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:
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***
In other words, teachers union reps v. parents.
ReplyDeleteClearly ABG has an ax to grind. "Not that there's anything wrong with that." But what I find disheartening is that ABG posing as being so close to the internal politics asserted by new blood now seated on the School Board, all we have learned from ABG is whom not to vote for (all unsubstantiated and again earning another "not that's there anything wrong with that") --but providing rather sparse information on reasons why re whom to vote for. In recent pieces aimed at prospective voters on this blog named "A Better Greenburgh", wouldn't it be reasonable to explain why voters should vote for the three names conveniently located first at the top of the list? What is even more curious with the balloting so close, is that for a blog purportedly concerned with student learning at the educational system they must attend, that ABG cannot or will not give readers any clue as to the bonafides of the three candidates listed below its personal faves. Are there backgrounds really not available which I find hard to believe for persons seeking to win an elective position. And writing about a topic which I admittedly have little prior knowledge of, I wonder whether there are any hindrances to a current or recent GCSD teacher seeking to join the School Board -- unless one of the three n/a's happens to belong to that caste. Logically I would expect at least one "insider" representing the yin and yang of teacher/student face offs would be a reasonable step in the right direction as well as fulfilling the quest for "new blood". Given my suspicion that neither the Scarsdale schools nor the NYC schools where the three favored candidates earn their daily bread are comparable to and face there the same problems as GCSD, I don't see from what is presented that their combined work history makes any extraordinary connection with the menu of GCSD problems which ABG goes to great lengths to remind its readers of.
ReplyDeleteFinally, seeking transparency is a constant problem for those involved in Greenburgh issues; why should the School Board be so determined to staunch any leaks which can only shed more light upon its problems. Thus when I read that a Trustee may have leaked information to the outside world and is under review for doing so, I tend to applaud anyone who disobeys internal rules meant to maintain secrecy. Likewise, ABG seems to be in possession of a great many tidbits of sourceless information which in turn reminds me of something about those who live in glass houses...