Occupation: My entire 33-year career has been in education. I have been a teacher, administrator, and coach. I began my education career as a teacher in the NYC school system, where I spent 5 years teaching 5th grade. I moved on to the Lawrence School District as a teacher in 4th and 5th grades. After 4.5 years in Lawrence, I was ready to make the move to administrator and became the assistant principal of the Munsey Park Elementary School in the Manhasset School District. After 2.5 years there, I was offered a position in the New Hyde Park-Garden City Park School District, where I spent 15 years as the principal of the Garden City Park Elementary School. About 6 years ago, I was ready to move on to a Central Office position as the Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Technology in the NHP-GCP School District. In this position, in addition to administering the curriculum and technology, I have been responsible for two large budgets and all Federal Consolidated Grants (as well as all the recently awarded ARP-ESSER Grants). I am very familiar with school budgets and the budget process. This is the position that I currently hold.
 
I also have a lifelong ‘career’ in soccer. It has not been a career in the sense that it is what I do to pay the bills, but I am not sure what else to call the thing that I have spent 40 plus years of my life working for. I began my soccer life playing back in 1973 as an 8-year-old for the Sporting Club Gjoa in Brooklyn NY. I started coaching at the age of 16 and joined the Executive Board of the club when I was 18. I have held the roles of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Athletic Director. I am still a volunteer Youth Athletic Director while having a full-time staff of 9 coaches and administrators that work for me and the club. I am honored to say that I am a Life Member and Hall of Fame Member at Sporting Club Gjoa.
 
At 18 years old, I also joined the Executive Board of the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League in NYC. I have been President, Vice President, and Secretary throughout the years for the CJSL. I am currently the Treasurer. I'm proud to say that I am a Life Member and Hall of Fame inductee for CJSL.

With both the SC Gjoa and CJSL, I have been a soccer coach at all levels and have taken teams traveling around the world and the US. While teaching in Lawrence, I also coached the JV Boys Soccer Team for four years and while teaching in NYC I was the JV Soccer coach at Xavier High School for 2 two years and I started the Girls Varsity Soccer Program at Bishop Kearney Girls High School.

Lastly, I have been on the Board of the Eastern NY Youth Soccer Association as a Trustee and I'm currently the Treasurer. I was honored to be inducted as a Member of the ENYYSA Hall of Fame for my contributions to the soccer community as an administrator and coach in NYS.

I believe that my time in education and soccer has prepared me for a position on the Board of Education. Being familiar with budgets, the inner workings of a district, state and federal funds and grants, school law, and school personnel is a great advantage for us all. The NHP-GCP district is fairly small and operates on a very tight budget with no wiggle room. Working within these constraints puts me in a unique position for understanding ways to save money for the district and the entire community. I also have a great deal of experience working with parents and families, all school staff members, and students. These experiences for a Board of Education trustee are key to understanding the various issues and concerns that are brought to a Board and working to develop solutions that are amicable for all members of the community.

Additional Qualifications: In addition to my career qualifications, I have also volunteered in various capacities in the North Shore School District. I currently serve on the district’s Teaching and Learning Committee. I have previously served on the Homework Policy Task Force and the Middle School Principal Search Committee. I am also the treasurer of the Middle School PTSO at this time.

Of course, as a teacher and administrator, I have served on every possible school committee there is. Shared Decision Making committees, interviews for staff at every level, drug task forces, curriculum and textbook committees, various technology committees, report card committees, school and district safety teams, and many years of PTA committees and meetings. I could go on.

Personal: My wife, Tammie, and I have called North Shore our home since 2016. We are current residents of Glenwood Landing. I have a 31-year-old daughter, Samantha. Tammie and I have twins, Jake and Eleanor, in the 6th grade. We have enjoyed watching Jake and Eleanor benefit from the many educational and extracurricular opportunities that the district has afforded them. As a family, we are active in an array of activities having two children with very different interests, including various sports and arts.

Statement: It is an honor to announce my candidacy for North Shore Board of Education Trustee during this extraordinary time. With the bad news of the LIPA settlement, we are facing additional fiscal strife, while trying to balance the wishes of the many voices in our community. How can we balance the needs of all the stakeholders in the community while not just maintaining, but growing our schools in a fiscally responsible manner? By working together as a community, I feel we can do anything. I pride myself on being a listener, communicator, and problem solver. I have done this in my professional career as well as my “volunteer” career in soccer and the community.

I can tell you in all sincerity that I do not go for a Board seat with any one particular agenda. I am certain that I can utilize my experiences to best help our school district. My goal is to come up with solutions, not just highlight problems. In my various leadership roles, I have learned to depend on the knowledge and expertise of the people around me to provide the input necessary to make decisions and then use that information to do the best we can for the community and most importantly, the students. I am a man of my word and will work on all the issues we face 100%. That includes the budget and LIPA issues, athletics, academics, facilities, and so on. I will always be honest with you and the people I serve. I welcome hearing from people. Please feel free to reach out to me at any time during this campaign with questions or concerns by emailing me at SvendsenForNSBoard@gmail.com.

I hope that you will vote for me on May 17th, but most importantly, please vote! Your choice matters! Effective communication, collaboration, honesty, problem-solving, and listening are the strengths that I bring to the table. Strengths that will help to ensure that I am a successful trustee. A trustee for the entire community.