Memorial Day

Sacrifice is the theme of Memorial Day. The sacrifice of individuals. The sacrifice of families. The sacrifice of communities. The sacrifice of a nation. Memorial Day is a time when America’s war heroes reminds us of the price for freedom. John Quincy Adams once said, “You will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you make good use of it.”

Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day. It is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America. It is often said to be the ultimate sacrifice. Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966. Although,  it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of this day.

Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to honor the dead. It was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed. The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.

On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.

The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war).

Memorial Day is now observed in almost every state on the last Monday in May with Congressional passage of the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 – 363). Sadly, while there were many parades to honor our past heroes, few homes and businesses displayed the American Flag. Let’s hope patriotism is still alive and flourishing in our great country and take pause during the barbecues, beach-going, shopping and relaxation to remember those who have fallen for us so that we can have so much. May God bless them.

Meeting Unites Community

A meeting arranged by Civic Leader Patricia Weems took place inside the RJ Bailey School as she had hoped. You’ll recall that getting the proper paperwork in order had threatened to force the meeting to be held outdoors, which fortunately did not happen. There were about 30 to 40 people in attendance, including numerous community group leaders. The mood was somber but positive.

The evening’s discussion was moderated at Ms Weem’s request by Bishop Dr Wilbert Preston of the Christ Temple in White Plains. After a opening statement by Bishop Preston, to which he humorously lamented that as a preacher, he had to remember he’s not in church and to control his preaching. He introduced himself and some of the people in attendance: Patricia Weems; Solomon Schechter School’s Director, Michael Kay and Principal, Eric Bassin, a Woodlands graduate and GCSD Trustee David Warner, to name a few.

Once Ms Weems was given the microphone, she opened the discussion explaining she and others  were dismayed over what had transpired with a student from the RJ Bailey School at a recent Purim event at the Solomon Schechter School on W Hartsdale Avenue. While she had been somewhat vague, she stated unequivocally that this was not about anything the children had done. She also mentioned that the Greenburgh Schools Superintendent told her this trip was routinely signed off on and that there was no active participation from the Bailey principal.

Someone in the audience asked for an explanation of what had actually happened? Ms Weems explained that an RJ Bailey student participating at the Purim event had gone to a face-painting “booth” and requested his face be painted by a Solomon Schechter 11th grader as the Marvel (Spiderman) character, Venom. After painting the 4th grader’s face black, he finished by painting his lips red. Again, Ms Weems stressed this was not about what the child had done but questioned where were the adults supposedly supervising this? And, that it was insulting to all. When the youngster got back to Bailey, a teacher pointed out that this was wrong.

Solomon Schechter Director Kay requested the microphone and proceeded to explain the Purim event to the audience and that they have been doing this every year. While he admitted that with the number of students there, both visiting and their own, and the amount of booths they have set up for this event, it was difficult to monitor all of the booths. He said they realize in retrospect that they need to do a better job of monitoring the event and plan to do so in the future.

Director Kay also gave an example that had a child asked to have a yellow star painted on their face that they would have found that distasteful and unacceptable and intervene as they would be particularly sensitive to that. He admitted that after this event that they need to do a better job of chaperoning this. It was his hope that this event could be used to not only be a learning moment for them, but moving forward he was hoping to invite the administrations of the various area schools to their location and begin a dialog that allows everyone to get to know each other better. He was happy to offer the Solomon Schechter School for this initial meeting.

Recently re-elected Greenburgh Central School District Trustee David Warner was in attendance. He commented that no one initially saw the mistake and that everyone recognized the youngster as Venom, the character, and it was only after a teacher pointed it out did they realize what was wrong. To his credit, he said they would address this as the Board and looked forward to working with others to make sure this never happens again. With two new Board members, Tanya Dragic and Ashley Pineda to help him, we hope to see more inter-school interaction.

The meeting started out on a negative note but ended with a positive outcome. Others in the audience pointed out different groups in Greenburgh that deal with different issues such as Armed Services Veteran’s suicides, Holocaust and Human Rights and others. The point here is that Ms Weems opened a dialog with some of the people that should be able to continue moving the equation forward and make some long-lasting progress. It will only help to make A Better Greenburgh.

Breaking News on Greenburgh School Votes

While the counts are preliminary and we don't have finalt numbers yet, we have the preliminary counts and results of the School Board and Budget votes.

