The Messenger endorses Stacy Ann Murphy and Karen Wontrobski-Ricciardi for re-election to the Smithtown Central School District Board of Education.
Both elected in 2021, Murphy and Wontrobski-Ricciardi endured two years of being in the minority on the Board. When the board flipped to non-union-backed candidates, Murphy was selected to serve as President and Wontrobski-Ricciardi was selected to serve as Vice President.
Since then, the priorities of these candidates are in line with what we believe Smithtown CSD should be: high-ranking statewide and even nationally, as well as appropriately challenging for the student body.
The Messenger spares no expense in saying that lower standards lower the potential for us all. While some certainly need a helping hand, and both candidates understand that, we share the sentiment with them that support is needed for strong people (and students) as well.
Without encouragement and gauging specific skills on an interpersonal level, a district will simply fold into itself as hitting baseline metrics is deemed acceptable for the district and community at large.
However, we agree with Murphy and Wontrobski-Ricciardi in that the district needs some form of benchmark with which to gauge enrichment. While teachers are still at their liberties to enrich and teach as they believe is effective, we believe that it shouldn’t be as subjective as it is. Whether you’re a student at Tackan or Accompsett, your education should be consistent across the board. Then, you are challenged to reach your full potential.
Furthermore, we applaud Murphy and Wontrobski-Ricciardi’s deliverance on campaign promises to reinstate middle school honors programs, namely in terms of ESL and Social Studies. It is unconscionable to us that such programs were removed, and so long ago in fact, that some other members of the current board seem to have forgotten why the programs were removed.
However, the community hasn’t forgotten the positivity of those programs, and with just one year in the books, the response from the district about the honors programs leads us to believe that Murphy and Wontrobski-Ricciardi understand what the community needs.
Additionally, the Board members in the minority caucus recently railed against the efforts in getting Proposition Two on the ballot, which would allow for capital reserve expenditures for track and field lights and boiler repairs. New track lights would not only make the tracks safer but would preserve their upkeep and keep down costs over time due to the rentals, setup, and takedowns of portable lights on the field. Capital reserve expenditures are already voted on by the community and the funds would not increase the tax levy. Protesting against it makes no sense.
Finally, Murphy and Wontrobski-Ricciardi have received undeserved derision from other members of the Board who are ideologically opposed to them. Such incidents have led the highest-ranking education official in the State to specifically call out such behavior. We believe any Board of Education should be run by adults, not children. We have schools for a reason. Murphy and Wontrobski-Ricciardi deserve more time to lead, less mockery from colleagues, and more opportunities to further improve Smithtown Central School District.
The Messenger endorses Stacy Ann Murphy and Karen Wontrobski-Ricciardi for Smithtown Central School District Board of Education.
