Sayville school board race pits Valentine against Rowland for open seat

Sayville voters will choose between Kyle Valentine and Jason Rowland for one open three-year seat on the Board of Education, a race that comes as the district’s spending, staffing and classroom priorities are already being set by a $107.7 million budget.

The opening matters because the seat was vacated when former trustee James Bertsch left the board last summer. Thomas Cooley is running unopposed for reelection to his own seat, so the May 19 vote will decide whether the board’s newest member comes from a school leadership background or from the legal and compliance world.

Voting is set for Tuesday, May 19, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the renovated gym at the Old Junior High School, 30 Greene Avenue. The same ballot also includes the Sayville Public Library, the historical society and capital reserve propositions, making the day a broad test of how residents want taxpayer dollars directed across the community.

Valentine is the candidate with the deepest school-based experience. He has lived in Sayville for more than 10 years, is the father of two young children, and works as an assistant principal at a special-education school in Suffolk County. He previously worked as a special-education teacher, giving him direct experience with the needs of students who rely on additional support services. In a district where class size, staffing and student services often drive the toughest budget decisions, that background will be one of the clearest distinctions on the ballot.

Rowland brings a different perspective. He is a longtime Sayville resident, husband and father of two elementary students, and he has more than a decade of legal and regulatory experience as a risk and compliance officer for a major international company. For voters focused on oversight, procedure and fiscal discipline, that résumé offers a different kind of boardroom experience.

The Sayville Board of Education is made up of seven elected volunteer members who meet twice a month, while the superintendent handles day-to-day operations. That structure gives trustees direct influence over policy, budgets and long-range planning, even when the board is not running schools on a daily basis.

This year’s vote lands after the district adopted a 2026-27 budget of $107.7 million, up about $2.1 million, or 1.94 percent, from the current year. That increase frames the race around a practical question for Sayville families: who is better suited to help steer spending, protect educational quality and decide how much pressure the district can absorb without pushing costs too far for taxpayers.

With one open seat and a budget already set, the choice on May 19 will still shape how Sayville handles the next round of decisions on classrooms, support staff and long-term district priorities.