Garnering the first place finish for School Board Trustee was Tanya Dragic with 820 votes. Coming in second place was David Warner with 629 votes followed by Ashley Pineda with 614.

The School Budget passed by 806 to 491 votes. This is roughly a two-to-one vote in favor of the $70,752,506 budget, a 2.9% increase. You'll recall the proposed bond was defeated by a two-to-one vote also.

Congratulations to the winners, a heartfelt thank you to the candidates and those who have served our community. Now let's all join forces and work together.

Be The Voice Of The People: Vote

Voters will hopefully head to the polls today, May 21 to vote either for or against their school district budgets – all within the tax cap that “Governor Tappan Zee” enacted into a permanent tax cap, proposed bonds and of course, School Board races. We have been following the Greenburgh school board race which features six candidates. Two are incumbents and four are new faces. While all of the candidates seem to be very nice people, we were most impressed with Tanya Dragic.

Multi-million-dollar bond proposals will be voted on in four school districts - Briarcliff Manor, Irvington, Pleasantville and Somers. Whether or not there are tax implications from them remains to be seen. Most people are inclined to go along with tax increases if the are logical, within reason financially, adequately explained and communicated to the public clearly. After all, this is their money that’s being sought.

In this day of instant news feeds, 24-hour cable news, neighborhood blogs such as this one, podcasts, radio and residents talking amongst themselves, taxpayers (stakeholders) need to feel assured that their money is being well spent and with meaning. This was not the case with the recent $114 million bond the School Board and Dr Chase tried to foist upon the public in the 11th hour two months ago. They got their heads handed to them with a two-to-one defeat.

The take-away that the Board members and Dr Chase seemed to believe is that they did a poor job communicating their “vision” to the stakeholders. If that’s all they got out of this defeat, they really aren’t paying attention. What they also did was hide information. They repeatedly told the public that the $114 million was including interest. It was not. The interest alone would have been almost the face value of the note, coming in at $83 million. With a bond total of $197 million, and the yearly budget of $71 million ($70,752,506 actual), taxpayers will be on the hook for $267 million! In Mandarin, it’s 2.67亿美元！

When asked why the bond should be supported, we were told that the Bailey and Highview schools were in such disrepair that we needed to jettison them as soon as possible and build two new schools to replace them – at the Warburg campus. When asked why, one School Board trustee had the backbone to tell us, “The Board made a conscious decision to not maintain the schools to save teacher’s jobs. Others on the Board believed having all the schools on one campus would be their School Board legacy – as did Dr Chase. Sadly, their legacy will be the disrepair of our schools.

While this revelation was a stunning admission, the honesty and openness of the Board member was refreshing and what a dialog should be. During the entire event the age-old mantra was, “Do it for the children.” In fact, on a community gossip board, several residents kept posting to vote yes for the bond and saying those against it were lying with the facts they presented. They were not. But for Phil, Matty, Mona and a handful of others aligned with the School Board supporting a radical tax increase, many could or would not go along! Can they be persuaded to vote for it now? We’ll see...

The budget vote is upon us, with a small cheerleading crowd in the gossip sites trying desperately to convince those gullible enough to not learn the facts on their own to vote for the budget. When a question was posed on the site if Matty worked for the district and if he ever ran for the School Board, the conversation was closed down. Apparently, just as in Town Hall and the School Board, the flow of information works only one-way. It's ironic that after 3,000 people mobilized and voted "no" that the Board did not capitalize on the obvious interest of the public.

Briarcliff Manor’s $3 million bond proposal would include a roof replacement at the middle school, a track resurfacing, and infrastructure improvements district-wide. Irvington would see renovation projects, conservation initiatives, expansions and modernization efforts. Pleasantville will make repairs to school buildings, increase security, and asbestos abatement in school floors. Somers seeks to increase security, and if approved, would include a partial roof replacement at Primrose Elementary School.

These districts clearly show it is possible to do ongoing repair and maintenance without financially hammering the district residents. Those that can afford it will scrutinize the budget less than those who cannot. We need a Board that understands that it's our money and then their money and that it doesn't grow on trees. The current Greenburgh School Board and its Superintendent seem oblivious to this. Again, they’re not listening. In the Fairview Fire and the Hartsdale Fire Districts, 48% and 42% respectively are tax exempt. That means about half of the taxpayers are paying double of what they should have to to compensate for the tax exempt properties who still utilize their services. The school district suffers from the same malady with little recourse.

