Six School Board Candidates Make it Official

Six candidates are running for three seats on the Lindenhurst Board of Education, the confirmed.

The district told Lindenhurst Patch the six who are running includes two incumbents and four new candidates:

• Ed Murphy, Jr.
• Charles Clyne
• Robert Spero
• Julie Bartolomeo
• Valerie McKenna
• Phil Renna

Murphy is the current president of the BOE, which is the official policy-making body of the district consisting of nine residents elected by the community to serve overlapping, unpaid terms of three years.

Clyne, a long-time Lindenhurst resident who lost his wife in 9/11, is running against Murphy.

Spero is a current school board member. Bartolomeo, currently the second vice president of the Lindenhurst Council of PTAs, is running against him.

Residents Valerie McKenna and Phil Renna are running for the seat vacated by former BOE Member Robert Brandenberger. He resigned last September, said the district, and the BOE decided to keep it open until the elections and budget vote scheduled for May 17 this year.

All six candidates got their petitions in by the late Monday afternoon deadline, said the district, which coincided this year with the first day of spring recess.

The candidates are scheduled to attend the Meet the Candidate Night at on April 27 at 7:30 p.m. It’s part of the PTA Council meeting that night.

The same night will also present the BOE approved on April 13.

The approved budget for the 2011-2012 school year includes a 6.89 percent tax increase, and represents a 2.23 percent year-over-year increase.

The board approved the budget while preserving programming included in The notable exceptions are cuts to the sixth grade study skills (home economics) and JV2 (9th grade) athletics.

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Lindenhurst Patch will highlight important information to educate Lindy residents in the run-up to the May 17 vote, and will be at the Meet the Candidate Night April 27, notebook and video camera in hand.

. If you’d like to share your thoughts on the upcoming budget and tax increase, and how this will impact you and your family, e-mail barbara.loehr@patch.com and let Lindenhurst Patch know.