Primary candidates for Delaware Valley Schools

WESTFALL — Four seats will need to be filled this fall; the expiring terms of Deb DuCharme, Bob Goldsack, Sue Schor and Ed Silverstone. DuCharme is not running again. The other incumbents are seeking reelection. We asked all nine primary candidates to participate in a brief survey. In addition to a providing a short summary of personal biographical information from each person, we asked candidates to seek responses to the following three questions: 1. Why do you want this position? 2. Why should people vote for you? 3. What do you want to primarily address if you are elected? Following are the responses that they provided. John ‘Jack’ Fisher 1) I want this position so as to advance the potential of our students. I want this position to attain long term balance and stability of equity and finance to community. The citizens of Milford/Matamoras, Dingman/Delaware and Shohola deserve an equal stake in all aspects of our community educational institution. 2) People should vote for me primarily because I weigh all the facts. I consider the pro’s and con’s. I do not do something based on popularity or politics. I try to think and act for what is best long-term. 3) The most pressing issue facing the district is the implementation of policies needed to meet the parameters of “no child left behind” legislation by 2014. The second most pressing issue is how to relieve overcrowding and/or improve safety on the campus of the DV Elementary School. We all know the DV High School has a drug problem and having gradeschoolers in such close proximity is not a good environment. Additionally the DVES is old and antiquated. A new school like the ones we have in Dingmans is in order. I would create a local ad hoc committee of concerned parents, business people and school board members To seek out new land in this lower market price environment and begin the process of building the new DVES. It will take two to three years, so now is the right time to start the discussion again. Then when the economy is righted, I think soon, we can commence. The third most pressing problem is paying for the costs of education in a non-political honest fashion. We must stop increasing costs while forcing a different taxpayer generation to pay for them. All cost incurred in any year must be borne in that year. We face a pension reserve fund catastrophy soon. Cutting reserves is the worst thing to do but is very popular as it creates the illusion of a tax cut. Bob Goldsack 1. To prove a point, that you can have excellence in education without overburdening the taxpayer. 2. I have experience in both the educational and business world. When I was a director of a alternative school, I thought like most educators do that no amount of money was too much to educate our children. I never gave thought to how the money could be spent more efficiently, I simply told the Board what we needed and they gave us the funds usually by raising taxes. I left the field, and went into business for myself and soon discovered that if I was going to be competitive I needed to be more efficient in how I used my money. The goal was. and still remains to provide quality service while keeping my prices competitive, or go out of business. I am proud to say that I have been successful in accomplishing that goal for the last 30 years. It is this experience of being a former educator and a business man that I bring to the DV School Board; knowing that we can provide a quality education for our children, without over burdening the taxpayer. 3. In these difficult financial times, with people losing their homes, fiscal responsibility is a priority. Our special needs program must be expanded with an emphasis on vocational education. Our special needs children must also be given he opportunity to find their place on their life’s journey. Equally as important, is raising our children’s SAT scores within the next two years to the national average. Higher SAT scores translates into entrance into quality universities and colleges as well as more scholarship money. Pam Lutfy As a 12-year member of the Delaware Valley School Board of Directors, I currently serve as the Legislative Liaison to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, PSBA Regional Coordinator, Policy Council member, and voting delegate to the PSBA Legislative Platform. Selected by my cohorts to serve on the Colonial Intermediate Unit # 20 Board of Directors, I, along with 12 other members from surrounding school districts oversee policy, special education programs, technology services and personnel affiliated with school districts throughout Pike, Monroe and Northampton counties. Presently, I co-chair the DV Special Education Committee and formerly chaired the Policy Committee. I hold a Master’s degree in Education, a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech and Language Therapy and a Director’s Credential in Early Childhood Education. For 17 years, I have owned and directed The Sunshine Station Early Learning Center, which recently earned the prestigious STAR 4 recognition from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the 2009 “Excellence” award from Pike County R.E.E.C.H.E. Why vote for me? I have a passion for high quality public education, yet as a tax payer, I too, understand the need for sensible fiscal management so vital to property owners, business owners and taxpayers on fixed incomes. I will carefully consider acquisitions