West Islip resident Kevin O'Connor has filed a petition on May 10th (last eligible day) to run against Ronald Maginniss for Sharon Bieselin's seat on the Board of Education, the school district said.
Maginiss was originally slated to run against Glenn Sloat, but in recent weeks, Sloat dropped out. The district said incumbent Robert Ulrich is still running for his seat unopposed.
O'Connor is married and has four children: Brian a senior in WIHS and Michael, Krista and Kelly, all sixth graders at Udall Middle School. He and his wife Jeanne-Marie have lived in West Islip since 1991.
He is currently a board member of the West Islip Little Conference Football League. He has coached youth football, little league and basketball for both boys and girls in the community.
O'Connor started an Automated External Defibrillator program for youth football and lacrosse, as well as assisting the West Islip Soccer Club in starting their program. Coaches in all three sports now get certified in both CPR and AED use, and all three programs have AED's available at home games in case of an emergency.
He is a graduate of SUNY Oneonta and has worked in the insurance industry for 25 years. For the past 18 years he has specialized in investigating and combating insurance fraud. O'Connor is currently the Director of Special Investigations for a New York based insurance carrier and has served as an instructor for the National Insurance Crime Bureau for eight years.
