The Members of the Board of Education
Ralph Vincent Morales, Board President
Ralph Vincent Morales has been a Farmingdale Board of Education trustee since 2014 and currently serves as president. He earned his BA in international relations from Georgetown University and his JD from St. John’s University School of Law. Mr. Morales is currently a trial partner at a prominent law firm, where he handles complex litigation matters across the five boroughs of New York City and Long Island. He is very involved with the Police Athletic League (PAL) and has served on the Farmingdale PAL Executive Board for over a decade. In 2018, the Nassau County PAL recognized Ralph as one of their Volunteers of the Year, and in 2016 he received the NYS PTA Honorary Life Award. He is also the author of a book about his late uncle, Vincent Santaniello — a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corp who was killed in action in Vietnam. Ralph and his wife Joanne are the proud parents of five children.
Suzanne D'Amico, Vice President
Suzanne D’Amico has been a Farmingdale Board of Education trustee since 2016
and currently serves as vice president. She has served on several committees, including the Safety Committee, the Wellness Committee, the Policy Committee, and the Legislative Action Committee. She has been an active child and community advocate — serving as president of both the SEPTA and PTA Council — and is on the Board of Directors of the Farmingdale Chamber of Commerce. She received the NYS PTA Jenkins Award from SEPTA in 2013 and the New York State School Board Association’s Board Achievement Award in 2018. Ms. D’Amico earned her associate degree in business management at Briarcliffe College and worked at a stock trading and retirement planning firm for eleven years before trading in her career to become a stay-at-home mom. She and her husband Scott have three children, all currently enrolled in Farmingdale schools. Suzanne also has a degree in audio recording technology with a minor in vocal performance from Five Towns College. In 2012, her passion for photography and working with special needs children led her to start a home-based child and family photography business.
Anthony Giordano, Trustee
Anthony Giordano has been a Farmingdale Board of Education trustee since 2015 and currently serves on the Audit and Facility Committees. He earned his bachelor’s degree in finance at SUNY Old Westbury and is presently an assistant vice president in the banking industry. Mr. Giordano is president of A&J Youth Sports, a board trustee on the Farmingdale Youth Council, and vice president of the Farmingdale Aquatics Swim club. He has volunteered as both a director and a coach for the Farmingdale Police Athletic League basketball and Farmingdale Soccer. Anthony and his wife Lisa have lived in Farmingdale for twenty-two years and have three daughters.
Michael Goldberg, Trustee
Michael Goldberg has been a Farmingdale Board of Education trustee since 2013 and has served in the position of president. He sits on numerous committees, including the Audit Committee and the BOCES Budget Committee. In 2017, he received the New York State PTA Honorary Life Award, and in 2019 was awarded the PTA Distinguished Service Award. In 2018, he was presented with the New York State School Board Association’s Board Achievement Award. He is also a board member for Farmingdale Care. Mr. Goldberg is the Assistant Superintendent for Business and Operations in the Roosevelt UFSD and has over twenty-five years of corporate accounting and business experience — including two successful turnarounds of $75 million-plus companies. He has a BBA in accounting from Hofstra University and a masters degree in school business administration from LIU Post. Michael and his wife Jeannemarie have been residents of the Farmingdale community for twenty-five years and have three children.
Shรฉree Jones, Trustee
Shéree Y. Jones is a Brooklyn, New York native, born and raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant. She earned her BA in Political Science & Urban Affairs from Hunter College, her MS in Urban Policy Analysis & Management from New School University, and M. Div in Pastoral Care from Princeton Theological Seminary. Shéree is an Associate Minister of Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church in Jamaica, New York. She is also an entrepreneur and founder of THRIVE TIME LLC, where she curates and facilitates seminars promoting self-care and self-awareness as a pathway to empowerment. Shéree has dedicated the bulk of her professional career to helping children thrive, not merely survive. Her breadth of experience ranges from teaching to pastoring, community organizing, and child advocacy. Shéree and her husband, Earl, are the proud parents of three children in the Farmingdale School District.
