Q&A with Andrea Fusco-Winslow, School Board Candidate

Dr. Andrea Fusco-Winslow grew up in Stony Brook, graduated Ward Melville HS in 1988, and returned to the Three Village area with her family in 2003. She is an anesthesiologist who was educated at Duke University, Boston University, and St. George's School of Medicine. Fusco-Winslow has her own office-based anesthesia company, which she started in 2009. She and her husband have two daughters who attend school at .

Fusco-Winslow said while gifted students and special needs students currently have access to a variety of programs to help them succeed, one of her goals is to find more ways to increase opportunities for the students who are in the middle. She said she hopes to help "raise children in this district who are able to go out and change their own community."

Patch recently had the chance to speak with Fusco-Winslow for a question-and-answer session.

Patch: What made you decide to run for school board?
AFW: I was educated in Three Village. I received an excellent education and I want our children to receive the same education that I received.

Patch: What do you think of the board's adopted budget?
AFW: Although I do support it, I think a 4.48 percent increase is a large increase for the families in this community. I think that we need to practice fiscal responsibility like we do in our homes. We need to cut back on the things we can’t afford without cutting back on our children’s programs. ... I hope next year that I can help construct a better budget where we don’t have a 4.48 percent increase. ... Trying to raise kids and live on Long Island, we can’t keep trying to raise taxes. I’m very cognizant of that for sure.

Patch: What changes would you have made to the budget?
AFW: I think everything is negotiable. I would have worked on negotiating every cost more effectively. ... Even benefits going back to the teachers, I would have tried to negotiate different insurance company rates. Bring it down to the lowest cost for the community. ... I’m a business person, I own my own business. I know how to negotiate , I know how to get down to the barebones costs.

Patch: What is your priority as a taxpayer?
AFW: I want to try to get the most out of my tax money, in terms of the development for the children of the community as I possibly can without having the taxes go up astronomically. I think they are one and the same thing.

Patch: What do you want people to know about your campaign?
AFW: That education is my top priority for the children of our community. Education does not mean testing, it means developing programs that foster thinking and learning. Our community needs to, in terms of our budget, think outside of the box and bring in revenue. ... We need to work on these things to alleviate the budget issues and to better educate our children.