After much thought and consideration, I have decided to run for a 4th term on the CCSD Board of Education. I think the best way to explain this decision is to post my responses to both the League of Women Voters (LWV) and to Martin Wilbur editor of the Northern Westchester edition of the Examiner. Both posed a few questions to all the candidates. I have co-mingled the questions below for continuity. In parenthesis after each question, I indicate who asked it. I note that the LWV imposed a 100 word limit to our answers to each of their questions.
I have been advised by the district’s counsel that I can comment on both the budget and the bond if I make it very clear that I am speaking as an individual, as a resident and that I DO NOT speak for the district or the board when answering these sorts of questions. So, any answer I give here is my own opinion. While these opinions may or may not be consistent with district or board opinions, I do not speak for the board or the district. I am speaking only as an individual.
Why did you
decide to run for another term on the Chappaqua Board of Education? (Examiner)
The first time I ran for the CCSD Board of Education, I said
I chose to run for four fundamental reasons.
Those reasons remain true today. I wrote then and I repeat now, I am
passionate about education and its importance to our future. I believe in the obligation to serve or
contribute to your community. I believe
my life experience, professional experience and education give me a unique but
fundamentally important viewpoint needed on the Board. I (continue to) want to give voice to the
silent majority; to those who live in the community but are not part of the
1,200 who typically vote for the budget and the Board. I want to represent the interests of the
students, the parents and as important, those without children in the schools.
I also believe that experience plays an important role in
being a successful Board Member. New York Education Law says that the only
qualifications to being a school board member is to be able to read and write, you
must be a resident of the district for one year prior to the election and you cannot
be employed by the board on which they serve.
Not a very high bar. Intimately
knowing the district, its policies and practices, having a good working
relationship with both your fellow Board members and the administration,
understanding NY State Ed law, NYS rules and regulations is a material positive
attribute to bring to the table. I have
experience and a track record. I proudly
stand behind it.
What experiences
and skills do you have that will enable you to be an effective member of the
School Board? (LWV)
For the last nine years as a
Board Member, I have worked tirelessly on behalf of the community. It requires an extensive knowledge of the
district, a passion for education, a complete understanding of the budget and
its structural issues, a person who can make practical and reasoned decisions,
who can build consensus, who can balance competing community interests, and
vision and conviction. It is recognizing
we have a fiduciary obligation to all the tax payers, not just ones with
students in the schools. There is no
experience like direct experience and a proven track record. I stand on mine.
What do you
consider the main issue(s) facing Chappaqua and how would you address it
(them)? (LWV)
We must ensure the quality of
the education remains at a superior level while maintaining fiscal discipline
and responsibility, we must continue to challenge unfunded mandates and non-productive
state testing, as well as ensuring that we continue to invest in our operating
plant through maintenance, repair, and upgrade.
We need to continue to invest in teacher professional development. We need to facilitate student challenges, not
limit them. We need to continue to have
fiscally responsible budgets such as this year’s zero tax levy increase while
expanding educational and extracurricular programs. We need to be transparent
and responsive to the community.
Chappaqua has a
well-earned reputation for education excellence, but are there any areas in the
curriculum or educational experience that you would like to see added or
changed in the next few years? (Examiner)
By almost any measure, Chappaqua schools are continuously
ranked among the top districts in the county, the state and the country. Without question, overall, we provide a top
notch education to our students. That,
however, does not mean we cannot improve or change.
In general, I think we have to always be evaluating our
educational offerings to ensure that we are at the forefront of both curriculum
and methods of teaching that curriculum.
The major asset of any district, and certainly here in Chappaqua, is the
teachers. What I appreciate about our staff
is that as a whole they all are lifelong learners themselves. The teacher’s contract addresses professional
development. It is a mutual, two way
section. They want us to guarantee
opportunities for professional development and we want to require it. I think we are on the right path with that,
but we need to continue to provide opportunities such as with our Innovation
Fellows and the other summer programs where all the teachers in the district
have an opportunity to explore and incorporate the latest ideas and
methodologies in teaching.
More specifically, I think we need to look at the barriers
we impose on student course selection.
For example, we have a combined objective and subjective hurdle to a
student signing up for AP American History (AHAP). We say that we only want
students to be in a position to succeed, yet we do not give a definition of
success nor do we consider other factors.
Structurally, because of what I believe to be artificial criteria, rather
than asking students to challenge themselves, we are doing the opposite and
telling them they should not strive to reach for higher goals. It seems to me that the goal of the schools
should be to challenge the students to learn, not quash that desire. To me, we should be encouraging our students
to try, to challenge themselves, even if that means they ultimately fail. If we are about holistic learning, there are
many lessons learned in trying and failing, maybe more than in unchallenged
success.
Finally, as always, we need to constantly be reminded of our
mission to educate all the district’s students whether that means students with
special needs, students who need extraordinary additional challenges, or that
majority in the middle that risks getting lost as we focus on the two distributed
tails.
I'm not certain if
you would care to share your thoughts on the upcoming June
14 referendum, or even if it would be appropriate to do that. However,
what was the rationale for presenting the bond to the voters and do you believe
this is the best way to realize the improvements the
district believes is necessary to make sure the schools are equipped to
handle how education is evolving? (Examiner)
First, let me state up front that I support the bond. I do think it is the best way to realize the
improvements the district thinks necessary to be able to be at the forefront of
education for years to come, and I also think it is necessary to be able to
make the appropriate repairs, perform needed maintenance, and to upgrade
various parts of our operating plant. It will help us comply with the State
mandated Building Condition Survey (BCS).
