Meet Ed Langone, BOE 2013 Candidate

On May 21 Lindenhurst residents will not only cast their votes for or against the $145.7 million 2013-14 school budget - which includes a 1.99 percent tax levy, the use $1.1 million in reserves and the removal of 66-plus aides - the Board of Education approved on April 25, but they'll also be casting their votes in the BOE Trustee Election that day.

There are eight candidates this year - three of whom are incumbents with one incumbent running unopposed, two newcomers running against the remaining two incumbents and three running for a seat being vacated by an incumbent.

They met the public at the Meet the Candidates portion of the recent Lindenhurst Council of PTAs meeting and 2013-14 budget presentation by Superintendent Richard Nathan.

However, in an effort to keep voters informed, Lindenhurst Patch is presenting profiles of each candidate - in no particular order, using the same topics - in the days leading up to BOE Election and Budget Vote next Tuesday, May 21.

This BOE Candidate Profile focuses on Ed Langone, an incumbent who’s running for reelection against newcomer Norma Sarmiento.

Here’s what Langone had to say:

Qualifications/Experience: “My wife, Cheryl, and I moved to Lindenhurst in 1990. We visited the town and thought it would be a wonderful place to live and raise a family. We moved into the Daniel Street school area, and in retrospect it’s been one of the best decisions we ever made. I feel almost as if I grew up here myself, and truly feel this is a special community, one I am fiercely proud of. My son graduated from Lindenhurst High School in 2011, currently attends the University at Albany in their pre-med program, and my daughter Kelly is a Junior at Lindenhurst High School. I received my Bachelors of Science from NYIT, majoring in computer science, and my MBA from the CW Post campus of Long Island University in 1991. In my professional life I’ve worked for Lufthansa German Airlines, Compaq Computer Corporation and Hewlett Packard for the past 25 years, and have gained valuable experience with business, budgeting, finance, technology, training and education, and personnel supervision. This experience has served me well as a Board of Education trustee over the last six years, along with my eight years serving on the Daniel Street PTA in various capacities including treasurer, vice president and president.”

Reason for Running: “I was elected to the Board in 2006, and am running for reelection because I still have the burning desire and passion to give back to the community. I feel that the combination of my experiences both in life and on the Board will allow me to continue to be a strong, positive force in our schools. I feel there’s much still to do, including dealing with unfunded mandates, labor negotiations, capital repair campaigns and, most importantly, continuing to improve the quality of education in Lindenhurst."

What Sets You Apart: “My record of giving back to the community both before and continuing since being elected to the Board, along with my record while on the Board and my continued focus on the benefit of all our district’s students clearly sets me apart. I spend a lot of time (and hear about it from my wife on occasion) serving the community at various events throughout the year, including sports, fine arts, robotics and PTAs because I feel it’s important for a Board of Education Trustee to show their support for all of our students’ accomplishments. I continue to work in the private sector technology field, and bring that expertise to the District, as well. In addition, I’ve served on the Board of Education during some trying and difficult times, and carry that experience forward.”

Most Important Issue Facing the District/How to Tackle It: “There’s no one single most important issue; however, unfunded mandates, labor negotiations and curriculum improvement are the top three I feel are the most important to our District. I’ve already begun working to combat unfunded mandates, reaching out to our legislators with direct, concrete facts as to the cost to our taxpayers, and I’m planning, along with other Board members, to visit Albany before the State’s budget cycle to advocate repeal of some of these. Regarding labor negotiations, it needs to be understood the Board’s role is to negotiate fairly, and to look after the taxpayers’ funds while ensuring we have the best employees possible. I’ve done, and continue to do, that. Our curriculum has undergone changes, some due to New York State requirement, others driven in-house. I look to continue driving positive change by specifically tasking our Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, along with the coordinators, to think outside the box and look for ways to improve and integrate technology into our curriculum."

What You Want to Accomplish/Continue as a Trustee/How to Fund It: “Over my next term, I’d like to see: Strong curriculum change be completed; a fiscally sound budget continue as it has [been] this year; continue to look creatively at how we deliver program to students, including bringing students back in-District where it makes sense - both educationally and financially; labor contracts to be strongly and fairly negotiated, as they have been so far; create and improve procedures to communicate problems and issues in our schools; continue to grow positive community involvement in our schools; increase our Web presence, providing more and useful information online to our students, staff and residents.”

Accomplishment in Life Most Proud of and Why: “I’m most proud of how my wife and I raised our two children, Danny and Kelly. Ever since they were born, Cheryl and I strived to lead by example, teaching kindness and responsibility, caring and charity, respect, honor, courage, honesty and the freedom to become the kind of adults others look up to. In my opinion your legacy consists of how you left this earth, and your children are a large part of that. There are many other accomplishments I’m proud of with respect to education - traditions such as the former homework clubs at Daniel Street, the recent revamping of our SAT prep class at the high school, the ability for our students to take an online version of that course at no charge. But how my wife and I raised our children remains what I am most proud of.”

Accomplishment in the Community Most Proud of and Why: “Again, there are many accomplishments I’m proud of regarding my Board service. This year I’m most proud of how this Board, and I, responded to the multiple difficulties facing our community, including Hurricane Sandy, APPR and Common Core standards, cutting no programs for our children, as many other districts are doing, while providing the lowest tax increase in 15 years, and among the lowest in all of Suffolk County. Additionally we were one of the first districts on Long Island to install solar power on our buildings, reducing our energy costs and environmental footprint. Looking to increase the number of college-bound seniors, I was instrumental in switching to a more effective SAT prep class, hosted under the direction of our fine Adult Education Program, for our college-bound high school students."

