Memorial Day – If They Could Speak ...

By Arthur H. Gunther III

thecolumnrule.com

ahgunther@hotmail.com

No Memorial Day, USA or elsewhere, is without heartfelt words and tribute, parades, wreaths, re-mourning. What is missing are the voices of the fallen. Would that we could hear them. What would they say?

“Mom, I was as scared as you, but I could not show that with you there. So I never really said ‘goodbye’. ...”

“Dad, you told me about your ‘war stories,’ and I figured we’d swap them when I came back. ...”

“Mary (any sweetheart’s name), I was crying inside when you were showing tears, and we both felt that we had been pulled from our door to the future so that I could enter another, for a time. ...”

“Mr. Gram (any teacher’s name), I know you expected me to be the same distracted fellow day-dreaming in the back row, but I was really awake that final day, and I remembered you telling me to pay attention. It helped my pals in the squad, the ones who survived. ...”

“Mayor Jones (any public official), there are speeches every Memorial Day, and parades and gun salutes and tears and then the barbecues, fireworks, leisure. Understand that all this is fine with me. I’d be there, too, if I could. But also believe that the man who fell next to me, the ‘enemy,’ isn’t one for me any longer, and he has mourners, too. ...”

“I read the ‘Red Badge of Courage’ in Miss Rouy’s literature course and could not understand then the fine line between courage, the chance of it, the millisecond for choice, and the instant when cowardice could win. I thought it was black and white but now understand it is not really so, that military training and society’s expectation may of necessity set it up as clear choice, but in the moment of decision, there is fear, opportunity and the possibility of both heroism and cowardice. There is much more humanity to it. ..."

"It is for humanity that I am ‘gone,’ the hope of it anyway. I am not truly ‘gone,’ of course, since I have not died in vain. The sacrifices of any of us, dead or living, are for betterment, for that continual ‘thirst’ for the world’s possibilities. Otherwise, why did you all lose me? ...”

The writer is a retired newspaperman.

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School District Voting Results

We offer congratulations to the winners and thank all of the candidates for running. 

In addition to the Board of Education trustee seats, both budget initiatives passed.

Winners results with asterisks:

Antoinette Darden-Cintron: 553 votes 

*Chris Valin: 608 votes

Eric Bitterman: 510 votes

*Jamaal Thomas: 577 votes

Sarah Lazzari: 573 votes

*Kiana Washington: 575 votes

Terry Williams: 220 votes

Today You Can Vote For Better

Today is the annual School Board and School Budget’s Election Day. We ask you to consider voting today for re-election and new election of Board of Education Trustees and for the upcoming school year’s budget. Our endorsements favor Antoinette Darden-Cintron for re-election as she has improved communication, transparency and openness as the President of the School Board and works in education. We also endorse Kiana Washington and Eric Bitterman as both of these candidates also work in education and have much community involvement.

This year the race has seven candidates running for three seats. While Mr Williams is currently seeking re-election after serving 18 years on the Board, we believe he should step aside until after his current hearing has concluded. Regardless, three other candidates (Valin, Lazzari and Thomas) appear to be endorsing him. If true, we find their endorsement of him difficult to accept as there is so much controversy surrounding him and his actions. At best they should reserve comment about him.

Likewise, the Teachers Union have endorsed these same three non-educator candidates. While any union is free to endorse candidates, the candidates should have refused the endorsement as it puts those candidates in a compromised position during contract negotiations, disciplinary hearings, etc. It may also mean that the candidates, should they win, are not beholden to the taxpaying public, but to the union. So, while there has not been any impropriety, it sets up a slippery slope that we’d prefer the candidates avoid. By the way, the unions’ job is to negotiate for its members, not the children or the taxpayers.

The candidates in total are Antoinette Darden-Cintron*, Chris Valin, Eric Bitterman, Jamaal Thomas, Sarah Lazzari, Kiana Washington, and Terry Williams.** We suggest casting you vote for Ms Darden-Cintron, Ms Washington and Mr Bitterman. With the exception of Mr Williams, we hope whomever the winners are will do what’s best for our school district, our children, the taxpayers and community. Regardless of endorsements, we wish them all well. It’s how we’ll get A Better Greenburgh school district.

* Current School Board President in first term.

** Current School Board Trustee of 18 years.

Happy Mothers Day

 

3 Educators Announce Candidacy For Greenburgh School Board

Existing School Board Needs Improvement
The beleaguered Greenburgh School Board of Education is rife with issues – mostly stemming from years of the status quo by people unwilling or unable to comprehend change. While slowly improving under the latest and deeply involved newer Board members, The Board needs additional trustees who are clear, decisive and open minded thinkers.

Leadership Takes Hold
Under the leadership of current Board President Antoinette Darden-Cintron, who is running for another term, we've finally seen the Board make progress. She has aligned with two new candidates who are also educators, Kiana Washington and Eric Bitterman. These three experienced educators are the only candidates who are totally invested in our children’s education and ultimately their futures. They recognize what needs to be done to improve our schools: repair our existing buildings, provide a quality education for our children, keep the costs down in the District and plan for the District’s future both in the short and long term.

Lying Through Omission
For every step the current Board has taken forward there have been opposing forces who sabotaged the Board. The sabotage and resistance from Superintendent Chase and Trustee Terry Williams (an 18-year Board member) has prevented the current Board from swiftly addressing the needed building repairs and curriculum reviews to improve our student achievement. Their combined goal, supported by Trustee David Warner, appears to be to continue to foist the school consolidation onto the public by not being truthful with the taxpayers about the true costs associated with this grandiose plan that was ultimately rejected by the voters. Thankfully, the taxpaying public saw through their slick presentations and smoke and mirrors.

Candidates Focus

These three candidates are experienced educators running for the Greenburgh school board. Together, they have combined expertise spanning grades pre-K through 12. Their shared vision is to provide a robust educational experience that prepares all GCSD students for a life of learning and success.

Read more about these three solid candidates at:

https://educators4boe.org

List of the candidates: 
Eric Bitterman* - Former New Rochelle and current Scarsdale teacher
Antoinette Darden-Cintron** - Dean in NYC School System, Guidance Counselor
Kiana Washington - Ass’t. Principal NYC School System
Jamaal Thomas - n/a
Sarah Lazzari - n/a
Christine (Chris) Valin - n/a
Terry Williams***

* Former GCSD7 Board trustee 

** Incumbent (1 term)

*** 18-Yr incumbent, under review for violation of policies