I have been a member of the JE community for 30 years. My daughter is an eleventh-grade student at JE High School and my son is a third-grade student at Ramsdell Elementary. I am seeking my third term on the JE Board of Education. I graduated from Jordan-Elbridge High School in 1981 and earned a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Early Childhood Education from the State University College at Buffalo. Briefly describe your involvement with the school district in the last five years.
I have served on the board for the last six years. During this time I have served as Vice President for two years and worked as a member of Facilities Committee. I thoroughly enjoy being a member of our learning community whether it is attending our yearly musical, graduation, open houses, concerts, field days, sporting events, etc I am very proud of our staff, students and community. What is your motivation for running for a position on the school board?
I am an individual who is passionate about learning and have dedicated my professional life to the education of young children. I have worked in the early childhood field for twenty-six years and I am currently employed as a teacher/instructor at the Bernice M. Wright Child Development Laboratory School at Syracuse University. As a long time member of this community I care deeply about the people who live here. I am committed to ensuring that the children in our district receive the best education possible. With two meetings a month, the board is relatively limited in what it can accomplish. How should the board decide what is most important? On a yearly basis, the board meets to discuss and create our goals, we are continuously looking at ways to be more effective. Our Board President and Vice President meet with our Superintendent monthly to plan for each meeting. What are the current challenges facing the board?
I think the current challenges facing the board are the same ones that we will be dealing with over the next three years. The School Board and administration will most likely be looking at ways to protect and preserve our programs without increasing costs. The financial status of New York State is one that is not going to move in a positive direction quickly. It will continue to be a challenge to all the schools in this state to provide students with a quality education while trying to maintain costs. What do you think will be the board’s biggest challenges in the next three years?
See above.
If it becomes necessary to make significant budget cuts, to what extent should the community be involved in deciding where such cuts should be made? Initially this year when the Governor came out with his first proposals we thought we would have to be making significant budget cuts. Our district held an open forum to get ideas and feedback from our constituents to assist us in understanding what was important to the community. I encourage all the members of our community to attend our board meetings to share their concerns or ideas, together we can all make a difference.