Consider how the current School Board behaved during this last episode when you go to vote. If you want more of the same you already know how you’re going to vote. If you want more transparency, open communication and budgets that are reasonably planned out and presented, think about voting differently. It’s one more way to get A Better Greenburgh School Board.

Vote Budgets and School Board May 21st - Interesting Week -updated

This week promises to be interesting if nothing else. This story has been updated.

First - Racism Alledged

Amid charges of racism, was a field trip by a fourth-grade class from the Bailey School that has been happening every year with the Solomon Schechter School to celebrate Purim. One definition we found online of Purim is: the jolly festival of Purim is celebrated every year on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar (late winter/early spring). Purim 2019 begins on Wednesday night, March 20, and continues through Thursday, March 21 (March 22 in Jerusalem). It commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in ancient Persia from Haman’s plot “to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day,” as recorded in the Megillah (book of Esther).

This year would prove no different as exposure to other religions, schools, and people seem to exemplify multi-culturalism. Here, a 12th grade Schechter student, part of the 12^th grade class hosting the Purim event, face-painted a Bailey 4th grade student as the Marvel character Venom. An online search showed numerous depictions of what the character Venom might look like. The charge is not that the youngster was painted in black-face with red lips by one child to another. Rather, neighborhood activist Patricia Weems maintains that the teachers were derelict in properly supervising the children and that public school kids should not be going to a Jewish school and participating in a religious event. We don’t know if this was billed as a religious event or a festival that obliges the Schechter students to practice their faith while maintaining a carnival-like atmosphere for the younger kids?

Update: We discussed this issue again with Ms Weems and she clarified her position. Apparently there were too few teachers present and not properly supervising the kids. Ms Weems felt the Superintendent, Principal for RJ Bailey and the teacher supervising the event were at fault and should be held responsible. During our discussion, which lasted about an hour, we discussed this being a teachable moment and that we could effect a change with this type of event specifically. She maintained that the school personnel should know better. 

Agree or disagree, there is a meeting  tentatively set for Monday night, the 20^that the RJ Bailey School on Hillside Avenue. Ms Weems requested Mr Feiner’s help. Mr Feiner should stay out of the Greenburgh School District’s business for three reasons: one, he offers no solutions; two, he was convicted of discrimination in the Fortress Bible Church case that we are still paying for; and three, he swept a discrimination complaint against Edye McCarthy under the table several years ago. https://abettergreenburgh.blogspot.com/2014/04/selective-racism-condoned-by-supervisor.html

The Bailey school event will be held outdoors if Ms Weems is unable to secure permits to hold the meeting indoors. 

Second - School Budget & Candidates

School Board elections and school budget elections are taking place this Tuesday, the 21^stat the Woodlands High School. This election cycle is for the $70 million budget, not to be confused with the bond that was previously proposed and shot down in a two-to-one vote by taxpayers, and for three new School Board members. There are two incumbents running whom we believe are no longer performing to expected standards and should be replaced. Tenure, while unspoken but oft-practiced in Greenburgh is not serving the public well. It does, however, effectively make the case for term limits.

Then there is the lack of information coming in a timely fashion from the District. We received a brochure from the school district last week that has cursory information about the budget but does have all of the candidates pictures and bio included. We think this might be helpful to voters. However, we weren’t the only ones dismayed by the late arrival of this information. One reader, whom we'll refer to as Bob, wrote to School District Superintendent Chase and we quote:

“We received a letter from you today, Feb. 6, 2019, regarding the Greenburgh Central School District Public Vote. The date of your letter is January 23, 2019. Your letter outlines a schedule of  Public Meetings regarding the 2019 Capital Project. The schedule dates are:

-Jan.24,Jan.29, Jan.31, Feb. 7

Clearly, the timing of your letter is not appropriately calibrated to sufficiently provide Taxpayers and Community Constituents with appropriate notice to attend these meetings. Your letter is dated the day before the first meeting! And, given realistic mailing times, it would be impossible to expect Taxpayers to receive your letter in a timely way to attend these meetings.

