Race for Montauk School Board

Voting for school board members is on Tuesday, at the same time that residents cast their ballots on school district budget proposals. Of the districts The Star covers, there are contested races in Montauk, East Hampton, Springs, and Sag Harbor. Candidates in Amagansett, Bridgehampton, Sagapon­ack, and Wainscott are running unopposed.

Candidates in all but three races were covered last week; here are short biographies of candidates from Montauk, Sagaponack, and Wainscott.

Montauk

In the Montauk School District, Patti Leber, the board’s vice president, is running unopposed to keep her seat, while Cynthia Ibrahim and Tom Flight are vying to fill out the term of Jason Biondo, who is stepping down at the end of June. He had three years left on the board.

Ms. Leber, who has a background in finance and holds an M.B.A., has been on the board since 2001. She became involved to be an advocate for her two children, who have since graduated. A member of the East Hampton Town Planning Board, she works as a realtor at Town and Country Real Estate.

“I want to create lifelong learners and thinkers,” she said, and added that by being a part of the curriculum committee she will try to encourage an agenda that instills in students a curiosity and a hands-on, multidisciplinary approach. She wants to further the district’s emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and arts so that it can educate students who can compete in a global community.

Ms. Ibrahim has lived in Montauk for 35 years. She has a daughter in seventh grade at the school and is very involved with the community. She is a past treasurer of the Montauk PTA, the treasurer of the Montauk Playhouse Community Center Foundation, and a Girl Scout Leader. She works at Douglas Elliman real estate.

She has a high regard for education and is trying to instill that in her daughter, she said. She wants to see that all children get the education she believes they deserve, but she is against the Common Core curriculum and would like to see it abandoned. Ms. Ibrahim is especially interested in the fields of art and music. She would like to see before and after-school programs in those fields. “I would work hard so the teachers and students get what they deserve,” she said.

Mr. Flight is the father of three children, ages 9, 7, and 4, all of whom will be attending the Montauk School in September. “My family is the most important thing in my life,” he said.

He said he is running because children are the future. “How well we educate them determines how well this country will do. . . . Education to me is a balance of excellent schooling and strong role models, both at home and outside of work.” He believes the Montauk School’s teachers and superintendent are doing a great job, but said, “like everything there are areas we will need to evolve and reconcile over the coming years, and as part of the school board this is something I hope I could help guide.”

He was schooled in England and earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Edinburgh and Cambridge University Business School. He has worked for Gap, leading a real estate strategy group that analyzed the best locations for new stores, and was a head of finance for Walmart and Ann Taylor. In 2009, he started his own group of three stores at Gosman’s Dock in Montauk: Homeport, Captain Kid Toys, and Pier Group. He now has six stores and said he employs more than 30 people in the peak season. He has played rugby for the Montauk Sharks and is a member of the Montauk Fire Department and a certified emergency medical technician.

Sagaponack

Cathy Hatgistavrou, who was first elected to the board in a special election in 2011, has been a resident of Sagaponack for about 14 years. She is a parent of two children who attended the Sagaponack School. Her involvement began when she joined a scholarship committee that raised money for awards for graduating high school seniors who hailed from Sagaponack. Ms. Hatgistavrou has 25 years’ experience as a certified public accountant, including 13 years as a comptroller for a university medical center in New Jersey. She said her goals include promoting the Sagaponack School’s educational model to local families, balancing school traditions with updated curriculum and technology, and continuing to be fiscally responsible.

Wainscott

William Babinksi Jr. is running unopposed to retain his seat on the Wainscott School Board. This will be his second three-year term. Mr. Babinski did not return calls for comment.