Alcure Looks to Save District, Locals Money in First Full Board of Ed Term

has only sat on the Board of Education for roughly six months, replacing , and has already taken part in numerous tough decisions, from closing Nesconset Elementary to choosing a new superintendent for the upcoming school year.

Now set to begin his first full term as a board member, he is looking forward to taking on more daunting tasks the Smithtown Central School District would face. 

Alcure, a corporate accountant by day with two children at Branch Brook Elementary, said saving the district money so the next budget season goes smoothly is one of his highest priorities.

“We’ve sorted out a lot of our labor contracts, we went through a two-year process around a school closing, we have some of the big things behind us, but based on a two-percent cap I think we have to look at the fact that as a board we don’t ever want to have to pierce the cap,” he said. “If you listen to the community they don’t always want us to go out with two, so we’re going to have to find a way to creatively save money.” 

, something that he didn’t believe was real until it was announced that he was voted in to his seat.

“This year in particular there was a lot of feedback from the community of things they would have liked the board to handle better,” he said, questioning why no other community member would try to take his or the soon-to-be-vacant seat of Joseph Saggese.

With Alcure securing his first full term, newcomer Matt Morton taking Joseph Saggese’s seat, and Joanne McEnroy and Grace Plourde both entering their second full year, the majority of the board is new. Alcure said having a largely new group of board members could bring in a renewed energy and spark new ideas.

“Effectively four of us – Grace, Joanne, myself and Matt – are all virtually new. [We’ll] bring new business knowledge, bring in fresh ideas, and have a mindset of trying to work together. I’m looking forward to that dynamic,” he said.

Alcure, while admitting the beginning of his term was tough and feeling like he was up in front of the community more days than not, said he had no reservations when deciding to run for his first full term and will embrace any and all challenges the future holds.

“We accomplished a lot in this short time I was on as a team and I’m looking forward to accomplishing a lot more,” he said. “It’s been great and I have no qualms.”

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