Would strongly suggest that you establish an additional series of these meeting, as well as discuss appropriate lead time planning for these types of communications with whoever is responsible for them. ” To which Dr 

Chase replied:

“Thank you for your message. Unfortunately, our postal system has not been too kind to district mailings. Knowing this, we added additional meeting dates to ensure all community members have the opportunity to participate in at least one meeting. Please open the attachment. I hope you are able to join us for one of the meetings. ” 

Really? The Post Office is at fault? This is akin to my dog ate my homework which would be unacceptable at every level by any teacher in any school. Why does Dr Chase feel this is an acceptable answer? It’s this type of cavalier attitude toward the taxpayers that make what’s being shoveled our way difficult to tolerate. Finally, Bob responded:

“Today, Friday May 17th, we received a newsletter from you and the Greenburgh School District that outlines details about the 2019/2020 School Year Budget and the vote for this budget on this coming Tuesday, May 21st. 

It is unacceptable for constituents to receive information of this importance to our community with virtually no notice to review and comment on the details in advance of a vote. 

This is not the first time that this has happened. In February, we wrote to you about virtually the same issue with respect to the Bond issue. 

I can tell  you from a "preliminary" review of the proposed budget today that we have multiple issues, and suggestions, about the composition of the budget and the positioning of the overall budget. Unfortunately, unless this vote is delayed, it is doubtful that you will  receive the type of feedback and input from Greenburgh constituents that is appropriate. 

I would like to understand why Greenburgh cannot send this vital information to voters / constituents in a more timely way (see below) so that appropriate consideration and diligence and review can be applied to this vital progress before we are asked to vote on one of the most important issues facing our community. 

Thank you, ”

The four other candidates that are running seem to hold more promise for the Greenburgh taxpaying stakeholders and our kids. We have previously written about the ones we feel will perform better for us. Let it also be said that spending taxpayer money is not a big part of our consideration when we chose. Read more about the candidates here: http://abettergreenburgh.blogspot.com/2019/05/greenburgh-school-board-forum-offers.html

Third (Could be Part One-b) - More Racism Alledged

We are also sure that Town Clerk Judith Beville will be in attendance. She has contended that she is being pushed out of the Town Clerk’s position by the Town Board. In a recent meeting with Ms Beville, she told us that she is the victim of racism against her by the Board and specifically Town Councilman Francis Sheehan. While we are unable to corroborate her accusations, given the history within the Town administrations from Mr Feiner on down, we believe there could be something to what she is saying. 

We have been critical of Ms Beville in the past as she sits on the Town Board work sessions and monthly meetings. Our criticism is that she constantly interrupts the proceedings with her own comments and opinions. Regardless of the validity, as the Town Clerk she is there to record the session, offer information when asked and work the ridiculous timer to keep residents from participating in their government meetings under three minutes. Since she is no longer on “Team Feiner”, it can only wonder what she did to force Mr Feiner to drop her from the ticket.

Being dropped from the Feiner ticket has happened before. We refer to it as being Sonya’d. For the uninitiated, Sonya Brown was a Town Board member originally supported by Paul Feiner until she stepped away from the Feiner reservation and was shunned while she completed her term and then tossed aside for Ken Jones in the subsequent election. So, no Board member is willing to give up the position simply by doing the right thing or going against Mr Feiner and risk being “Sonya’d”. Icing on the cake if you’re on “Team Feiner”: Mr Feiner pays for all campaign costs for candidates on his ticket with his campaign fund war chest.

Alfreda Williams, the former Town Clerk who was dropped by Mr Feiner for Ms Beville, went on as the hand-picked successor of Lois Bronz for County Legislator. While her effectiveness as County Legislator is unknown, Ms Williams performed adequately as the Town Clerk. Ms Beville touts a number of improvements that she’s initiated during her tenure. She claims many innovations, but while she stakes claim to expanding open government for example, Dial Democracy still doesn’t work (for years) under her control. 

She also claimed that she has hired professional staff. Here’s where it gets a little dicey. She had to hire replacements because several in her office didn’t like working for her and either transferred or quit. That was one of the reasons Francis Sheehan got involved with her staff, ultimately giving someone from her office a different position within the Town administration in order to not lose her skill-set. And while this person remains in the Town’s employ, Ms Beville disclosed the employee’s medical information to the public at a Board meeting. All of the Town Board members and the Town Attorney were telling her to stop because she was violating HIPAA guidelines as well as personnel matters which should not be disclosed to the public.

There are other things happening but let’s kick back and see what shakes out with budgets, the School Board changes and the upcoming year. Next up, November elections. Please get out and vote on Tuesday, May 21st. It will make for A Better Greenburgh. 

