Three candidates, Mark Basile, Jeff Bernstein and Shawn Gladstone, are running for two open seats on Jericho's school board. Each seat has a three-year term. Current trustees Hilari Cohen and Ira Checkla are not seeking re-election.

The following information was presented at Tuesday's Meet the Candidates Night and includes their opening remarks, Q&As and closing statements.

In her opening statement, Shawn Gladstone, mother of three sons, said that she has been an active parent in the community for 10 years and has been on the front lines. She is president of the Joint Council of PTAs and president of SEPTA and has been involved in the hiring process for many of the teachers and administrators in Jericho. She is a former financial and operations principal on Wall Street.

Mark Basile said, in his opening statements on Tuesday, that he founded and runs a technology company in Jericho and he really did his research about Jericho before submitting his petition to run by meeting with people within the district as well as looking through past board minutes. He is concerned about the children now and the children to come through Jericho in the future as well. He has two children in the school district.

Jeff Bernstein, father of three, in his opening statements, said that many people know him through his wife, Sandy Gumerove-Bernstein, who sat on the school board and also ran for the board the last two years. He said that he is very different from his wife and asked people not to judge him based on what people know of her. He is a teacher in Great Neck school district and said that he thinks communication is key to a successful district.

Q - What are your greatest strengths and greatest weaknesses?

Basile - My greatest strength is my greatest weakness. I am compassionate and I try to accommodate both sides of the fence.

Gladstone - My greatest weakness is my three sons - they are very challenging and my greatest strength is my ability to listen to other people's positions and come to an agreement.

Bernstein - My greatest strength is that I am a great listener and I try to see what it would be like to walk in someone else's shoes. My weakness is that I always give people the benefit of the doubt.

Q - What can be cut from the budget without affecting education?

Gladstone - The budget is cut to the bone at this point and the next step would affect programming. I think we need to get income from other sources and pressure local politicians to give a more equitable distribution to Jericho.

Bernstein - The budget process is very challenging and there is no room. We need to find additional funding. I like the idea of the Jericho Educational Foundation and raising funds for the district.

Basile - The board has a fiduciary obligation to the community. We cannot cut anything from the children. A stronger alumni association would be a great way to raise funds for the district.

Q - How do you feel about the idea of the school district allowing the installation of a cell phone tower on school property?

Bernstein - I don't know enough about the science of it but the board should look at all ways to make revenue. I do think that the decision should be up to the community, as well as the board.

Basile - I am against it. Micro-waves are harmful to all human beings. We are looking in the wrong area to get revenue - we don't want to jeopardize our health.

Gladstone - I am against it for the safety of our children. The financial benefit is not worth it when we do not know the long-term risks.

Q - Do you support Proposition #2?

(Editor's note: this refers to the sale of approximately 7 acres of district-owned property, commonly known and referred to as the former Nike Missile Tracking Site, in the Village of Brookville, for approximately $3 million. The property has an assessed value of $2 million.)

Basile - I do support it. If not, we do a disservice to the community. The property can't be used by the school district and will allow us to bring in revenue. It is a very good fiscal decision.

Gladstone - There is no viable use for this property and we don't have the capital it would take to fix it up. This site is not creating revenue for us now so yes, I am for the sale of it.

Bernstein - I congratulate the board for getting $3 million for the property. I am for the sale of the property.

Q - What do you think of the idea of merging Jericho with a neighboring school district to keep taxes down?

Bernstein - I don't see how it will help. We live in the best school district and we should not compromise that. We are a smaller district and smaller is better here because larger districts are harder to manage.

Basile - I run a business based on identity and merging with another district - we will lose our identity. We might get a tax break, but property values will not be maintained.

Gladstone - Merging to save tax dollars doesn't seem feasible. We have a standard of education that we should not compromise to save money.

Q - There has been much aggravation and cost to the school district this year with the inundation of FOIL requests. Can you give us some insight into how we can stop this constant costly barrage of requests while still maintaining the legal rights of taxpayers?

(Editor's note: this question refers to the FOIL request for "thousands and thousands of pages" of information from one resident of Jericho. The amount spent refers to the time it took to pull the information together, go through the files and copy the information, according to Joan Colvin, Jericho's assistant superintendent for business.)

Gladstone - It cost the district $9,000 in time and resources. We almost had to put a line item in the budget because of it. I hope this person stops. There is not much else that he or she can ask of us as a district.

