Jason Rowland for Sayville BOE

05/20/2026

Tonight, I want to congratulate Kyle Valentine on his election victory. Running for the Board of Education takes time, energy, courage, and a genuine willingness to serve the community, and I sincerely wish him success in the years ahead. Our schools, our families, and our students deserve leaders who care deeply about Sayville, and I know Kyle does.

To everyone who supported me throughout this journey, thank you. Truly. Your encouragement, conversations, messages, and belief in me meant more than I can properly put into words. There’s something humbling about having neighbors place their trust in you, even for a moment, and I will always be grateful for that support.

While this result was not what I had hoped for, I respect the decision of the community and remain committed to supporting the district and the people who work every day to help our children succeed. I’ve already reached out to Kyle and offered my support in any way that may be helpful moving forward.

After two campaigns, I’ve also made the decision that this will be my final run for elected office. Sometimes life nudges you toward different paths, and I believe it’s time for me to continue serving this community in other ways mainly as a parent, neighbor, volunteer, and advocate for the things that matter to all of us.

Thank you again, Sayville. It has been an honor to run and meet so many of you over the past two years.

05/19/2026

There is still time vote! Make your way over to the old Jr High School and ensure your voice is heard before polls close at 9pm!

There is so much to love about our community and I have always believed in public service. From my time with DHS to volunteering on the Cherry Site Based team and with Sayville Little League and running for BOE I have seen the best of what our community has to offer. Let’s come together and make the change to bring a new skill set and point of view to the BOE!!

05/19/2026

Good morning Sayville! Please get out and vote today! You have a voice and it needs to be heard! It's time for a change. It's time for a fresh perspective. It's time for a BOE that has the interests of the entire district and it's tax payers in mind, and most importatnly, it's time for accountability and real oversight.

If you're tired of seeing your BOE make unforced errors, compliance "mistakes" that put your district and tax dollars at risk, and you're tired of the disconnect between the BOE and the community, please get out there and vote today and help me make the change we need.

A special thank you to all of you who have helped our support grow this year, your conversations, word of mouth spreading of our vision and abilities has not gone unnoticed! Please find your way over to the Old Junior High School at 30 Greene Avenue. The polls are open until 9:00pm tonight!

05/19/2026

Today’s the day! Please get out there and vote! 🗳️

Polls are open from 7:00am to 9:00pm in the Old Junior High School at 30 Greene Avenue.

https://www.sayvilleschools.org/administration/office-of-assistant-superintendent-for-business/2026-2027-budget-data

Your voice MATTERS in the success and future of our schools and community.

2026-2027 Budget Data - Sayville Union Free School District 4

05/11/2026

Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing moms out there who make the impossible seem easy. I hope you all enjoyed a day with family, relaxing, doing whatever brings you joy!

Very excited for the Meet the Candidate event tomorrow night 7pm at the Old Jr. High Auditorium! Come on down and say hi and let’s talk about what matters to you.

04/25/2026

On the lighter, life update side, we got some amazing news yesterday that I can share. I passed the February 2026 Connecticut Bar exam!

It was my first try at the Bar and I am immensely grateful to put that phase of my career in the rear view.

I owe a massive, unplayable debt to my wife and family for all the sacrifices they made while I was in law school and preparing for the exam. That’s over now and we all get to celebrate together as we come through the other side! Next steps are to begin the process of transferring my license to NY and seeing what the future brings from there. I’m very excited for this next phase!

04/25/2026

I want to take a moment to acknowledge the Sayville Teachers Association and their recent endorsement decision.

I have a great deal of respect for the STA and the educators who show up every day for our children. Their work matters. Their voices matter. And their decision deserves to be respected. I want to thank the STA for sitting down with me and hearing my vision.

I also want to recognize Kyle Valentine. He is someone I respect and I believe he is running for the right reasons. He is not an opponent in this race, he is someone else who is stepping forward to serve and this election will never be about tearing anyone else down.

That said, my focus has always been and will be on this community. I live here, my kids go to school here, I coach here, and I feel and see the impacts of this board’s decisions every day. I see it in the annual increases in taxes, and in the empty storefronts downtown. These two things are not mutually exclusive.

Endorsements come and go. They’re part of the process. But the endorsement that matters most to me isn’t generated in a meeting room, it’s earned on front porches, in backyards, in conversations, in trust built over time by showing up for your community.