Re-Elect Eannazzo • Elect Ramirez for Elmsford School Board

Putting Children First - La’iqah Ali

Re-Elect Marla Peers

Dr Tanya Dragic For GCSD School Board

For the past six months, I’ve been speaking to residents, parents, teachers, former Board members and old friends about our schools. I have been pouring over statistics, budgets, and education policies, reading historic articles and remembering my own experiences. In the 1970s and ‘80s, when I was living and going to school here, the student body was truly diverse and mostly middle-class. Greenburgh schools educated their students effectively. Today, 63% of our students are socio-economically disadvantaged and 80% are minorities. This feeds indifference and prejudice towards our schools.

Most parents who can afford it – regardless of race or ethnicity – either leave the District or send their children to private schools. Those children who remain in Greenburgh Schools, and who live in economically comfortable homes with involved parents, generally do well. Those who live in economically disadvantaged households without supportive parenting, generally do not do well. These are the children whose educational disparities we must address, while also supporting those who are doing well. If we can raise the achievement level of those in the middle and the bottom of the academic spectrum, the performance of the entire district will obviously improve.

How can we raise test scores, increase graduation rates and college-attendance? How do we help the average Greenburgh student acquire the knowledge and skills for success? We have a significant school budget and we need to use our resources as effectively as possible. For this, we have to have a strong and united leadership that serves the best interest of the students and the community. I hope that on Tuesday you vote for me. I am a member of your community and an alumnus of the District. I am an educated parent and an educator. I know the skills that students need to do well in school, in college and in their professional lives. I would like to be the voice that advocates for you and education, here in Greenburgh’s public schools. This is my platform:

- We need to hire administrators with a strong track record of improving student performance.

- We need highly-qualified teachers. They should either have experience or be trained to work with our student demographic. Their contracts should be competitive, so that they REMAIN with us.

- We need to make sure that academic support programs are working, and that they are being used by the students who need them the most.

- We need to support the social and emotional development of students, especially those with difficulties at home.

- Parents, teachers and students should be empowered to WORK TOGETHER.

- Beyond that, we need to embrace everyone in the community who is willing to volunteer in our schools to provide academic or emotional support.

- In fact, we need to embrace neighboring districts to share resources and to learn from them.

- And finally, we need to repair and maintain our buildings so that they are a safe and comfortable learning environment.

Thank you for your support and your vote!

Annual Budget Vote and Board of Education Election

Tuesday, May 21st
7:00am-9:00pm
Woodlands High School
Gymnasium

Annual Budget Vote and Board of Education Election

Candidates: Tanya Dragic, Milena Din, Ashley Pineda, Brezetta Giffith-Bullock, Lloyd Newland* and David Warner*.

Six candidates are vying for three seats on the Greenburgh Central School District Board. Local elections matter; your vote in this tightly contested race will help determine the future of our schools. 

The annual operating budget of $70,752,506 will also be up for voter approval. This is the yearly budget election and is not a Capital Bond vote that was voted down in February.

To learn more about the candidates and the budget, you can read about the candidates on this site and on the GCSD site.

Make sure to vote.

* incumbent

I'd Like Your Support And Your Vote

www.tanyadragic.com

For years, the state of our public schools has gone unaddressed by the Greenburgh collective. I am running for the School Board because I want to be an effective interface between the residents and the schools to improve education standards and allocation of resources. Until this happens, and our enrollment starts to increase significantly, we should not be talking about spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a consolidation bond.

We spend 30% more per student than the average spending by other school districts in Westchester County, while we remain at the bottom of the charts by every state and national metric. We do not make any “Best of” lists, and we are poorly rated on web-sites consulted by young families looking for a place to raise their kids. Yes, there are bright academic points, but they mostly benefit top-tier students.

Our infrastructure is run-down. We are told that this is because education was prioritized. It’s hard to tell because our school budgets are so opaque: it seems that we have 25% more administrative staff than the average Westchester school district  - is that necessary? We hear about teachers on home assignment while receiving full salaries – how many and what is the plan for resolving their situations? Are we sharing resources and services with other school districts? How about sharing resources with the town government and community organizations?

