Three candidates, two of whom are incumbents, are running for seats on the South Country Board of Education. Two at large seats are open.

Incumbents Chris Picini and Cameron Trent are running for re-election. Deborah DeLillo is seeking her first term.

They are all seeking a three-year term. The school board election and budget vote are May 21 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Chris Picini

Chris Picini, an East Patchogue resident, has been on the board for 12 years and is seeking his fifth term.

A sales executive in the apparel and footwear industry, Picini has been board president three times and is active in the Nassau-Suffolk School Board Association, where he is a member of the executive committee, and the budget advisory and legislative committees. He is a past president of the Patchogue Kiwanis Club.

Piccini, 51, has two children who attend school in the district. He said he is running for another term because his perspective as a parent of school-age children is valuable and because his experience of being on the board is helpful at a time when the district is facing decreased state aid.

Piccini’s priorities include fiscal oversight of district spending, advocating for every student and making sure they receive an equitable and fair education. He said he feels the district is on firm footing with a stable administration in place.

“I think we’re in a really good position, but we’re not without challenges,” Picini said. “But we’ve got a really good team in the central office committed to building on the successes of the past and moving the district forward.”’

Cameron Trent

Cameron Trent, a Bellport resident, was first elected to the school board in 2019. He is seeking his third term. He works for the Suffolk County Board of Elections.

Trent, 26, a 2015 Bellport High graduate, said he’s proud the board was able to put forth a proposed 2024-2025 budget with a small increase while maintaining class sizes and staffing levels.

“We work constantly to reduce expenditures and find additional or alternative sources of revenue to take the burden off taxpayers,” Trent said in an email.

He said the district created an equity in education committee and, under the direction of superintendent Antonio Santana, fostered a sense of inclusiveness for students. That is something Trent said he didn’t always feel when he was a student and a reason why he first ran for school board.

“I am seeking re-election to continue to build on these successes and more, while also working on the areas we have yet to see growth in,” Trent said in his email.

Trent wants to increase reading proficiency among the district’s elementary school students and expand the high school’s career education programs through BOCES.

Deborah DeLillo

Deborah DeLillo, a Medford resident, is seeking her first term on the board.

DeLillo’s three daughters attend Bellport High School, including her eldest daughter Samantha, who is the class valedictorian.

DeLillo, 48, has long been an active volunteer in district schools. Her roles have included running the annual book fair and serving as treasurer of the Parent-Teacher Association at Brookhaven Elementary School and as vice president and treasurer of the PTA at Frank P. Long Intermediate School. She is a member of the PTA and PTSA.

That led her to take a wider interest in the district and to want to run for school board.

“Joining the school board will allow me to continue my service to the district that has supported my girls for the last 13 years,” DeLillo said in an email. “I believe it is important to have voices on the school board who have been involved in the schools and will support the children.”

“My priorities have been and always will be the children in the district,” she said.

DeLillo worked in HR for nine years for a manufacturer of security systems and for Olympus in its medical device division. Her experience in working with different groups to get things accomplished would be helpful in serving on the school board, she said.

“You’re not going to be an expert in everything, so you have to listen to the people who are,” she said.

DeLillo said two of the district’s strengths are the diversity of the student body and the “well-rounded education” students receive.

She’d like to see the district give teachers more input in developing the curriculum and to make its high school program more rigorous to better prepare students for college.