Meet the candidates
Three candidates are slated to run for three open seats on the F-M Board of Education. Candidates run "at large" for three-year terms, and the election is held on May 17, along with the annual school district budget vote.
Incumbents Dr. John J. Cucinotta and Michael J. Masse are seeking re-election, and Jeff Brown is seeking his first-term on the Board. Below are profiles of each candidate.
Board member Valerie Clarke's term expires June 30, 2011. She is not running for re-election.
Jeff Brown, of Stoneledge Lane, Manlius, is seeking his first term to the Board of Education. A 13-year district resident, he served on the district’s Advisory Council on Special Education from 1999 to 2006. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and a law degree from Syracuse University’s College of Law. He is a partner with the Mackenzie Hughes law firm, specializing in environmental and land use law. He is also a Major with the 174th Fighter Wing and is in charge of public affairs for the unit. He served as a New York State assemblyman from 2003-2006. He and his wife, Gina, have two children, one who currently attends F-M and the other who will soon be enrolled.
Read his personal statement.
Dr. John J. Cucinotta, of 4835 Sweet Road, Manlius, is seeking an eighth term on the Board of Education. He has served as Board president since July 2010 and is a member of the Board’s Facilities Committee. He also served on the Liverpool Board of Education from 1978 to 1988, including seven years as its president. A 23-year F-M resident, he is a parishioner, lector, and Eucharist minister at Immaculate Conception Church in Fayetteville. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Syracuse University and a medical degree from SUNY Upstate Medical University and is a physician specializing in radiology at Crouse and Community General hospitals. He serves on the Crouse Health Foundation Board of Directors, the Crouse Hospital Medical Staff Executive Committee, and the Onondaga County Board of Ethics. He and his wife, Jamie, have four children, all F-M graduates.
Read his personal statement.
Michael J. Masse, of 3 Wheeler Avenue, Fayetteville, is seeking his seventh term on the Board of Education. He has previously served four years as the Board’s president. A 20-year district resident, he also serves as treasurer of the New York State School Boards Association, trustee of the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System, and board member of CenterState Corporation for Economic Opportunity. He holds a master’s degree in business administration from Rider University and a master’s degree in public administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. He is the district executive of retail banking and director of public banking for HSBC Bank. He and his wife, Sheri, have two children, both F-M graduates.
Read his personal statement.