Current Huntington School Board members Christine Biernacki and Lynda Tine-D’Anna and challengers Thomas Galvin and Theresa Sullivan will be on the ballot when Huntington School District residents will cast their votes on Tuesday, May 18 in the Huntington High School gymnasium from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The top three finishers will win election to three year terms commencing July 1 and running through June 30, 2024. Ballots must be received by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18 to be counted in the final tally. Residents will also vote on the proposed budget for 2021/22 and a capital reserve fund proposition.
The following are snapshot profiles of the four candidates on the May 18 ballot:
Christine Biernacki
Christine Biernacki was re-elected in May 2018 for a second three year term on the Huntington School Board. Her fellow trustees elected her to serve as president of the Board of Education for the 2020/21 school year. She is a longtime volunteer in the Huntington School District, including serving as the PTA Council’s president.
Mrs. Biernacki holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Connecticut and a Juris Doctor from the Hofstra University School of Law. She is a partner in a New York City law firm.
Mrs. Biernacki and her husband, who is a 1983 graduate of Huntington High School, live with their two children in Halesite. They have two children attending Huntington High School, including a daughter who is a senior and a son, who is in his sophomore year. Over the years, she has served on the district Safety and Shared Decision Making Committees and on the Committee for Special Education.
Mrs. Biernacki’s service to the community’s children predates the start of her own family. She served president of the Huntington Sanctuary Project’s advisory board. Mrs. Biernacki and her husband offered their house as a host home for Sanctuary, opening their doors to runaway youth so that the families could participate in mediation to resolve their issues and bring the youngster home.
Mrs. Biernacki has also served as president of the Town of Huntington’s Youth Bureau Board. She was recognized for her work with runaway and homeless youth by the Association of New York State Youth Bureaus and the Empire State Coalition of Youth and Family Services.
Mrs. Biernacki has become well versed in many education issues. She has advocated for reforms in school aid, teacher evaluation and special education, among other areas. She comes from a family filled with educators and strives to work in a manner that will honor that tradition.
Thomas Galvin
Thomas Galvin and his wife Anna, a Huntington High School graduate, moved to the district 18 years ago from New York City. They have two children in ninth and tenth grades, both of whom participated in the dual language program and are involved the interscholastic athletics program as well as the arts, stage crew and band.
Mr. Galvin obtained a bachelor’s degree at the University at Albany in 1988 in history and political science, and master’s degrees in social studies education and education administration.
Currently the chairperson of social studies at New Hyde Park Memorial High School, Mr. Galvin has been a representative on his district’s diversity task force. He led his department to first utilize distance learning technology and oversaw a nationally recognized Model U.N. program.
Mr. Galvin has coached soccer at the YMCA and with the Cold Spring Harbor Huntington Soccer Club and lacrosse with HV Lax. He helped create Huntington High School’s Model U.N. Club and is a Booster Club member. An avid musician, his band has performed in benefits at both Southdown and Flower Hill schools.
Theresa Sullivan
Theresa Sullivan graduated from Huntington High School in 1992 while also earning a cosmetology license thorough the Western Suffolk BOCES vocational program. She went on to earn a BA degree in business communications at Rider University.
After a decade in management for Coach and Christian Dior, Theresa has been working locally in her family’s salon in Huntington village.
Mrs. Sullivan is committed to service in the community at large. After creating Huntington Hospital Meals, an initiative that helped support local restaurants and hospital staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, she was appointed to the town’s Small Business Task Force to create a vision for the continued economic success of the community.
Mrs. Sullivan and her husband, Dan are proudly raising their two daughters in the district and are always happy to roll up their sleeves and get involved with the many extracurricular programs it offers. She hopes to bring her passion for the community to ensure that all stakeholders have a voice in the evolution of Huntington UFSD.
Lynda Tine-D’Anna
Lynda Tine-D’Anna was elected to the Huntington School Board in May 2018. A lifelong resident of the town, she has lived in Huntington village for the past 23 years.
Mrs. Tine-D’Anna graduated from Commack South High School and went on to obtain an undergraduate degree cum laude in romance languages at Dowling College and a master’s degree in Italian literature at Stony Brook University.
Mrs. Tine-D’Anna and her husband, Nick are the parents of two children currently attending district schools, including a high school freshman and junior. Two daughters are in their freshman and junior years in college, respectively. Three of the children are graduates of the district’s dual-language program.
A world language teacher in the Syosset school district since 1993, Mrs. Tine-D’Anna has also served in many professional leadership roles, including as a member of the high school steering committee for the Blue Ribbon School of Excellence application process, chair of the district’s Middle State Accreditation Evaluation Committee and as founding member of the high school’s professional development program.
Mrs. Tine-D’Anna has served as a Huntington School District Special Education PTA board member and volunteer.
Mrs. Tine-D’Anna is the founding member and former president of a local non-profit focused on advocacy and education. As a parent of four children with diverse abilities and strengths, she has seen Huntington UFSD help each of them learn, grow and thrive.
Voting Information
Residents will vote on the proposed budget for 2021/22 and a capital reserve fund proposition on Tuesday, May 18. To be eligible to cast a ballot an individual must be a U.S. citizen, 18 years of age or older, a resident of Huntington School District for at least 30 days and be registered to vote in a general election or with the school district.
Applications for absentee ballots may be applied for at the District Clerk’s office at the district’s administrative offices located at 50 Tower Street, Huntington Station, at least seven days before the election if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter or up to the day before the election if the ballot is to be delivered personally to the voter. Absentee ballots must be returned by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18 for them to be counted in the 2021 election and budget vote.
For more information contact District Clerk Joanne Miranda at 631-673-2126.