I have these conversations with Sayville families every day. I hear you and I see you. I see a community prosperous and strong on the outside but concerned and guarded on the inside. One where a community shoulders the burden of the district shrinking in census but increasing in cost.

I’m running because I believe Sayville deserves leadership grounded in compliance, transparency, accountability, and respect for our students and the people who serve them, but also for the community at large. Let’s face it, transparency and compliance are not the strong suits of our current board.

The days of this board operating in the shadows are over. It’s time we bring in someone with a different point of view. Someone who isn’t nose-blind to the struggles of students, non-student community members, and the failings of the education system at large. There are many things we do well, but that doesn’t mean we should tolerate shortcomings in other areas. Sayville deserves a fiscally responsible board that feels the accountability created by the decisions they make.

Last year, over 980 of you stood with me. Let’s grow that number and do it again! I see you Sayville, I believe we can make real, positive change for this community we all love. See you out there… Let’s get this done!

04/22/2026

Tonight the Sayville BOE presented a budget in what was the best attempt I have seen in the last few years. There are still many concerns about compliance and the Board’s ability to follow State and Board policy. I am glad they took the opportunity to announce the candidates for this year’s seats and I am proud and excited to take part in this process. There will be much more to come over the next few days as we all take time to digest the information in this budget presentation and tear into the details.

These compliance issues are exactly why I feel so strongly about running for a seat. I can help guide and ensure compliance with all the rules and regulations that are in place to make these processes easy. Again, this body makes the routine seem difficult. Non-compliance is never something we should tolerate from our board.

04/17/2026

I will be at the Sayville Little League opening day parade, tomorrow at 8am at the Broadway complex with my team and then coaching our first game at 2pm. Come on down, say hi and cheer for the team! The petition will be there also! It will also be available all day Sunday and Monday for you to sign here at the house. See you out there!

04/17/2026

Hello everyone! I’m excited to start a new campaign for a seat on the Sayville Board of Education. I have a petition for signatures of support available if you wish to help join the campaign.

We need to complete the minimum number of signatures in order to secure a spot on the ballot by Monday, April 20th.

I also have lawn signs available if anyone would like to help support more directly.

There will be much more information to come
in the coming days, but I am once again, I am committed to serving the Sayville community in the best way I know how, by bringing my regulatory, legal/compliance mindset to a help bring a new perspective to our Board. It is a skill set that I feel is lacking from our current Board.

I appreciate all the support of the community received up to this point and all of you who have reached out to see if I was running. Thank you, to those who have brought forward concerns and questions, they are also greatly appreciated and I truly believe we can make a real difference in this community we all love.

The petition is available now, reach out, and I will arrange for an opportunity today or over the weekend for you to sign.

Together we can make a difference!

08/28/2025

I would like to announce my intent to run for the open seat on the Sayville Board of Education in May, 2026.

Going into the most recent BOE meeting, I was still undecided. But by the end, it became clear to me that our Board still desperately needs help.

I was glad to see two important decisions: first, that the open seat will remain vacant until the community can choose a representative in May; and second, that public comment sessions will continue as they are today. Both decisions were in the community’s best interest.

Unfortunately, I also watched the Board struggle over whether to limit a communication app for after-school cancellations to sports teams only, instead of allowing all extracurricular groups—including music, arts, and performance programs—equal access.

When the district’s Safety Protocol was presented, the 60-page document included serious problems: numerous typos, 10 instances of “TBD” in critical sections, and even 10 consecutive blank pages. Despite this, it was approved without clarification on many of these issues. One section even listed a former employee—no longer with the district—as a point of contact. These kinds of oversights raise real concerns about the level of review given to important safety documents. I ask all parents and community members to read the document and see for yourself.

With my background in emergency management and policy development, I know our students and teachers deserve better. They deserve clear, complete, and effective safety planning—not placeholders. My goal is to ensure this kind of oversight never happens again. I truly believe that I have a skillset that can help the community and running is a way to do that.

That’s why I’ve decided to run in May for the open Board seat, in addition to my reasons for running in the previous election. Over the coming months I’ll share more about my vision, but I hope everyone who supported me last time will stand with me again. Together, we can build the transparency, accountability, and attention to detail this district deserves. Let’s get this done.