and program proposals and not merely rubber stamp wish lists. I will network with district administrators regarding remediation opportunities for students compelled to drop out of school. One drop out is too many for me! Districts can be fined or denied funding due to excessive dropout rates according to NCLB Average Yearly Progress requirements. I will continue to wage my battle for a secondary education, researched- based, reading program, which provides rigorous training of critical reading skills highly required in today’s competitive workforce. We cannot continue to ignore the plight of our secondary students who cannot read proficiently! Additionally, I will work toward eliminating the practice of “teaching to the test” through monotonous, uninspiring “scripted packets.” “Teachers need to be innovative in the classroom when challenging students. Although assessments are necessary to measure performance, our legislators and local administrators must be reminded to trust our teacher’s talents by allowing them and their assistants to do that which they do best - teach. Finally, I will continue my legislative focus allowing our community’s voice to be heard at the state and federal level regarding existing and emerging critical issues that potentially affect our school district including: the shifting of property taxes, merging and consolidation of school districts, 12th Grade Graduation Competency Assessments, NAEP flat-line high school performance, PSERS (retirement fund), the state health benefit proposal and revision of the No Child Left Behind Act. Bill Greenlaw Bill is a proponent of continuous improvement and quality systems and has a demonstrated commitment to mentoring youth. While working in N.J. he facilitated a continuous cooperative education program that earned NJIT’s “co-op employer of the year” award. As a process safety manager he developed a two-month-long training course for the start up of a new world-class methanol plant. While he worked as an operations manager his plant ran below budget, set production records, and maintained excellence in product quality, safety, and environmental compliance. Bill is the father of three students attending DVSD. For the past seven years Bill has been a deck parent for the DV Water Moccasins. A graduate of Clarkson University with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, he is presently employed at Summit Research Labs where he manages capital projects and performs process development work. 1. Why do want this position? I know that I can bring the disparate sides of the board together, as I have in my career, by identifying problems and the root cause first, then addressing the solution. I am passionate about transparency and facilitating access to information. 2. Why should people vote for you? I will work diligently to improve our district while examining each expenditure on its own, not just in comparison to last year’s spending. I believe that demonstrating respect, having a commitment to excellence, and maintaining high expectations are necessary to be an effective school director. 3. What do want to primarily address if you are elected? The three most pressing issues are: 1) We do not have a long-term financial plan. We budget one year at a time, and do not even demand variance projections during the year. We need to explore alternatives to a property tax only approach. 2) We need to plan the replacement of DVES. This school needs to be located off the DVMS/DVHS campus. With current property values this will cost less than replacing the building on the same campus and allows for less constrained construction scheduling, reducing the chances of cost overruns. 3) We need to do a better job tracking our performance. Reviewing PSSA’s, SAT’s and placement in higher education once a year is not a sufficient feedback mechanism. By the time these indicators show a clear problem we are in a crisis. We received a Warning from Pennsylvania for the 2007-2008 school year due to low 11th grade PSSA scores. There has been no board overview of any corrective action to repair that deficiency. DV is a great school district; we can make it even better by working together! Bernard Marasa I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Benny Marasa. I am a fiscal conservative and a candidate for the DV School Board. I am also a member of Taxpayers United, whose unified goal is to keep taxes under control and provide a strong curriculum to raise SAT scores, which lead to better scholarships and colleges. My children benefited by getting full scholarships to prestigious schools resulting from high SAT scores. One is now a NY state judge, the other is a corporate lawyer, and the third is a graduate of Fordham University. I want your children, and my three grandchildren, to have the same opportunities that my children had. Since retiring I have become more involved in our community, through Friends of the Library, People Helping People, The Food Pantry, Tri-State Pregnancy Center, Milford Garden Club, and The Knights of Columbus. I started my career as a union member with IBEW, during which time I was promoted to management level. Con Edison recruited me to manage their Queens Transportation Department with 45 employees and a multi-million dollar budget. Several years later I was transferred to Facilities Management with 38 employees a 12 million dollar budget. This involved all aspects of maintenance, safety and security, space allocation