About Our Board

Seven Board of Education Trustees pose for group photo.

BOE Trustees: (seated) Seth J. Blau, President; Sandie Schoell; Michael D’Ambrosio, Vice President. (standing) Donald Maresca, Robert M. Transom, Laura Lisi, Stuart M. Kaplan.

Contact the Board of Education at 678-1215.

Board of Education Overview: The Board of Education consists of seven members who are elected to three-year terms. Voting takes place during the annual Budget Vote/Board of Education Election which is held statewide on the third Tuesday of May. Board of Education trustees are volunteers. They do not receive any compensation and they pay taxes at the regular rate.

The board is responsible for making policy, subject to state law, regulations and decisions of the New York State commissioner of education. Board of education trustees must be residents of the Oceanside School District.

Running for the Board of Education: Candidates for the board must be qualified voters of the district and must file a nominating petition with the district clerk no later than 30 days prior to the annual election. Each petition must be signed by at least 25 qualified voters of the district OR two percent of the voters who voted in the previous election, whichever is greater.

How the Board of Education and Superintendent Work Together: The board appoints the superintendent of schools to serve as its executive officer in administering policies in the operation of schools. The superintendent is responsible for informing and advising the board on all matters. The superintendent's recommendations normally precede board action on matters relating to recruitment and supervision of staff, selection of instructional materials, development of curriculum, and the operation and maintenance of buildings and grounds.

BOE Meeting Dates

Guide to Board Meetings

Policy Book Presentations to the BOE

Board of Education Bios

Seth Blau, President

Seth J. Blau was elected Board Trustee in 2012, served as Board Vice President for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years, and has served as Board President since July 1, 2022.

Mr. Blau has lived in Oceanside since 2003, and is an alumnus of Oceanside Schools. He grew up in Rockville Centre. Mr. Blau is an attorney specializing in labor law. As a member of the Board, he has served on the following committees: Buildings and Grounds, Districtwide Safety, DOCA Advisory, Legislation, Nutrition, and Technology. He also serves as a Board liaison to the Business Community, PTA Council, and the Culturally Responsive Education and Equity Advisory committee. Mr. Blau previously served on the School #9E site based team and was the liaison between the #9E PTA and the Board of Education.

Mr. Blau has been active in the Oceanside community for many years. He has served as Vice President and President of the Oceanside Kiwanis Club, where he led new activities and service programs. He also served two terms as the Kiwanis Lieutenant Governor for the Long Island Southwest division. He serves on the Board of the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Blau has written guest columns about local history that appeared in The Oceanside/ Island Park Herald. Mr. Blau also routinely volunteers with Oceanside Community Service to make food deliveries to local families, especially around the holidays.

He and his wife, Lori, have two daughters.

Michael D'Ambrosio, Vice President

Michael D'Ambrosio has served on the Board of Education since 2012.

An Oceanside resident for over 40 years, Mr. D'Ambrosio is an active community volunteer. Prior to serving on the Board of Education, Mr. D'Ambrosio was a trustee of the Oceanside Library. He is currently the president of the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside, where he previously served as vice president and as a member of the board of directors.

Mr. D'ambrosio remains active in Oceanside Community Service, the Knights of Columbus, Long Island's Junior Soccer League, and the executive board of directors of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association. He also is active in St. Anthony's Church, and has served as a coordinator of the North Shore University Hospital's Brain Aneurysm Awareness Walk as well as other charity events. In 2011, he was honored with Kiwanis' Heart of Gold Award for exceptional service to the children of the Oceanside community.

Mr. D'Ambrosio currently works in local government and formerly was the owner of a family-run flooring business. He and his wife have three adult children who graduated from the Oceanside School District and five grandchildren, who also are attending Oceanside schools.

Stuart Kaplan

Stuart Kaplan was elected to the board in 2018. He is a professor of mathematics at Nassau Community College and chair of the Mathematics, Computer Science and Information Tech-nology Department.

Mr. Kaplan's focus is on expanding curriculum opportunities for students within budgetary restrictions, maintaining safety and security, bringing more attention and support to mental health issues, and ensuring that students are college and career ready when they graduate from Oceanside High School.

Mr. Kaplan is the father of two daughters currently attending Oceanside schools and has been involved in the district’s PTA.

Laura Lisi

Laura Lisi was appointed to the Board of Education in November of 2022 to fill the seat of departing trustee Maryjane McGrath-Mulhern, who resigned. The appointment will last until the 2023 Board of Education election.

