Virginia Healy will not seek re-election this year, opening one of four seats on the Riverhead Central School District Board of Education that will be decided in the May 19 school election.
Healy, who has served six years on the board, said family considerations and plans to travel led to her decision.
“It’s been a privilege to serve,” she said Tuesday.
With her eighth and last child graduating from high school this year, Healy said, “My husband and I are finally at a point in our lives where we can travel a bit. We would like to spend more time with our grandchildren and with our children who do not live on Long Island.”
Because she was not sure she could continue to be “a regular presence at board meetings and school events,” Healy said she decided against seeking a third term.
“I hope I can still be of some service to our school community. I will miss being around the students on a regular basis and being inspired by their accomplishments, their talents, their hopes and their dreams,” Healy, of Wading River, said.
Voters will choose four candidates from a five-person field in an at-large election to be held in conjunction with the annual school budget vote on May 19. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Riverhead High School, 700 Harrison Ave., Riverhead, in the gym.
Three of the seats carry full three-year terms running from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029. The fourth is a one-year term running from May 19, 2026 through June 30, 2027.
That shorter term is the remainder of the term of former board member Brian Connelly, who resigned last June. Julio Gonzalez was appointed by the board in July 2025 to serve until this year’s election.
The fourth-highest vote-getter in the May 19 contest will complete the remainder of Connelly’s term, which expires June 30, 2027.
Source: RiverheadLOCAL