design and construction and vendor contracts. I was also head of the Emergency Response Team. In a nutshell, I was responsible for people, money and property. The last few years, I functioned as an efficiency expert to help eliminate wasteful spending and cross-train employees to do multiple jobs. During this time I was given extensive training which included courses in psychology, critical thinking, contract administration, safety and security, hazardous waste management, plus OSHA rules and regulations. Five years ago, when I moved here, my taxes were raised approximately 24% in the first year. This peaked my interest in local politics. In spite of this increase, I was surprised to learn that our SAT scores ranked low, nationally. The more I learned about the school board, the more I realized they needed my expertise. If I am elected, my goals are to form a coalition between teachers, administration, and the board to work towards a unified goal and bring more transparency and accountability to the school system. In this great country of ours the opportunities are there. We need the vision and commitment to give them to our children. I respectfully request your vote on Tuesday, May 19th and please vote for my fellow Taxpayers United candidates, Goldsack and Wright. We are united in bringing to the DV school district higher education and lower taxes. Ed Silverstone I am the only independent school board candidate. I have had careers in law and business where I was president and chief executive of several large corporations. I have long experience budgeting for and managing large companies in good and bad economic times. I am putting this experience to use as chairman of the school board’s budget and finance committee. I also served in the US Army and US Naval Reserve Judge Advocate General Corps. Although I am not a member of either of the two blocs of candidates, I hope to attract support from both groups because of my experience and independence. This is an important election. Voters will be entrusting candidates to negotiate new contracts with the teachers and support staff unions, deciding whether and where to replace or renovate the DV Elementary School, negotiating a long-term bus transportation contract and most critically, steering the school district through a dangerous period of increasing expenses and potentially declining revenues. As one example, school boards and taxpayers are fast approaching a day of reckoning with the meltdown of the Pennsylvania school employees retirement system, which has recently lost at least $20 billion. This year, we will have the added benefit and risk from federal stimulus money. Used properly, these funds will enable us to accelerate a number of one time projects. If misused, the stimulus will leave a legacy of higher ongoing operating costs and higher taxes after the federal money has stopped coming. And there’s the overriding matter of providing a first rate education to our 5,600 children. We need to get our students into better colleges. To achieve that goal, we need to hire, mentor and train more outstanding teachers, follow through on our effort to make the curriculum more rigorous and encourage more students to take Advanced Placement courses. Longer term, I favor higher proficiency standards than the current dumbed down Pennsylvania standards. I favor teacher and administrator accountability for results. I favor merit pay for teacher excellence. I favor advanced data systems that would link student achievement to individual teachers. Regarding the aging DV Elementary School, I opposed the additional (Santos farm) campus. Last year I was willing to consider building a new school on the Westfall campus until our architect couldn’t design it without knocking down the Administration Building and replacing it elsewhere at a cost of millions of additional dollars. Due to declining enrollments and financial constraints, I now favor exploring the feasibility of modernizing the current facility. Charles Pike I have been a resident of the Delaware Valley School District, for the past 27 years. My wife, Bette, is a lifelong resident of the school district. Our oldest son, Stephen, is a graduating senior at the University of Pennsylvania. Our son Robert is a sophomore at Fordham University, where our son Mark who is graduating this year will attend college in the fall. Our daughter Jenna is currently a sophomore at Delaware Valley High School. I received my Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and my Master’s in Business Administration from Marist College. I am currently the Manager of Engineering & Operations at Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative, an electric utility serving Sussex County, N.J. I have been involved in numerous activities within our community. I coached youth baseball, youth football and youth soccer. I have been a member of various PTAs for 17 years. I organized the DVES PTA basketball program for six years. I coached Odyssey of the Mind teams for four years. I have been an active member of St. Joseph’s Church in Matamoras for 24 years, a Eucharist Minister for 16 years and currently serve on the parish finance council. I am a member of the Knights of Columbus. When my oldest son started kindergarten in 1992 the school had five computers in each kindergarten classroom; soon after the district implemented the homework hotline. As a parent of a young child I was impressed with the district’s commitment