Farmingdale BOE prez not seeking re-election, other districts await contested races

The Farmingdale School District Board of Education president is not seeking re-election, as the Monday, April 20, deadline for candidates to file petitions has passed.

School districts’ Board of Education candidates will be on the same ballot as the proposed 2026-2027, along with any other propositions that districts will propose to voters, on Tuesday, May 19, when community voters gather in their respective districts to cast their ballots.

There are two open seats that each carry three-year terms in Farmingdale. Board President Ralph Vincent Morales is not seeking re-election, but trustee DawnLuisi is. Patrick Walsh is also running for a Board of Education seat.

Morales has been a member of the BOE since 2014 and is a trial partner at a law firm, where he handles complex litigation matters across New York City’s five boroughs and Long Island.

Luisi is a lifelong Daler from Farmingdale, who was first elected to the board in 2023. She has been a certified general and special education teacher for grades 1-3 in the Great Neck School District since 2008.

Six people are vying for three open BOE seats in Hicksville. Trustee Irene Carlomusto is not seeking re-election, andKim Raspanti and Carolina Sanchez-Molina are both running for her seat. Trustee Sunita Manjrekar is running for re-election while Mary Dwyer is challenging her for the position. Trustee Danielle Fotopoulos is also seeking re-election and she is being challenged by Ryan Chaplin.

Manjrekarworks as a director of employment programs for the Nassau CountyDepartment of Social Services, and she has served on the board since 2017.

Fotopoulos works for the Nassau County Police Department and has been a board member since 2022.

Four people are running for two spots on the Massapequa School District’s Board of Education.Cher Lepre, the board’s secretary, and trustee DanielleOcuto are seeking re-election while Bobby Bonnet and Lynn Russo are challenging them. The two open positions are for three-year terms.

Lepre and Ocuto were both first elected to the board in 2023.

Source: LI Press