Basile - The Freedom of Information law is designed to request information from all government entities and keep everyone informed about what is going on in the district. I practiced law for 14 years and there comes a time when it is an abuse of the system.

Bernstein - The Freedom of Information Law is to protect us and allow us to hold elected officials accountable. There are only three reasons, in my mind, that the cost was so high. 1. The district spent a lot of time talking to their lawyers to see how they could get out of giving the information. 2. The information is disorganized and 3. They didn't respond to the request directly the first time.

Q - How do you think you could improve the communication within the district?

Gladstone - We now do so much on-line and get messages to people immediately. We also need to listen more at functions and respond to the people.

Bernstein - Communication should be beyond the board and the community. We need to improve it all-around. We have to be pro-active. We have to get out and listen to people including the teachers and administrators. Communication is the key to make the district even better.

Basile - We need an audience to communicate to. We have to change the mind-set of the community and get more people involved and get them excited.

Q - What questions would you ask if you were interviewing an administrator to be in Jericho?

Bernstein - What is your educational philosophy? This would be first. Are the children first and what is your focus?

Basile - I have hired over 400 people in my career, but an educator is different. I would ask "Are you going to treat my child how you treat your own children? Their resume tells me everything else, but I want to know what is in their heart and what kind of person is going to be watching over my children when I can't.

Gladstone - I have participated in a lot of hiring and we have high expectations and we are not willing to settle. I want to know what qualifications they have as well as their experience and leadership.

Q - What would you change in the high school?

Basile - I would change the perception of the students. They think they are invincible. I would prepare them more for higher education and the work place.

Gladstone - I think it is an excellent environment in the high school. We need more teacher initiatives and more programs like the research program that gets the kids out of the classroom.

Bernstein - I would improve the morale. The teachers feel there are communication problems and I would solve those problems now.

Q - How would you handle the upcoming contract negotiations for teachers?

Gladstone - The board sets the parameters and the tone but is not involved in the negotiations. Compromise is key.

Bernstein - We need to bring people from different sides to an agreement that everyone is equally unhappy with, as in most negotiations. We would need insight from both sides.

Basile - The collective bargaining process is ugly and concessions would need to be made on all sides.

Q - How does the change in the cultural make-up of the community affect future budget and programs?

Bernstein - Cultural diversity is a wonderful thing and should be celebrated. This district has been homogeneous for a while and children need to have an idea what it is like in the real world. It would have no impact on the budget.

Basile - The multi-cultural programs enrich the children and we need to have more of them. They are amazing.

Gladstone - We should be embracing different cultures and this will have no effect on the budget. It enriches education.

Q - How do you think the Board of Education responds to the public?

Basile - I think the board reaches out to the public and attends many civic and PTA meetings.

Gladstone - It is all about perspective - does the community feel they are being heard? We need to reach out to everyone and get the facts and give people a timely response. We need to make an effort to communicate with the public.

Bernstein - There have been communication issues with the board - involving tenure and cutting clubs. Communication is a two-way street. It needs to be an open process. And the community should be involved.

In her closing statements, Gladstone said that she moved to the district and had three sons. One is specially challenged and she said that no other district wanted him. She went to Seaman and met with teachers and administrators there and within 24 hours they made a classroom from a locker room and welcomed her son. She said he has blossomed ever since and he is now 15 years old. She said that everyone in the district was here for her and now she wants to give back to the district. "I can only hope someday I can re-pay you for everything you've done for me," said Gladstone.

In his closing statements, Basile compared the school district to a train ride. "We are all on the train together and we may not agree on the seating chart, we may have to pay to ride and we may not like every stop that we make, but we are all going to the same place," he said. "We need to keep the interior of the train nice, keep the fare low and the conductors, engineers and passengers all happy and working together."

Bernstein said, in his closing statements that it is impossible to satisfy everyone, but he has an obligation to do what you can and he has no agenda. "I see an opportunity as a parent, taxpayer and educator to make this district even better than it is today and I want to do that by putting the children first," he said.

Voting will take place on Tuesday, May 16 at the Jericho High School from 6 a.m - 9 p.m. Only persons who are qualified voters as of May 16, shall be permitted to vote in the election held on May 16. A qualified voter is defined as:

- A citizen of the United States

- At least 18 years of age

- A resident in the Jericho Union Free School District for 30 days or more preceding the budget vote at which he/she offers to vote.

New voters may register and vote on the day of the election. They will be asked to provide proof of residency and age.