Meet the Hauppauge School Board Candidates

On May 21, Hauppauge residents will elect three individuals to the board of education.

There are five candidates running for the school board including two incumbents, Geri Richter, who is the current board president, and trustee Ginger Todaro, and three newcomers including David Barhsay, Gary Fortmeyer and Rob Scarito.

The Hauppauge PTA held a "Meet the Candidates Night" on Monday, in which those running had the chance to speak to the community. Below is a brief introduction to the candidates.

Candidates are listed in alphabetical order. 

• David Barshay is a 17-year resident of the Hauppauge School District. He has four children, including three currently enrolled in the district. Barhsay is an attorney and founding partner at Bakers Sanders LLC. Barshay is involved in numerous local youth organizations including serving on Pines Shared Decision Making team. He is also a director at Hauppauge Touth Organization, a director of Hauppauge Litte Leage, founder of Hauppauge Men’s Softball and a director at the Hauppauge Educational Foundation.  Barshay said that he is running to improve the education within the Hauppauge School District. He is running on the same ticket as Rob Scarito.  

• Gary Fortmeyer has been a Hauppauge resident for 28 years and has three children. Fortmeyer works as the vice president and general manager of the radar Systems Division of Telephonics. Fortmeyer is a committee chair for the local Boy Scouts troop and mentor for the Hauppauge robotics team. If elected, he said his management experience and skills in negotiating military contracts would be a strength for the board. Fortmeyer is running on the same ticket as Geri Richter and Ginger Todaro.   

• Geri Richter, who is the current president of the Board of Education, has been a resident of the Hauppauge School District for 28 years. She has five children who are either in or have graduated from Hauppauge Schools. Richter works as a consultant, designing accounting databases. Richter, is running for her fourth term on the Hauppauge School Board. On the board, she serves on the advocacy committee, which works to build relationships with elected officials. She has also served on the audit committee. She has also previously served as president of the PTA at The Pines. She said her priorities are advocating for better education and working with legislators to lower the cost burden of state mandates and enhance the student experience. Richter is running on the same ticket as Gary Fortmeyer and Ginger Todaro.  

• Rob Scarito has been a resident of the Hauppauge School District for 12 years and has three children within the schools. He currently serves as PTA president of Forest Brook Elementary and is a director in the Hauppaue Education Foundation. He is also a division coordinator for the Hauppauge Little League and coach. Outside of his school involvement, Scarito manages a local real estate practice, Team Scarito. Scarito said he is running for a seat on the school board to add a fresh perspective to the table. He is running on the same ticket as David Barhsay. Scarito said that together, he believes they will have the skill-set to deal with contract negotiations and collective bargaining agreements.

• Ginger Todaro, who is running for re-election, has been a Hauppauge resident for 37 years, and served on the board of education for 14 years. She has one daughter who is now graduated from Hauppauge High School. Previously to serviving on the board, Todaro was involved in the PTA for 13 years. She has a degree in secondary education and taught kindergarten and religion for 17 years at St. Thomas More. She is the director of marketing and purchasing for the Suffolk County Girl Scouts and was the comptroller for Colonie Hill. Todaro said that the quality of academics and budget issues are her highest priorities. She is running on the same ticket as Gary Fortmeyer and Geri Richter.