Last week on Election Day, the Suffolk County voter turnout was deemed by many as a “red wave” as Republicans won the race for County Executive and a supermajority in the Legislature.
In the Bayport-Blue Point School District, however, attempts to elect board members for the James Wilson Young (JWY) Middle School Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) have yielded little but “red flags” – including not one, but two cancelled election attempts.
At press time, the PTA vote has not been rescheduled.
Suffolk Region PTA Steps In
Resignations earlier this year by PTA officers left the organization in search of candidates to fill board vacancies. For months, multiple emails to the membership remained unsuccessful pleas until three individuals expressed interest in the positions of President, Vice President, and Treasurer. Their interest was met with immediate resistance, and several individuals who previously had expressed no interest, now were eager to pursue challenges.
Since regulations require a PTA to operate with an elected board, the JWY Middle School PTA operations caused concern; indeed, New York’s Suffolk Region PTA officials stepped in to help correct the situation.
The state organization is known officially, since 1925, as the New York State Congress of Parents and Teachers, Inc. It was the first state branch of the National Congress, organized in October 1897. The State PTA, according to its website, “coordinates programs statewide on behalf of children and youth; is represented on state committees and commissions dealing with children and youth; provides conferences, workshops, publications and resource materials on issues and leadership development; [and] Services units and councils through its thirteen region PTAs.”
Suffolk Region PTA Director Wendy Natalone sent an email to the JWY PTA membership on October 2, 2023, stating: “It was requested that Suffolk Region PTA assist in facilitating the election to fill the vacancies and get this PTA unit back on track, as at this point, it is not a PTA unit in good standing and cannot function at all until the required officers are elected.”
Director Natalone further informed members of the process for self-nomination for the vacant positions, that an election would be held on October 30, and that, in order to vote, members had to register by October 28.
Curiously, the election was to be held via Zoom, not in person.
The candidates eventually nominated included: for President, Jenna Micalizzi and Joelle Hawkes; for Vice President, Margherita Mulroy and Veronica Peterson; for Treasurer, Jensuh McCormack and Jennifer Ramirez
Director Natalone’s response to one member’s request for an in-person vote stated: “As members of the NYS PTA, we understand your request for an in-person meeting. However, we are most concerned about getting this unit back in good standing. Therefore, the most expeditious way to accomplish this is through a virtual meeting using our NYS PTA Zoom account. Rest assured NYS PTA and Suffolk Region have experience in holding virtual elections.”
Pre-Election Issues
On October 23, Natalone emailed the membership again, stating: “I have received emails from some PTA members who are concerned about issues occurring in the Bayport-Blue Point school district community relating to some people’s support of harmful and hateful rhetoric seen on social media involving LGBTQ+ youth and the banning of books, and are concerned that these harmful political ideologies may enter and penetrate into the PTA.”
A number of JWY PTA members emailed replies with concerns regarding Natalone’s contentions. One member shared her questions for Natalone: “Were you provided with proof of such acts on social media? If not, I ask you please to clarify this in another email to the JWY PTA members. I am so disheartened to read these accusations against any member of our very inclusive community. Please consider retracting and/or clarifying your email, as it is not representative of BBP and I am certain the PTA does not wish to cause alarm and dissension in a community based upon rumor.”
Natalone, however, remained firm in her email, failing to provide evidence of “harmful and hateful rhetoric”, and refusing to acknowledge what some members viewed as the negative consequences her email posed on candidates and the community.
October 30 Election Attempt
On October 30, during the Zoom meeting, it quickly became apparent that the settings for the Zoom were incorrect, allowing in only 100 members. While members who already entered the Zoom meeting were waiting for Suffolk Region to give an update, concern arose that there were attempts to sway the vote.
Since anyone can join any PTA, some community members went to great lengths to register extended family members so they could garner more votes, according to candidate Micalizzi.
Based on Zoom entries, two BBP Board of Education Trustees participated in such actions, including Sandi Kanne and Adrienne Cirone. Based on photos provided, readers can see Cirone “enlisted” someone named “Madeline Nasta” using Cirone’s profile picture. One district family had seven profiles registered for the vote, seemingly including a student and extended family members.
While the enhanced interest in the vote and the PTA are commendable, candidates expressed concern that the motivation may be to ensure the vote goes against the original candidates who stood up to save the PTA. Such concerns spawned numerous requests for the Suffolk Region PTA to facilitate an in-person vote to ensure a fair election.
Without an in-person vote, one community member asked that, at a minimum, cameras should be required to be on the Zoom to prevent voter fraud. The question is whether there would be a way to monitor the election to determine if the person actually voting is the same one who registered in their own name or if they are voting multiple times as someone else.
The reply from Natalone stated, “Everyone who signs into the Zoom will be put in a waiting room first. They will not be forwarded to the main Zoom until Suffolk Region members can verify that they are a paid PTA member. It is our intention to ask all members to put their name on their screen and ask all members that can to put their camera on. We know that not every member may have access to a camera, therefore, to be equitable to all members, we cannot require a camera to be on.”
Such questions and technical difficulties led to a cancellation of the October 30 vote – rescheduled for November 8, 2023.
In another twist, a third candidate emerged for PTA Vice President, Matthew Little. His surprised opponent noted that his terse candidate bio statement read simply: “I am awesome!”
Second Cancelled Vote
On the morning of November 8,the NYS and Suffolk Region sent yet another email to the JWY PTA membership:
“Good Morning. Tonight’s Special Meeting of the James Wilson Young PTA, to elect the vacant positions, has been cancelled.”
“No further meeting will be scheduled until NYS PTA & Suffolk Region have the opportunity to talk to the Principal, Council President, and Unit Secretary to determine the viability of this unit.”
The email was jointly signed by Helen Hoffman, NYS PTA President and Wendy Natalone, Suffolk Region Director.
Candidate for PTA President Jenna Micalizzi remained adamant about an in-person vote.
“We cannot tolerate a system that enables a single individual to potentially register multiple voters and thereafter vote on their behalf. The potential for fraud in this instance is enormous. There is no way to trust these results,” she declared. “Until a procedure is put in place to ensure the ‘one person, one vote’ concept is adhered to, these elections should be placed on hold.”
The “red flags” still wave.