to technology and communication. I will support long term planning that maintains our district’s commitment to technology and communication. A priority of mine will be to improve the educational programs provided to the average student. I will support enhancements to programs in both the academic track and in the vocational track. It is important that all our students be motivated and challenged to reach their potential. I am running for school board because I believe I can make a difference. I am level headed, I listen to the facts and I make decisions objectively. I believe the public education system is a cornerstone of our society and must be maintained as strong as possible. Like you, I am a taxpayer concerned about taxes. I believe there are many improvements we can make without raising taxes. If elected I pledge to work hard to keep any tax increase as small as possible. Please vote for me, Charles Pike, on the two-year ballot, on May 19. Sue Schor Sue Schor has been a resident of the Delaware Valley School District for 18 years. She began regularly attending school board meetings eight years ago. Sue was appointed as a school board member in October, 2008. She chairs the co-curricular committee and co-chairs the special education committee, and recently attended the PSBA Legislator Conference regarding the Stimulus Funding in Harrisburg. Sue is married to David Schor and they have three children, two of whom are current DV students, one a graduate of Delaware Valley currently attending West Chester University. She graduated from Warwick Valley High School in 1983 and from Orange Ulster B.O.C.E.S/ Care and Guidance of Children. Sue facilitates fund-raising campaigns in DVSD and our great community, volunteered in the PTA as well as many youth programs, worked for Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) for Survivor’s Resources (now known as Safe Haven) and facilitated self-esteem classes in DVMS. She is presently a licensed Pennsylvania Realtor at ERA Meloi in Milford and proud owner of Biasi Distribution Inc. Sue’s dedication, integrity and honesty, and her ability to work well with others help make her a great candidate. She believes it is prudent to provide and improve the quality of education for all students. Stimulus Funds: DVSD may be receiving 1.6 to 3.6 million dollars in Stimulus Funds. We should not spend money we do not have in hand. It has been suggested by Dr. Finan and board member Diane French that we revamp our entire curriculum in grades K-5. Yes, we need to update our Science and Social Studies textbooks, they are outdated. We should be looking more into the areas of Reading and Math at the secondary level. Last year’s PSSA scores are low in the 11th grade. We have great principals, teachers and staff members. We need to listen more to what they are saying regarding the students’ deficiencies and give them the tools they need to correct them. Future of DVES: We have a 30 million-dollar line of credit that was intended for the future Delaware Valley Elementary School. Over four million of those funds have been tapped into over the past two years. It is very concerning that funds that were meant for the future DVES are being depleted by the present school board. Transparency: The board should give every parent, taxpayer and student the opportunity to know what is going on at every school board meeting, word for word. I strongly support the idea of having our school board meetings on web-cam. Having transparency, along with family and community involvement, will have a profound impact on our students’ achievement. Patty Wright My name is Patty Wright and I believe that “Our past is not our potential.” I am a candidate for the two-year term of the Delaware Valley Board of Education. I have been a resident of Milford for fifteen years. I am the mother of three children; two daughters, ages 18 and 16, both members of the National Honor Society. My 15- year- old son is a student living with Autism. While employed with a financial institution for over ten years, I assisted in implementing, testing and analyzing new programs. This enabled improved customer service while providing cost containment. Supervisory responsibilities for a staff of 35 included staff training, support, cross training, public relations training, and evaluating staff performance. I believe the goal of all childhood education programs is to enhance the pursuit of a meaningful adult life. I do not believe that those goals change in the presence of a neurological or physical impairment. The fundamental objectives should be the same for every child. While the approaches to obtain that goal may vary, the responsibility of a school district is to provide options for all children. I am seeking this position because I understand the importance of providing research based programs, which yield positive results for all students. Educational programs must be closely monitored with accurate, reliable data, to ensure meaningful and beneficial progress and proper implementation. The compiled data should be analyzed in order to ascertain effectiveness and result in positive outcomes for all students after graduation. I remain updated with mandated changes in the law by attending educational conferences and trainings. I have done my homework and bring a lot of knowledge to the board. On May 19, 2009, your vote will make a difference. Please vote Goldsack, Marasa, and Wright. Thank you for your consideration.