her 10th year serving on the board.
Napolitano currently serves as president in the district where she and her three grown children graduated.
The Williston Park resident of almost 26 years said she has seen a big difference in the district over the course of her three three-year terms.
“I would say the whole school district has been completely redesigned,” Napolitano said. “This is not the same school district from nine years ago.”
Among district accomplishments, she noted the dual-language program and the commitment to teach coding to every student.
The district is also the only one to have all its schools honored as Apple Distinguished Schools, Napolitano said.
“I could go on and on about the extraordinary things in our school district,” she said. “And we have become an example to many other school districts. That’s why we have so many visitors come see what we do.”
Napolitano credits the success to the collaborative effort of everyone in the district.
She said there are “so many of the right people in place,” including the principals, teachers and administrators.
“Everybody is working so well together to just push up to the next level, and it’s a happy place to be,” Napolitano said. “I talk to a lot of the people that work there on a pretty regular basis and there’s a lot of excitement, there’s just a lot of joy in the people who work in our buildings.”
The collaboration throughout the district helps create a constant dialogue, Napolitano said.
Which, she added, only brings more opportunities for the students.
The success also doesn’t go without time-consuming hard work, she said.
Napolitano said she’s often asked, “haven’t you had enough?”
While she admits the tasks and responsibilities that face the board can be daunting and difficult, overall the job is rewarding, she said.
“People talk about volunteering sometimes in foreign places, and that’s awesome and I respect everybody that does that, but I very much believe in sometimes you have to look in your own community, your own block, your neighbors, and see what can you do to make your community a better place to be,” Napolitano said.
Her motto, she said, is think globally, but act locally.
Although she’s given nine years of service to the district, Napolitano said serving has been a gift to her.
“Nothing is better walking into a classroom … and seeing children experiencing the things that we’ve talked about and what we want to see moving forward,” Napolitano said.
In addition to the curriculum the district implements, Napolitano noted upgrades to the district’s infrastructure as well as future projects the district has funded.
When she first got on the board, Napolitano said, the buildings hadn’t been touched in long time.
Through planning, which she said Superintendent Michael Nagler is a master at, capital improvement plans have been put in place.
“Taxpayers should be proud of the buildings … and I want them to be proud of the facilities,” Napolitano said. “Taxpayers on Long Island spend an awful lot of money and they should see something for that.”
The tentative 2018-19 Mineola school budget, which Napolitano and the board adopted last Tuesday, includes $4 million for capital improvements such as implementing security upgrades, putting air conditioning in all high school classrooms and creating a parent drop-off area by the middle school.
Residents will vote on the $98 million budget on May 15, when they can also vote for Napolitano and Trustee Brain Widman, also running unopposed in his bid for re-election to the board.
The proposed tax levy increase in the adopted budget is 1.96 percent, below the district’s allowable 2.12 percent tax levy cap.
“Overall it’s a win for everybody here,” Napolitano said. “We respect the taxpayers and the tax cap, we’re delivering on our promise for good programs for kids and always looking to improve them, and spending money wisely.”