Kathy Lively, Trustee
Kathy Lively has been a Farmingdale Board of Education trustee since 2006 and an active member of the school district and greater community for over twenty-eight years. Ms. Lively attended Berkeley College, and after fifteen years as a legal secretary and notary public at Debevoise and Plimpton, she semi-retired to raise her family. She continues to work on many board committees, including the Policy, Safety, Wellness, NYSSBA State Legislative Network, Legislative Action, PTA Council, and Concerned Citizens of Farmingdale. She has served on various PTA committees and is currently the executive vice president of Farmingdale Youth Council, a vice president of the Farmingdale Chamber of Commerce, and a member of The Junior League of the Women’s Club of Farmingdale. Kathy coached Farmingdale PAL girls basketball, served as commissioner, director, and coach of girls softball, coached Farmingdale Catholic Youth Organization basketball, and was a Girl Scout leader. Her volunteerism earned her the NYS School Board Association’s Master of Boardsmanship Award of Recognition, the NYS PTA Honorary Life Award, and the NYS PTA Advocate in Action Award. Kathy was recognized by Assemblyman Thomas McKevitt as a Woman of Distinction and as a Leading Lady of Farmingdale by the Women’s Club of Farmingdale. Last year, she was honored by the Farmingdale baseball league as parade grand marshal. Kathy and her husband Joseph have lived in Farmingdale for over thirty-six years and are the proud parents of three children.
Arlene Soete, Trustee
Arlene Soete has been a Farmingdale Board of Education trustee since 2017. Ms. Soete holds both a bachelor of science and a master’s degree in social work from Adelphi University, as well as a professional diploma in school administration from Dowling College. For the past eight years, she has been the Director of St. Luke's Early Childhood Education Center in Farmingdale. Arlene is a past PTA president of Farmingdale High School and sits on the Wellness and Safety committees. She and her husband Bernie both graduated from Farmingdale High School. They have two children—both proud Dalers!
BOE Information
BOE & District Goals
We acknowledge that there are certain basic principles that shall guide the Board of Education in its actions and activities on behalf of our students and our community. The mission of the Farmingdale School District is to educate our students to become independent thinkers and problem solvers. It is our goal to empower each student to meet the challenges of tomorrow's emerging world. The District will provide a safe, nurturing environment in which individual and civic responsibility is fostered, diversity is respected, and all students are enabled to realize their full potential.
Communication with the Board
All communications to the Board of Education are to be in the hands of the District Clerk twenty-four hours before a meeting in order to be considered at the meeting. Correspondence may be addressed to Board of Education, Farmingdale Union Free School District, 50 Van Cott Avenue, Farmingdale, NY 11735.
You can contact the Farmingdale Board of Education via email at
boe@farmingdaleschools.org
Appeals
An appeal may be made at any time to the Board concerning the policies, administrative code and regulations of the school district. Citizens, however, should take up school matters first with the teacher, then the building principal, next the Superintendent's office and finally the Board of Education.
Public Relations
A board newsletter and the local newspapers will be used to keep parents and taxpayers informed on school matters.
The Budget
Voting on the school budget takes place in May. A number of public budget workshops are scheduled throughout the spring prior to adoption of the budget for presentation to the voters.
Absentee Ballot Application
Details of the budget for the operation of schools are available for review three weeks before voting at the Office of the Assistant Superintendent for Business, Howitt School, Farmingdale. A simplified budget is published in the district's newsletter and sent to all homes prior to the vote.
The Board of Education of the Farmingdale Union Free School District does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race or disability in the educational programs and activities that it operates, or the employment therein.
Emergency Closings
Arrangements have been made to notify the general public whenever schools are to be closed, or if there is to be a delayed opening because of weather conditions. Announcements will be broadcast intermittently over the following stations:
News 12 Cable
WALK 97.5 FM
WABC 770 AM
WBAB 102.3 FM
WBLI 106.1 FM
WCBS 880 AM
WINS 1010 AM
WHLI 1100 AM
WNYG 1140 AM
WOR 710 AM
Whenever you are in doubt about the schools being opened, you are urged to listen to one of these stations for bulletins to avoid the congestion that results when many people try to telephone the school.
Attendance
The Compulsory Education Law requires all minors to attend school on a prompt and regular basis. The Law permits legal absence from school for the following reasons only: sickness, sickness or death in family, religious observance, and required presence in court.