How You’ve Given Back to the Community: “I have very strong ties to this community, giving my time and energy beginning back in 1998, becoming involved in the Daniel Street PTA, first chairing the Compact Committee, creating a “homework club” and securing grant money to fund that, a program which later became District-wide. I took on more responsibility by becoming treasurer, vice president and finally PTA president. Even after leaving the Daniel PTA, I’ve been active in PTA council, and am involved in many of the schools’ talent shows, including Albany, Alleghany, Daniel Street and West Gates, as well as the middle school plays. I’ve served as a volunteer on the Lindenhurst Committee for Special Games, and helped at the Special Olympic games in Mitchel Field, providing assistance to parents and photographs and mementos to the student athletes. I’ve served on the Lindenhurst Relay for Life committee for every year we’ve hosted a Relay event, and I'm a third-degree Knight in the OLPH Knights of Columbus Council 794. I’ve spent many years coaching baseball and softball in the Lindy National Little League, and even today continue to give back to the community as a Board of Education Trustee.”

How Will You Continue to Balance Preserving Program, Jobs and Reserves with the Reality of the Tax Cap and with How the Tax Rolls May Be Affected by Hurricane Sandy? How Would You Be Able to Provide Some Tax Relief Next Year?
“Balancing budget realities with curriculum concerns is an annual problem, not just this coming year. We’re negotiating as strongly as we can with our largest labor union in the hopes of reducing the cost of instruction, and we’re looking very hard at bringing back some programs which currently run out of District back into District, including some of the BOCES programs. This will allow our students the same quality of education and opportunity at a significantly lower cost to the District. We asked the administration to ‘think outside the box’ when it comes to how we teach, both for efficiency and additional benefit, and they’ve come through for this coming school year. I expect we’ll be asking them to do this again next year. I fully expect to be in a position to provide additional tax relief next year, as well.”

What's Your Take on the 2013-14 Budget, the Use of Reserves, the Tax Levy and the Upcoming Budget Vote? If You Were on the Board, What, If Anything, Would You’ve Done Differently Prior to Adoption and Why?
“I’m extremely proud of the budget this Board of Education put forth to the community this year. At our last budget meeting I personally proposed using additional reserve funds to decrease the tax rate….I’m proud of the fact that we’re proposing the lowest tax levy increase Lindenhurst has seen in 15 years while cutting no programs for our children, and keeping our District financially strong in the meantime.”

What's Your Take on the Continuing Contract Negotiations, Particularly with TAL? What Do You Think Needs to Be Done at This Point? Why?
“As a sitting Board member my office precludes me from commenting in any detail that may potentially impact our collective bargaining. However, I’m proud of the many very fine educators we have in this District and am mindful of the wonderful work they do with all of our children. The teachers’ union has helped this community in times of need, as friends and family, and we’re grateful. Other bargaining units have helped, as well, including financially, with wage freezes or other financial help, and I’m sure the teachers’ union will do what they feel is best for the community as a whole. Clearly in a tax-cap environment cutting costs at some point may mean cutting teaching positions, and nobody wants that, since it would impact our students, as well as our newest teachers. The biggest hurdle from the District’s point of view is the Triborough Amendment, which makes it difficult, in hard economic times, to reach an agreement, since a bargaining unit has no compelling reason to reach a deal, since step and increment increases are mandated by state law to be paid.”

What’s Your Take on the New State Exams? For or Against? Why?
“I’m not a fan of the new State exams. I feel far too much emphasis is placed on them, and while it’s always necessary to test for understanding, the State has chosen to tip the scales in the direction of too much testing and not enough instructional time. Much time is spent preparing, administering and grading these tests, and I believe the students suffer tremendous stress because of it. I’ve already reached out and spoken personally with State Senator Phil Boyle and Assemblyman Bob Sweeney asking them to charge the State Education Department to revisit this mandate. [Fellow Trustee] Val McKenna and I have announced our plans to band together with other local Boards of Education and travel to Albany to meet with our legislators and the NYS Department of Education to discuss our frustration with the current system.”

What’s Your Take on Unfunded Mandates? What’s the Top Mandate You’d Like to Change? How So and Why? How Would You Work with the Rest of the Board to Get Legislators to Listen and Enact That/Those Change(s)?
“Simply put unfunded mandates are a result of State government passing the buck down to local Boards of Education, allowing the State to claim they’re improving the education system, without having to take the criticism for the cost of such mandates. In fact most of these mandates provide dubious benefit to children - take for example the APPR system. This mandates a complex system of management controls and data collection - at tremendous cost in time and money to the District, ranging in the 100’s of thousands of dollars - to provide more data and feedback on teacher evaluations. This requires the students to take additional tests, essentially grading the teacher’s performance. However not much can be done with the massive amount of data collected that couldn’t have been done last year, with principal and coordinator evaluations. This topic pales in comparison to a proposed mandate called PARCC which will require that all of our ELA/EMA assessment tests be given via computer, requiring massive - well more than $1.5 million - investment in computers used simply to administer an already unpopular test. This is my top priority to change or repeal, and in fact have already discussed this with State Boyle. My colleagues share this concern, and will be joining together with other local Boards of Education to have our collective voices heard in Albany.”

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