The bottom line is that those who can, leave Greenburgh or send their children to private schools. I’ve heard this story again and again as I’ve talked to residents over the past weeks. This is both disheartening and unacceptable. The children of Greenburgh deserve a better education in their public schools. The residents of Greenburgh deserve public schools that reflect their input in tax-dollars. 

My goals are to:
• Focus the curriculum on proficiency and skills for success
• Empower parents, teachers and students to work together
• Restore and maintain existing buildings
• Streamline budgets and use resources efficiently

• Explore philanthropic and grant opportunities
• Improve communication with all residents in our District

As an educator, a scientist, a grant writer, a parent and a taxpayer, I expect more from our public schools. The struggle for that change cannot rest solely on the shoulders of our teachers and administrators or the School Board. We must turn this around collectively. 

Join me by voting for me on May 21^st. Let’s make Greenburgh Central School District the shining example of a modern, inclusive and functional public school system that it should be. 

www.tanyadragic.com

Happy Mother's Day

Lucas Cioffi To Challenge Town Supervisor

Today I'm excited to announce that I'm running as an independent in the November election for Town Supervisor in Greenburgh, NY. The incumbent has been in office 28 years, usually running unopposed. Democracy works better when we have a choice.

The first step is to collect 1500 signatures by May 26th. This is quite a large number, so it will take dozens of volunteers gathering 5-20+ signatures to make this happen, and we only have three weeks to do it. If you would like to receive a copy of the petition to mail or hand back to me, please fill out this form: https://www.greenburgh.us/

If we receive these signatures by the deadline, then things will get quite exciting. The second phase will involve innovative ways to get neighbors together, talking, and listening to each other.

Contact

lucas@greenburgh.us https://www.greenburgh.us; 917-528-1831

  

About This Campaign 

This campaign will be bold yet respectful, and without personal attacks. Greenburgh collects over half a billion dollars in tax revenue from its 90,000 residents. Lucas is seeking election to the role of Town Supervisor in Greenburgh, NY in order to significantly increase transparency across the board and to give residents a substantial voice in how their tax dollars are spent.

About Lucas
Lucas Cioffi is a US Army veteran, open government advocate, husband, and father of two. He was born and raised in Greenburgh and has returned to Greenburgh to raise his family. Lucas graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point, graduated from the US Army Ranger School, earned the rank of captain, and served as an infantry officer in Iraq from 2004-2005.

During the five years when he lived in Washington, DC, Lucas mobilized 1500 non-profit professionals, researchers, and government leaders in support of the federal government’s Open Government Initiative. He hosted conferences in partnership with the US Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency, Treasury, Department of Agriculture, General Services Administration, and NASA. Lucas served three years on the board of the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation, collaborating with talented dialogue facilitators working to bridge political and racial divides.

In 2016 Lucas and his family lived on Market Street in Charlottesville when that street erupted in large-scale race-based violence and made national and international headlines. Lucas then served on the Charlottesville Community Leadership Council which worked to build bridges in the community in the wake of that violence.

Lucas is a software engineer, entrepreneur, and business owner. He has served in leadership roles in civic organizations and large technology companies and looks forward to helping Greenburgh catch up and surpass other municipalities in how it listens to its residents and delivers the services they require.

Meet Elmsford School Board Candidates

Elmsford School Board Candidate

Greenburgh School Board Forum Offers Little

Wednesday night at 6:30pm found about 30 or so people in the Woodlands High School cafeteria. They weren’t there to eat.

Rather, the somewhat subdued crowd were there to hear 6 people try to sway stakeholders to vote for them in the upcoming Greenburgh Central School Board elections on May 21st. There are two seats open for a three-year term and one that is a partial term for one-year, completing a vacancy created when interim trustee Jeff Barnes term ended. You can watch the session at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgYlTHGlZ38.

With two and half spots open, we expected all the candidates to be on their “A” game. Sadly, this would not be the case. In fact, we were a bit distressed to hear almost every candidate monotonously say similar things, offer few specifics and regurgitate what every candidate has said for the last umpteen years. We heard statements that included fresh perspective, dedicated toward the kids, will work for better schools, etc. With the current School Board bond initiative shot down, the candidates said they believed they would need to do a better job communicating with the stakeholders. Really, that’s all they came away with? By the way, School Superintendent Dr Chase was not present during this event.

