The Hastings-on-Hudson Board of Education elections took place, alongside a vote on the 2024-2025 school budget, on May 21st. Four candidates ran for three open positions on the Board. I spoke to the two new members, Dr. DiMartino (1234 votes) and Mr. Barone (844 votes) (who, along with incumbent board member Alex Dal Piaz (1003 votes), won their seats in the vote.) about their visions and goals for the Hastings-on-Hudson Union Free School District.
Mr. Barone has lived in Hastings for three years. He is a Hastings Rainbow Families (HRF) board member and has sat on the committee of the NYC Youth Summit for New York City school students for the past three years. Barone has an extensive background in finance, specifically budget management. Working in bonds, specifically budget management and allocations. In addition, he has over 12 years of education experience. He began as a physical education teacher and progressed to writing physical education and health curriculum. He then earned a secondary master’s degree, and worked on restorative justice for marginalized groups. Specifically, he focused on tier 1 and 2 restorative justice practices. These practices center on integrating students into the school community after a prolonged absence.
Dr. DiMartino is a six-year Hastings resident with three children in the district. She is a member of multiple organizations, including the Hastings Education Foundation (HEF), HRF, and the PTSA. Dr. DiMartino’s entire professional life has revolved around education. She was previously a middle and high school history teacher. In addition, DiMartino has conducted research for RAND, a nonprofit organization that helps improve policy and decision making through research and analysis) and her work has been published in peer-reviewed education journals. DiMartino is currently a Professor of Education at St. John’s University. Her work includes training principals and superintendents in the New York City Metropolitan Area.
DiMartino identified three areas for Hastings to focus on enhancing: the Chancellors’ mandate for creating welcoming, equitable, and inclusive schools; keeping up with K-12 curriculum alignment; and using data. She described the importance of using data to inform decision making on a variety of topics, such as available social-emotional learning surveys. In this regard, she will likely be able to draw on her background as an education researcher. In terms of the Chancellors’ mandate, both Barone and DiMartino emphasized having a short-term goal of creating a “trusting relationship with the Board” and “being a part of a team of board members doing their best to improve the Hastings schools.” They also stressed the need to create equitable and inclusive school environments across Hastings.
When I asked about Mr. Barone’s long-term goals for the district, he initially mentioned that a three-year term feels like a short-term. One of his goals is to enhance the Hastings High School Science Research program. While many Westchester schools offer a three-year science research program, HHS offers a two-year long program. Mr. Barone emphasized that research is the future of the job market, and expanding a research-based class like science research is essential for our district’s students.
Additionally, he spoke about the importance of representation, especially as the only out LGBTQIA+ member on the Board. To this end, Mr. Barone stressed the need to “enhance the visibility of queer students” to create representation and a system that everyone has access to.
Both Mr. Barone and Dr. Dimartino mentioned the need to create a trusting relationship between the superintendent and the Board of Education. Mr. Barone emphasized the need to hold the superintendent accountable. DiMartino emphasized that consistent leadership in the Hastings schools is an important area of emphasis for her. She discussed the need for stability and mentioned that she hoped Farragut Middle School now has consistent leadership in place–something it had lacked previously. She also mentioned the need for stability in the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent roles.
Finally, I wanted to know about the election process. Dr. Dimartino mentioned that she had not run publicly for anything since 11th grade and talked about the process of developing a campaign website, creating yard signs, and being involved with the community throughout the process. She spoke about her surprise at the energy on Facebook and how emotionally charged and political the process became. Mr. Barone emphasized the significant level of vulnerability throughout the process. He described the process as exciting, enjoyable, difficult, and troubling. He mentioned that certain parts of the process were scary, but ultimately, “It’s ok to put yourself in that position and put yourself out there.”
It is evident that both Dr. DiMartino and Mr. Barone bring passion and expertise to the Hastings BoE. The new members plan on working cooperatively with school leadership, holding them accountable, and leaning on empirical evidence to advocate for Hastings’ students. Be sure to tune in to Board meetings! You can find the meeting schedule, agenda and minutes below.
