One Official Nominee, And Three Write-In Candidates, Will Vie For Two Open Seats On Sag Harbor School Board

When the deadline for submitting nominating petitions for the two open seats on the Sag Harbor Board of Education passed last month, the race looked like it wouldn’t be much of a race at all. Only one person, Grainne Coen, had officially thrown her hat in the ring, which left the district and residents wondering how the other seat would be filled.

Things have changed pretty drastically since then.

There are now four candidates vying for the two seats, with three other residents announcing write-in campaigns. Ronald Reed was the first to announce his candidacy as a write-in, running alongside Coen, and before long, Heather Hartstein and Janice D’Angelo announced they’d be running together as write-ins as well.

Coen says she moved to Sag Harbor for a specific reason — the school district. After living in New York City, Coen and her family — husband Rory McEvoy, and their two elementary school-age sons — first made the move to Shelter Island, for a year, and then moved to Sag Harbor in 2018.

Coen’s career background is in the world of finance, where she has 25 years of experience. She was a portfolio manager for a multi-billion dollar entity, and now sits on several public company boards, in multiple roles, including on audit committees.

She has brought her corporate board and finance industry experience to bear in several community-service efforts. Coen was a member of the Sag Harbor School District’s policy committee for two years, until last year, and joined the audit committee this school year.

Her desire to serve on those committees and to run for school board stems from her great affection for the school, she says.

“We absolutely love the school. We think it’s fantastic,” she said. “I thought my business and public board experience would be valuable [to the school board]; helping with budget internal controls and accountability is what I do for a day job. Having people with different backgrounds on the board, whether they’re local business owners, in the legal field, architects, can be really valuable.

Coen said that in seeking a seat on the board, she is simply hoping to help the board continue to operate smoothly, and give back to the community. It’s a goal she and her husband share. McEvoy currently serves on the chamber of commerce, and is in the process of opening a new village business, Squid Kidd Brewing Company, a retail store and tasting room which has taken over the old Sag Harbor Garden Center space.

“I’m not walking in with a big agenda,” Coen said. “I just thought I could be valuable in the process. It would be a privilege to serve the community.”

Like Coen, Reed made a permanent move to Sag Harbor in 2018, and for the same reasons, with the high quality and reputation of the school district a determining factor in their choice to move to the village. Reed is an artist and architect, and his wife, Patricia Assui Reed, is the owner of Matriark, a Main Street store dedicated to women-owned brands.

Reed has served the community and school districts in a variety of capacities before running for school board. He has been on the district’s facilities committee since 2018, and also serves on the village’s waterfront overlay committee, and the COVID reopening committee. Reed has also been a member of the Sag Harbor Village Planning Board since 2019.

Reed and his wife have two children currently attending Sag Harbor Elementary School. He said he chose to pursue a write-in campaign for a seat on the board because he wants to be more deeply involved in the education of his children, and to serve the community with his experience and skills.

“My background as an artist and architect can be a valuable addition to the current board,” he said. “I have three decades of experience in complex building types that range from higher education to public transportation, and this experience would be helpful in current and future decisions about our district’s facilities for students, staff and educators.

“I am also an artist, and I value the arts and creative thinking as much as science and math.”

Reed said he also has a particular interest in promoting acceptance and diversity within the district.

“As a father of mixed-race children, I believe it is important to foster an environment where children from all walks of life, cultural backgrounds and races are valued and celebrated,” he said.

Hartstein is a mother of five children, who has lived in Sag Harbor for the past 10 years after previously living in Montauk. Like the rest of the candidates, she said she too moved to Sag Harbor for the school district. Hartstein has been an elementary and special education teacher and consultant for more than 20 years. For the past eight years, she has been teaching mindfulness, meditation and wellness in local schools, including in Sag Harbor, as well as to private clients. Hartstein and her husband also own My Stately Pools, a local business, and Hartstein said she uses her accounting degree to help run the financial aspects of that business.

One of her most important jobs, she says, is advocating for all her children, especially her son, Shane, a fifth-grader who has Down syndrome.

“I have always had great pride in this district,” Hartstein said. “My perspective is unique as I am in a position to work with students, execute programming with teachers, and discuss results with administration.”

“My strong intention is to provide an authentic voice for all community members, teachers, parents and students,” she added. “We have an amazing district, with amazing teachers. I want to be a part of a shift in the community where residents, parents, students and teachers are respectfully heard on both sides.”

D’Angelo has lived in Sag Harbor for more than 30 years, and has three children, one who graduated from Pierson in 2013, and two daughters who are students at Pierson High School. She is a co-owner of Greg D’Angelo Construction along with her husband, Greg D’Angelo, and before that was the owner and operator of the Sag Harbor Pharmacy for seven years. Prior to that, D’Angelo was a police officer, starting her police career in Sag Harbor before retiring as a detective with the East Hampton Village Police Department. She has also served as a member of the Sag Harbor Volunteer Ambulance Corps and has served on the Sag Harbor Elementary School PTA.

“The community and my service to it has always been very important to me,” she said, adding that she’s running for school board because she feels the board of education needs “balance,” and that there needs to be “more than one perspective.”

“I would like to be the voice for parents who feel they aren’t being heard,” she said.