Last night, April 26, was the official Meet the Candidate event for the Comsewogue School District. Held at the High School, and run by the Comsewogue PTA Council, the evening is an opportunity to hear from the candidates directly in order to make an informed voting decision. I was incredibly nervous, and even though I had attended the event in the past, was unsure what to expect. You may already know there are a total of 6 candidates running for 2 open positions on the Board of Education. One of the candidates was ill and unable to attend, but everyone else gave a brief introduction of themselves, and answered 2 questions each, written by residents in attendance.
While turnout for the event was higher than in years' past, I wanted to give those who were unable to attend an opportunity to know more about the night,and my answers. My introduction included by background as a community volunteer, which you can read about in earlier posts. I don't want to be redundant!
The first question directed to me was (paraphrased):
Do you believe that the community should vote on program changes within the District, or do you favor making cuts as necessary without their input?
I have publicly praised Dr. Rella on several occasions for the creation of the Advisory Council this year. As a participant from the beginning, I saw first hand that members of the community from many different backgrounds were not only attending the meetings, but were encouraged by the Board of Education members and Administration to voice their opinion. It was important to all of them to hear what the public wanted. In the case of proposed reconfiguration of the elementary schools, the collective publics' voice was resoundingly heard. Through the use of meetings and surveys, the Administration recognized the opposition to the proposal, and respected it. It will always be important to give residents a voice in making decisions affecting our students. However, it would be too time consuming and unrealistic to send a survey out every time we need to make a decision. Members of the Board of Education are elected to represent the best interest of the public and schools, which is why it is imperative to learn about the candidates to feel comfortable that they share your values. I want to see the Advisory Council continue, and encourage everyone to attend when possible. The Board of Education workshop and meeting dates are posted on the website, and are open to the public. Any resident is welcome to come and express their opinion, and if they have valid concerns have an obligation to express that. Open communication is the key to a successful Board and community in general.
The cost of heating the buildings within the District is approximately $1 Million, what can we do to move towards alternative energy to reduce our dependence on the increasing cost of oil?
The cost of gasoline and heating oil are increasing exponentially, and affecting the budgets of our homes, businesses and municipalities. Just as families need to make changes at home to reduce costs. They also sometimes look into renewable or alternative energy. It is an option the District should look into as well. One of the subcommittees of the Advisory Council (I believe Buildings and Grounds,but I could be wrong!) discussed this issue throughout their meetings. As I understand they had a company that was going to examine our properties and see what we might be able to do to move in the direction of (or supplement with) alternative energy. I will need to look into the follow up to see if that has been done, and if it hasn't when it will happen. It is important to note that often the initial cost of these initiatives is prohibitive, and given our tight funding, may not be something we can commit to in the near future. We should explore our options, and see if there are grant programs that would cover the costs.
Those were the 2 questions asked of me, but I will briefly offer my answer to a few of the questions asked of the other candidates as well.
Do you support reinstating some of the programs which have been cut in the recent budget process such as 3rd grade Violin Club?
The simple answer is yes! But nothing is really that cut and dry. We can not ignore the reality of our situation,which includes drastic reduction in State Aid, coupled with huge increases in contributions to the Retirement System as well as State and Federal Mandates. We are also likely to face a 2% tax cap next year. All of these facts mean we have had to make difficult decisions, resulting in cuts to programs and extra curricular activities. I believe the current Board and Administration have been careful and fair about the cuts they had to make. No single department was gutted, every area is sharing the burden.The creation of a new Foundation has already begun. We should hear shortly about their first fundraiser, scheduled to be a community yard sale. The proceeds from the Foundation's events will be used to provide funding for the programs which had previously been eliminated. It is my hope that this Foundation will be tremendously successful and help us to provide some of those very programs we hate to lose.
Would you favor returning to half day Kindergarten in order to save money?
While I believe every option should be explored when facing budget difficulties, half day Kindergarten would not be an easy sell for me. I have spent the last 3 years working as a Special Education Inclusion Kindergarten Aide at Terryville
The reality is that the Federal Education Department has written new National Standards which will be implemented within the next 2 school years. Currently, every state's Education Department has their own set of Standards (essentially what they expect students to be able to do at the end of every grade level). For New York, Kindergarten students are expected to end the year reading on a Level C. While every student progresses at their own pace, teachers work tirelessly with small groups throughout the day to assist the children in reaching these goals, beginning with letter/sound recognition, moving through high frequency words and learning to sound out unfamiliar words- each skill building upon the last. The new standards will expect Kindergarten students to finish the year at a Level D. They will also expect them to complete a good portion of what is currently First Grade Math curriculum.Cutting back to half day kindergarten, even if there were a cost savings, would short change our students. It would limit what they could accomplish, and force teachers to adhere strictly to academic lessons without an opportunity to explore theme units and creative projects. Children in kindergarten need time to socialize, play,and explore. These experiences help build confidence, which carries over into their academic success.
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