The rationale for and the timing of the bond is clear and
simple. One, unlike the town or county,
we are required by law to present it to the voters for approval. Two, the timing is right based on both need
and ability to pay for it within the constraints of a tax capped budget.
Is the bond perfect? No.
The decision by the board to limit the bond to one that creates no
marginal increase in taxes is a fiscally responsible decision but one that
necessitates tradeoffs. As a community,
we need to appreciate that we are neighbors and that while we may not approve
of every item in the bond or may wish there were something else included that
is not, overall, the bond does a very good job of addressing the needs of so
many of your friends and neighbors.
While taking advantage of historically low interest rates
coupled with the district’s AAA credit rating, NY State 30% capital cost
reimbursements, maturing debt, and the sale of district property, the district
is able to address infrastructure and educational needs while also addressing
the needs of the library, youth sports teams, the downtown merchants, and the
tax concerns of the community.
What are your
opinions on the Bond being proposed? (LWV)
I support the bond. I think it addresses our infrastructure needs
as well as helps us stay at the forefront of education, all in a fiscally
responsible manner. Is it a perfect
bond? No. The decision by the board to limit the bond to one that creates no
marginal increase in taxes is a fiscally responsible decision but one that
necessitates tradeoffs. As a community, I think it important we
appreciate that while we may not approve of every item in the bond, the bond
does a very good job of addressing the needs of so many in this community.
What are your
impressions of the 2016-17 district budget that is going before voters
on May 17? Anything that you would have liked to see added or taken out
from the budget? (Examiner)
I think this year’s budget is a terrific budget. It both
supports education and the taxpayer. The
district continues to expand and enhance our offerings while maintaining fiscal
responsibility. This year’s budget
includes ZERO increase in the tax levy.
In the aggregate, the taxes collected from our residents will not
increase. In this budget we were able to
include everything the administration thought appropriate while not only
remaining below the tax cap, but also having no increase to the tax levy.
For the sixth year in a row, for every year the tax cap has
been in effect, the district’s budgets and tax levies have come in under the
tax cap constraints. This compliance has given our taxpayers, those who qualify
for the STAR exemption, NY State rebates on any increase.
Given the tight
fiscal constraints that the tax cap and other factors place on school
districts, what, if anything, could the board or the district
can do to lend its voice and lobby for greater mandate relief for
public education? (Examiner)
First, the district is very active in lobbying for
mandate relief. We work on many levels
to effect change or mandate relief. We
lobby to address both educational mandates such as state testing and financial
mandates such as unreimbursed aid.
One, the administration has a very good working relationship
with our local state representatives. Second, the administration has met with
and continues to discuss with members of the board of regents and the NYS Commissioner
of Education various issues that affect us negatively here in Chappaqua.
Two, the Board itself has written letters, passed
resolutions and spoken directly to our representatives regarding the various
mandates. We have teamed up with other local Boards, with the Westchester-Putnam
School Boards Association (WestPut) and are a member of the NY State School
Boards Association (NYSSBA) which itself seeks to use our collective influence
to lobby state legislators, the NY State Education Department and the Governor
himself. We have also worked with the
Town’s mandate relief committee.
Three, Victoria Tipp, a sitting Board Member is the Board’s
Legislative Advocate. She sits on the
Board of the WestPut which is very active in lobbying for mandate relief. She is a member of the NY Suburban Consortium
for Public Education. She also
coordinates with the PTA which is itself very active in lobbying for mandate
relief.
Finally, I think the Board and the district need to continue
our lobbying efforts, but know that our most effective voice would be one
whereby the residents also participated directly by writing letters, calling
and contacting our legislators. We will
continue to fight, but we need your help.
Again, speaking
toward fiscal issues, is there anything Chappaqua could do to work with
other school districts and/or the Town of New Castle to share services that is
not being done now? (Examiner)
Let’s start with the premise that anywhere we can
legally save money while maintaining services, we will explore. To be clear, we currently do work with other
districts and the town to save money.
For example, as a member of the Putnam/Norther Westchester BOCES, we
work with BOCES and the other 17 component districts to aggregate our buying
power for goods and services. The list of items we purchase through BOCES that
reduces our costs are too extensive to list here, but know that the very
premise of a BOCES is for districts to join together to aggregate purchasing
power whether that is for goods, services or even teaching.
Also, for the past several years, the district has worked
closely with the Town of New Castle Administrator with the cooperation and
support of both the CCSD Board of Education and the New Castle Town Board to
increase our cooperation in areas in which we can support each other. We have
jointly bid on paving contracts and other similar types of contracts. Both Boards have publicly stated and proven
through action that we will continue to seek ways to join together to both cut
costs and to provide services to all members of the community.
Just some brief
biographical information: age, occupation and the number of years that you've
served on the board? (LWV, Examiner)
From what I submitted to the League of Women Voters,
Voting Guide:
Current
Office:
School Board Member, Chappaqua Central School District.
Parent, 3 children.
Education:
Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern
University: MBA, Finance and Real
Estate.
University of Virginia: BA, Economics
Residence: New
Castle
Occupation:
Self-Employed equities and derivatives trader
Prior Civic and
Volunteer Service:
·
9-year School Board Member, Chappaqua Central
School District.
·
Volunteer Coached over 20 teams, Chappaqua AYSO,
CYSC, NCYBBA, NCBSA.
·
Participant in New Castle Roundtable Forum
regarding Empty Nesters.
·
CCSD representative to the PNW BOCES.
·
Member of the CCSD Facilities Committee
·
Past Board of Ed representative to Horace
Greeley Scholarship Fund
·
SHARE Midnight Run participant/chaperone.
·
Father of two Chappaqua Fire Department
Firefighter/Volunteers
·
Commissioner, Billy’s Basement Boys.
