Bedford BOE Applicants Want to Help District Through Hard Times

At a Wednesday forum, five applicants who are seeking to fill a vacant Bedford school board seat emphasized the need to get the district through the bad economy.

“While the district is facing challenges across all areas, these challenges frequently have in common the demands to do more with less," said Mount Kisco resident and accountant Andrew Bracco. "This is a common theme in these tough times, and none of us wants to see this outstanding school system arrive at a point where it can no longer focus on its primary goal of preparing our kids for successful futures.”

“Every day I am faced with an enormous task of doing more with less," said Andrea Campbell, a Mount Kisco resident who works in healthcare management, about her personal and professional life.

The forum served as essentially a group interview to fill the seat that was because of concerns over conflicts of interest form between his board role and his education services job. The remaining six board members sat at an opposite table and listened with a moderator posed the questions. The field was originally a six applicants, but Bedford resident David Hoffman dropped out, citing a business conflict. All of the applicants have children in the district's schools.

All of the candidates touched on facing tough choices in one way or another.

Lee Goldstein, a Pound Ridge resident, Budget Advisory Committee member and former Stamford teacher, talked about needing a balance between students' needs by offering education and the board's responsibility to taxpayers. When asked a question about handling the upcoming budget, she suggested that, given the district's financial, shape overriding the 2-percent tax levy cap should be considered.

Marie-Louise Scanlan, a Bedford resident and former president of the Bedford Village Elementary School Association (BVESA), called for making structural changes as opposed to “one-time cuts.”

The candidates at several times noted their support of and devotion to their communities, and how schools were a consideration in moving to their towns. Being in touch with the community and garning its support was also a big item.

Gary Schwartz, a Bedford resident and public adjuster, said that the community should be asked about what programs they want to keep, given the climate. This approach is similar to what the district has done in its "Focus" forums over the past two years during the earlier budget planning phases.

“The decisions you guys make really impact the community," he told the board.

“I think a good board represents the community and so is very engaged in getting community response," said Campbell. She, along with other applicants, praised the current school board for its approach in communications.

School Board President Susan Elion Wollin asked what she called an "impromptu question" about how the applicants would tackle state legislative issues that impact the like, which includes expensive mandates.

Several candidates called for repealing the Triborough Amendment to the Taylor Law, which keeps terms of expired union contracts in place if a new agreement isn't signed. Others called for reforming  the public pension contribution mandates.

Scanlan felt that Triborough repeal would give the district flexibility in negotiations.

Goldstein criticized minor state attempts at mandate relief, which were added to the same June state legislative omnibus bill that the tax cap was in.

“That’s a joke," she said. "We need really mandate relief at the schools.”

“We are unfortunately, mandated into problems," said Schwartz.

Bracco stated that mandates have one-size-fits-all approach for schools.

“It’s really untenable," he said.

When the issue of capital improvements was raised, all the applicants agreed on prioritizing the most imminent repairs first and looking out for classroom safety. Some of the applicants expressed interest in the general idea of taking bolder steps with dealing with West Patent Elementary School - the board recently discussed a scenario of replacing it completely - due to its age and deteriorating condition. Historically low borrowing costs for doing so were noted.

“Do we just make changes, changes, changes? Or do we raise the building and build a new school?”, said Goldstein, who expressed skepticism over the idea that a proposed reconstruction of the exisiting school will keep the building in good shape as long as projected.

Scanlan said West Patent “is a first priority, as it is starting to pose a health, safety danger.”

Another issue that came up was measuring success. Candidate agreed in keeping with conventional metrics, while taking an interest in college preparation and acceptance data. Some candidates expressed skepticism over relying too much on standardized test scores as a benchmark.

Going forward, members of the community can give their feedback on the applicants until Oct. 24. The board's goal is to choose an interim seat holder by Nov. 9, according to Wollin. The appointment will last until the May 15, 2012 school board elections, as the seat will be up for a special election for its remaining two years of Chernis' unexpired term.