This week, leading up to Farmingdale's school budget vote and school board election Tuesday, Patch is running profiles of the candidates:
All of the candidates were asked the same questions: Here is our second profile:
- Candidate: Tina Diamond; 13 year incumbent trustee.
- Profession: former Corporate Freight Payment Manager
- Other: Diamond, 59, is a Farmingdale High School graduate, 1971, Hofstra University 1972-1974. A son is a graduate of Farmingdale High School. She is Executive Board Member of the Nassau-Suffolk School Board Association, a member of the Rotary, member of the Farmingdale Legislative Action Committee, the PTA, among others.
These are the questions and answers:
Q1: Why are you running for the school board?
A: To continue to ensure that our children get the best comprehensive education in Farmingdale Schools & to keep the quality of Long Island public education intact.
Q2: What are your primary qualifications that makes you (or would make you) an asset to the board and the community at large?
A: I have been involved and an informed leader in education issues for more than 25 years with a foundation in the PTA. I am an active and involved community member of many organizations such as The Farmingdale Breakfast Rotary, promoting children and education issues especially student scholarships.
Q3: Although there are many, what do you see as the biggest issue confronting Farmingdale schools?
A: The biggest issue is the sustainability of the Farmingdale comprehensive programs that our school district is most proud to offer students – academics, athletics, the fine arts and vocational. The financial situation continues to be erratic due to shifts in state aid and unfunded mandates. This requires lobbying efforts locally and in Albany to ensure policymakers hear loud and clear that Long Islanders support their public education system and will demand its fair share of funding for it.
Q4. Standardized testing and unfunded mandates are hot-button issues: How would you work to address these issues?
A: To better understand the changing curriculum for higher learning achievement which will continue to be implemented in classrooms, it is essential to communicate these changes with parents. Whether it be evening workshops or social media updates– communication is the key for all stakeholders to understand the changes – how they are intended to help student learning and how they are monitored for successful student understanding of the curriculum. It is important to keep everyone on the same page to achieve optimum student success.
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