Current Huntington School Board members Bill Dwyer and Michele Kustera will be running unopposed when Huntington School District residents go to the polls on Tuesday, May 17 in the Huntington High School lobby from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The candidates are running for three year terms commencing July 1 and running through June 30, 2025.
The Huntington Council of PTA’s will hold a meet the candidate night on Tuesday, May 10 in the School Heritage Museum (Room 140) at Huntington High School from 7:00-8:15 p.m. Residents are welcome to attend and can ask questions and interact with Mr. Dwyer and Mrs. Kustera. Light refreshments will be served.
The following are snapshot profiles of the two candidates on the May 17 ballot:
Bill Dwyer
William P. Dwyer was first elected to the Huntington School Board in May 2008. His fellow trustees selected him to serve as the Board of Education president on three separate occasions. After leaving the Board for two years, he was again elected in May 2013, May 2016 and May 2019 for three-year terms.
Mr. Dwyer and his wife Karen are the parents of three sons who are all Huntington High School graduates; Bradley (2012), Brendan (2015) and Ethan (2016).
Mr. Dwyer, who grew up in Middlebury, Connecticut, earned a B.S. degree in mathematics at Providence College and a second B.S. degree in mechanical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. He obtained a Master of Science degree in aeronautics and astronautics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Widely known as Bill, Mr. Dwyer worked for Northrop Grumman for nine years, performing aerodynamic design and analysis using computational fluid dynamics and wind tunnel testing with six of those years spent working in southern California and three in Bethpage.
In his time at Northrop Grumman, Mr. Dwyer rose from an entry level engineer position to that of group leader, winning several NASA contracts for aerodynamic design tasks on the next generation supersonic commercial airplane.
Mr. Dwyer left the aerospace industry to join a healthcare publishing company in New York City, assuming responsibility for its networking, website and communications infrastructure, eventually rising to the post of vice-president of operations. After eight years, he decided to start his own publishing company, which focused on producing patient education materials to aid in chronic disease management and developing unique community outreach programs.
Mr. Dwyer is currently employed as an account executive for an educational technology company based in Hauppauge, working with school districts throughout the Northeast to help them maximize their investment in software to benefit their operations.
As a participating member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Huntington Village Lacrosse Club, Mr. Dwyer has been active in the community.
Michele Kustera
Michele Kustera was elected to the Huntington School Board in May 2019. She has lived in Huntington with her husband, Dave for 19 years. Together they have two daughters studying at Huntington High School, including Emily, a freshman and Ally, a senior.
A Long Island native, Mrs. Kustera is a graduate of W.C. Mepham High School in Bellmore. She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing at St. John’s University in 1987.
Prior to moving to Huntington, Mrs. Kustera resided in Alexandria, Virginia, working with professional associations as a consultant implementing technology systems. She returned to New York in 1997 and worked in New York City for the Direct Marketing Association and the American Institute of CPA’s as technology/project director.
Mrs. Kustera has volunteered and raised money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation Team Fox by running the New York City marathon twice. She has served on the district’s Long Range Planning Committee and Food Allergy Committee.
A longtime member of district PTA organizations, Mrs. Kustera was serving as the PTA Council president at the time of her election as a trustee.
Voting Information
Residents will vote on the budget proposed for 2022/23 and two capital reserve fund propositions on Tuesday, May 17. 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 17 for them to be counted in the 2022 election and budget vote.
For more information contact District Clerk Joanne Miranda at 631-673-2126.
