Schools
Board of Ed. Candidate Profile: Roger Katz
Over the next week, Patch will present profiles with each of the three candidates vying for one of two board of education seats.
With the Babylon School District budget vote and school board election a week away Patch will be providing readers insight on the spending plan, budget issues, community opinion and insight on candidates seeking election to board.
Board member Roger Katz is one of two incumbents running this year for Babylon's Board of Education. He, along with Board President Dominic Bencivenga and former board member AnneMarie Martino, will seek the public's vote on May 21.
Patch asked Katz, as well as every candidate, a short series of questions to provide readers with information about their backgrounds and views on the challenges facing the school district.
Roger A. Katz
Age: 64
Occupation: System Administrator, Computer Controls Group, Collider-Accelerator Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Children: Two, graduated from district.
Lived in Babylon: Over 30 years.
Patch: Why are you running for another term?
Call me crazy, I run because I enjoy the work. That said, I run again because there are unfinished projects that I'd like to see through. Negotiating a fair teacher's contract leads the list. Working through the infrastructure needs of the district and presenting that as bond proposal for the community to consider is also in process. Long range goals are also important, which I'll cover in point 3.
Patch: What is the biggest challenge facing the district?
The biggest challenge facing the district is a three headed beast. Integrating the Common Core Curriculum into our schools along side implementing the new APPR performance review regime while trying to pay for it all within the confines of the 2% tax cap restriction on our tax levy, is the basic long term neverending project facing our district, and every district.
Patch: What would be your top goals, if elected, to achieve within the district over the next few years?
Improve the quality of the educational experience in Babylon while implementing the Common Core Curriculum into our schools along side implementing the new APPR performance review regime while paying for it within the 2% cap.
Patch: What is one thing you want to do differently in the district?
I'd like to have High School Graduation take place in the cool of the afternoon rather than the heat of the morning.
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