Mangiamele Seeks Seat On Ossining Board Of Education

OSSINING, NY — The annual school board elections are coming up May 17, and five people are running for two seats on the Ossining Board of Education.

Maureen Boozang-Hill, Christine Mangiamele, Robert Melstein and Aidan Venuto are on the ballot, as is Melissa Banta, seeking a second term. Trustee Aaron Spring is not running for re-election.

Mangiamele, mother of two elementary-schoolers, has been both a volunteer and an educator in Ossining. She answered some questions from Patch about her candidacy.

Patch: Why are you running for school board?

Mangiamele: For years I have been in regular attendance at school board meetings as both a parent and teacher. While I bring a personal investment in the Ossining schools through my two daughters, ages 7 and 5, I am committed to providing a high quality and equitable education to all students in the community. I am a teacher with 10 years of experience, two of which have been at our very own middle school. My background in Humanistic/Multicultural education can serve our community directly through the board of education. We have no educators on our school board at this time, and I think it's an important perspective to include in our decision making.

Patch: What are the top issues facing the school district?

Mangiamele: With the restoration of foundation aid funding from the state, our biggest concerns are not financial. My biggest concern for our school district is facilities-related. With our school population stagnating at a high dense level, nearly every building is crunched for space This limits instruction at every level. Pull out supports are happening in hallways, elementary music classes are being taught from a cart, and course offerings at the high school are limited not by student interest, but by space restraints. The recent purchase of the former church will help relieve some of this pressure at the high school, but it is a problem that exists to some degree in every building.

Another issue facing all school districts will be a labor shortage. Our school district was able to add over 20 teaching positions to their budget this year, but I would not be surprised to learn that some of those positions go unfulfilled into the fall. The pool of candidates is growing smaller, with enrollment in teaching programs decreasing, and we will need to develop creative ways to attract top talent to our school district.

Patch: If you are running against an incumbent, what has he or she done with which you disagree?

Mangiamele: The Ossining School board contains 7 seats and trustees serve 3-year terms. This year, two seats are up for election. Current trustee Aaron Spring is not seeking re-election, while trustee Melissa Banta is seeking to serve another term. Because there are two seats open, I do not see myself in direct competition with trustee Banta. I ran last year for school board, and decided to run again this year because I still think I would add value as a trustee. Trustee Banta's work on board is not the well from which I draw my inspiration to serve.

Mangiamele's website is christineforboe.com.