Ms. Lisi grew up in Oceanside and attended Oceanside Schools, beginning at School #3 and graduating from Oceanside High School. She worked as a marketing manager for trade publications and later obtained a masters degree in teaching English as a second language. Before moving back to Long Island to raise her family, Ms. Lisi worked as an ESL teacher in New York city.

Since her children began attending Oceanside schools, Ms. Lisi has been active in PTA. She has participated in Shared Decision Teams for her children’s schools, served on executive committees including Co-President of PTA Council, and has chaired many committees from book fair to nominating committee. In her capacity as a PTA executive, Ms. Lisi has participated in creating budgets for PTA units and committees.

In addition to PTA, Ms. Lisi has volunteered on the district’s Buildings and Grounds, Safety, Nutrition, Parent University and Staff Development Policy Board committees, and served as co-chair of Dawn Delirium, the district’s post-prom celebration for students. She has also served on parent panels for district hiring committees.

Ms. Lisi and her husband have three children, two young adults who graduated from Oceanside High School, and one child currently enrolled in the school district.

Donald Maresca

Donald Maresca has been a Board of Education trustee since first being elected in 2002, shortly after he retired from his 33-year career as an Oceanside School District educator. When he retired, Mr. Maresca had been principal of School #2 for 15 years. Previously he served as principal of the former School #1, Sixth Grade Center and Ocean-side Junior High School, among other leadership positions he held within the school district.

Mr. Maresca was known for developing innovative programs as a principal to complement curriculum and foster greater connections among residents and schools. Programs such as Sixth Grade Conference Day, held at Hofstra University, the inter-generational holiday chorus, the intergenerational forum, and a career exploration lecture series, developed at School #2, continue decades after they were first launched.

Mr. Maresca is a member of the Knights of Columbus, sits on the board of directors at the Ocean Financial Federal Credit Union, and is active in community ser-vice. Together with his wife, Sandie, he has raised two children and is a proud grandfather of four grandchildren, all of whom have attended Oceanside Schools.

Sandie Schoell

Sandie Schoell was first elected to the board in 2005. She has served as vice president four times and as president four times, presiding through challenges such as the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the introduction of Common Core, high stakes testing, tax cap legislation enacted by New York State and now the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mrs. Schoell represents the school district’s interests as a member of the New York State Legislative Network. Additionally, she represents the Board of Education on various advisory boards, councils and committees. The Nassau Suffolk School Boards Association has recognized Mrs. Schoell with one of its highest awards for board leadership.

Mrs. Schoell is a long-time PTA member and leader, eventually heading up PTA Council, and has received many accolades including the PTA Heart and Soul award. She maintains her 20+ year commitment to fundraising and organizing for Dawn Delirium, the school community’s annual post-prom party.

During nearly four decades as an Oceanside resident, Mrs. Schoell has earned a reputation for community service, volunteering for Oceanside Community Ser-vice, Kiwanettes and the Ocean-side Chamber of Commerce, among others. She has been recognized many times for her civic work, earning the Citizen of The Year, Woman of Distinction and PTA Heart and Soul awards.

Mrs. Schoell and her husband Gary raised two sons who attended Oceanside schools and graduated as valedictorians. She is now a proud grandmother of four.

Robert M. Transom

Robert M. Transom has been a Board Trustee since 1997 and served as Board President for three terms during his tenure on the Board.

Mr. Transom worked in real estate for 41 years, specializing in Property Management and Construction Management. Now retired, he continues to volunteer his time in service to the community, a passion that has spanned more than three decades.

His proudest accomplishment was creating Schoolhouse Green along with his wife, Betsy. Since 1999, the Green has served as a gathering place for Oceansiders to enjoy school and civic activities.

A 25-year member of the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside, Mr. Transom served four years as Club President. He is a long-time member of the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce as well as Oceanside American Legion Memorial Post #1246 where he served as Commander for three years.

A long-time member and 12-year president of Oceanside Community Service, he helped develop the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday food & gift delivery programs. He has worked extensively with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to coordinate financial assistance for Oceansiders in need. He opened the OCS Food Pantry at School #6 and continues to work there today, providing food every year to over 3,000 families in Oceanside and surrounding towns

With his extensive background in maintenance, building systems and general construction, Mr. Transom advocates to cost-effectively maximize taxpayer dollars to give the children of our district the best facilities and infrastructure to be successful learners. He serves on the Board’s Policy Committee, Safety Committee, Nutrition Committee, Building Committee, Audit Committee and Technology Committee.

Mr. Transom and his wife, Betsy, have three sons who all graduated from Oceanside High School.