The only breath of fresh air was Tanya Dragic, who not only offered tangible ideas, but seemed convincing when she identified the issues and offered some actual solutions. We understand that incumbents always have a better grasp on district issues by the nature of the positions they hold. We were inclined to be a bit more forgiving to the new candidates. Out of that pool however, Tanya Dragic was the real stand out.

There were two moderators off to the side of the dais asking the questions of the candidates, actually reading the questions from index cards that had been filled out and submitted earlier by audience members. The moderators read the questions that were given to them by either PTA President Mireille St Armand or vice-President Mona Fraitag. As Ms Dragic answered questions, Ms Fraitag was seen repeatedly walking to the back of the room and quickly returning with another card in hand that either moderator would then read to only Ms Dragic. Ms Fraitag has a long history as a Paul Feiner sycophant, so we are suspect whenever we see her at an event. Tonight would prove no different.

The manipulation of the questions by Ms Fraitag and her obvious bias against Ms Dragic in particular was blatant and underhanded. It quickly became obvious she was trying to “trip up” Ms Dragic by throwing seemingly difficult questions only at her. Her attempt to discredit Ms Dragic backfired. While the other candidates didn’t have to endure the specific treatment against them, Ms Dragic was obviously prepared and capable and deftly answered these curveball questions, proving she was worthy of the Board position.

In fact, one of the questions that was specific to Ms Dragic was how did she intend to bring the recently cut science labs program back to Woodlands? Without missing a beat, Ms Dragic said that this was a passion of hers and she didn’t have enough time to thoroughly expand her answer. She did say that she would work with the Albert Einstein School of Medicine in the Bronx, and their labs, to develop a program that the Woodlands students would be able to take advantage of. She added she would also work in her capacity as a grant writer to get funding for this as well.

The evening brought few innovations or new ideas to the table. The two incumbent candidates, David Warner and Lloyd Newland, have been on the Board for years. It was this current Board that tried to secretly get the bond passed by limiting its exposure to the stakeholders until we exposed that the schools that these people have been entrusted to maintain and provide a safe and healthy environment for the district’s children were intentionally not maintained. We believe their goal, like that of Mr Feiner’s with WestHelp, was to have the schools become so dilapidated that the only thing left to do would be to tear them down; or sell them and build new schools on the Warburg campus. In fact Trustee Terry Williams got up at one of those road tour meetings and said that that was a legacy goal of his as a School Board member. Shouldn’t your legacy be about the quality education the district’s students receive?

Regardless of any Board members legacies, and this one may turn out to be a legacy of decay, it’s time to jettison the incumbents. We were, in fact, impressed with the list of accomplishments that David Warner and Lloyd Newland read off. In fact, Mr Warner, speaking rapidly, like an announcer at the end of a legal commercial, ran out of time during his opening statement. But Mr Warner, Mr Newland and Mr Williams participated in letting our schools decay. Maybe they’re the real problem.

It is our belief and those we spoke with after the forum, that the Greenburgh School District is ripe for change. The other non-Board member candidates include Ashley Pineda, Brezetta Griffith-Bullock, Malena Din, and Tanya Dragic. While we have no real complaints about Ms Griffith-Bullock, as a former principal in what she called a Blue Ribbon school in Mt Vernon, her ideas struck us as stale. Mr Pineda and Ms Din both have children in the Greenburgh schools and came across as passionate for the schools. This could certainly be because they have their kids are in the schools. Ms Dragic’s kids are in college and an adjoining district. Nothing beats the need to see improvements like when it hits home.

We feel certain Ms Dragic should receive one of the three-year seats, and Ms Din and Mr Pineda should get the other two. We wrote extensively about the shenanigans the Board has played with the lack of maintenance towards our schools, the lack of communication to the public and the fact that the public has passed the budget year after year entrusting the current Board to do the right thing. Apparently, they’re not concerned about what the public thinks or wants. That’s why they got their heads handed to them over the bond issue. There will be a bond for repairs coming soon. There will also be a new school budget coming up. The stakeholders need to scrutinize what is being offered and what is being told to them. The Board decided to go for broke with the Bond and the public responded. Let’s not squander that message.

Pleas vote on May 21 in whichever district you reside. Hold your Board’s feet to the fire and consider this a good opportunity to clean house. It’s time and it will make for A Better Greenburgh.

Marla A. Peers – Elmsford School Board Candidate

Marla A. Peers 
Elmsford School Board Candidate

Elmsford School District Candidates Seek Your Vote