Wantagh School Board Candidate Profile: Stephen D'Amato

Stephen D’Amato, a pharmacist active with the Budget Advisory Committee and PTA in Wantagh, is one of three candidates to for an open school board seat up for grabs on May 15. 

D'Amato, 35, along with and Peter Brasile are vying for a seat being vacated by incumbent Wantagh Board of Education trustee Robert Leuchtmann.

D'Amato is a public affairs & policy analyst for Pfizer, Inc. He has lived in the Wantagh School District for five years and holds leadership positions with the Wantagh Budget Advisory Committee and PTA. He holds a Doctor of Pharmacy from Shenandoah University in Virginia, a B.S. in Pharmnacy from St. John's University in Queens and a Masters in Pharmarcy Medicine from Hibernia College in Dublin. 

"Wantagh deserves the full suite of the best educational services and opportunities for their children that our present tax dollars can provide," said D'Amato, who along with his wife have called Wantagh home for five years and have two children. "I think we can do a better job prioritizing how we spend our money and deliver even better results with the resources we possess."  

D'Amato said if elected he will bring his experiences as a parent and being a Budget Advisory Committee and PTA member "to make data-driven decisions informed by careful analyses and from listening to the needs and wants of the community."   

"Reasonable people may disagree on how we get there, but as Wantagh citizens, we can all agree that we want a peaceful and prosperous place to call home," he said. "If chosen to serve, I shall assist the board to prioritize and review strategies that aim to optimize the available resources from the community, while maintaining that level of excellence we expect and deserve."  

A meet and greet with the Wantagh school board candidates being hosted by the 6-12 Association is scheduled for this Monday night at 7:30 p.m. in the South Cafeteria. Voting for the school board race is scheduled for May 15 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. at , and Wantagh Elementary School. 

The third of our series profiling the three candidates for Wantagh school board will run Friday. To read the first profile, click .