East Hampton Mother of 4 Enters School Board Race

Wendy Geehreng, the mother of four East Hampton students, is making a bid for school board.

A first time candidate, Geehreng just finished a term as president of the East Hampton Middle School PTA, a position she held for three years.

There are three seats available in the May 21 election. Alison Anderson is the only incumbent seeking re-election. Lauren Dempsey and George Aman, the school board president, both decided against running for re-election.

Geehreng has been considering a run since earlier in the school year. "I have four children in the district. In the fall, I'll have one in the high school, one in the middle school and two at John Marshall. Is there a better time? Probably not," she said. "I have a vested interest in each school to do well."

Born and raised in East Hampton, she attended East Hampton schools through ninth grade before leaving for boarding school. She lived in New York City for nine years after college and moved back to East Hampton after having her second child.

With a 6-, 10-, 12-, and 14-year-old children, Geehreng works part-time as a pediatric nurse practitioner at Southampton Pediatric Associates in Southampton. She considers herself an advocate for kid's healthcare in her profession.

Though school board candidates don't run on any particular ticket, Geehreng said she has aligned herself with J.P. Foster, who is her brother-in-law, and Nick Boland, both of whom announced their candidacies in previous weeks. Foster and Boland, she said, share her focus. "I think we share sort of the goals, as far as transparency, as far as putting the kids first."

She said she wants to ensure children in the district get the best education.

"Fred Thiele, the assemblyman, was just quoted as saying that East Hampton needs to have a leadership position on eastern Long Island," Geehreng said. "What I would personally really like to see is our school district be a leader," she said. "It's not easy for any school in New York State to give the kids a good education and be fiscally responsible. It's a big challenge. "

Still an active member of the middle school PTA, she is also a member of the John M. Marshall Elementary School PTA. She also has served on the middle school site based committee.