For schoolchildren, the November elections will be especially important.
Four of the seven seats on the Syracuse Board of Education are up for election. All the members on the board are Democrats. All four incumbents say they will run again. The incumbents are Ned Deuel, Laurie Menkin, Calvin Corriders, and Nancy McCarty. They will face some tough issues in the elections. Those issues are finding more money, the district-wide school-renovation project, and improvement of student achievement.
Here’s where the candidates stand on the main issues that you will decide on in November elections:
Lack of funding, dilapidated school buildings, and poor student performance are problems in many of the schools in the Syracuse City School District. Members of the Syracuse Board of Education say they want to draw attention to these issues as they run for reelection. So far, there is only one potential challenger to the incumbents. Edward McLaughlin was the last Republican elected to the board. He says he may run as a Republican again. But many Republicans fear they don’t have much of a chance of winning. In the city of Syracuse, Democrats outnumber Republicans three to one.
“So it would be a kamikaze or suicide mission.” (Edward McLaughlin)
But one thing Republicans, Democrats, parents, and teachers all agree on is the need to find more money for the schools. The Board of Education’s budget for next year falls twenty-million dollars short of what is needed. Bob Gardino is the president of school advocacy group Parents for Public Schools. He translates the meaning of the budget shortfall:
“Twenty-one million dollars short means a lot of less people in the building. Nurses spread out, social workers not hired in some schools, teacher assistants not in every class that might be needed, less custodians, less equipment, less books that are new.” (Bob Gardino)
Kate McKenna is president of the Syracuse Teachers Association. And she agrees with Gardino that if the district cannot find more money, the board will have to make many more cuts.
“We’ve been cutting programs for the last ten years. We cut our program for young infants and mothers- young moms could stay in school. We have severely trimmed back the extended learning day program for high schools. About 200 teaching assistants have been laid off in the past several years, which means fewer services directly to the kids.” (Kate McKenna)
These cuts are a very real possibility. Education commissioners Calvin Corriders and Laurie Menkin acknowledge that unless the district gets more money, the result will be significant cuts.
“We have one tool at our disposal and that’s cutting costs.” (Calvin Corriders)
“We’re probably going to be reducing about 60 teaching positions. We’re going to be reducing reading programs. We’re going to be eliminating special education teachers, extra teachers that provide support for new teachers.” (Laurie Menkin)
Ned Deuel is the Syracuse Board of Education president. He says the commissioners are not making much progress on getting more money.
“We can only beg to get money from the federal, state, and local governments.” (Ned Deuel)
Nancy McCarty agrees the board members need to continue to petition the state legislature in Albany and the Common Council to get more money.
“We are lobbying the governor and the leg for more dollars.” (Nancy McCarty)
But McKenna from the Syracuse Teachers Association suggests stronger action.
“They are constitutionally bound to provide a sound-based education, and the district is not getting that support from the state. I think our district should be filing a lawsuit against the state.” (McKenna)
Education commissioner Calvin Corriders says suing the state is unlikely at this point.
“It’s an approach that we’ve talked about. We’re optimistic with the new governor that it’s not something we need to do, but if this dilemma persists, I think it’s a conversation we are going to have to have.” (Corriders)
Another major issue that will come into play in the elections is the district-wide school renovation project. It is a 225-million-dollar, 10-year undertaking to renovate all of the schools in the Syracuse City School District. The money is separate from the district’s annual budget. And the state funds the majority of the money for the program. Education commissioner Nancy McCarty says many of the schools need new windows and insulation.
“The problem is the windows are single-paned. When I tutor in the cold weather, I can feel the cold air getting in. What we need to have is better energy appropriate windows, which will save us a ton of money in energy costs.” (McCarty)
The commissioners also say the schools need new heating systems and wiring. Central Tech, H.W. Smith Elementary, Blodget Elementary, and Fowler High School are just a few of the first schools to be renovated. Education commissioners Corriders, Menkin, and McCarty are members of the Joint Schools Construction Board. The construction board is in charge of the entire renovation project. Deuel says the problem with getting the renovation started is butting heads between the members of the construction board.
“You’ve got people from the city and people from the school board, and they always don’t agree. The city isn’t used to doing school construction, but they want their people, their engineers to be the controlling factor, and that’s slowed the process down.” (Deuel)
But commissioner Menkin says they are making progress.
“We have a board that is working to hire competent people to oversee the construction of seven schools and we expect construction to begin in a year and a half.” (Menkin)
Once people are chosen for the project, the commissioners must make choices about what improvements to make to the schools. A major part of the renovation is making the schools go green. Commissioners McCarty and Deuel want the schools to be energy efficient.
“I led the charge to make sure one of our architects went to Florida for an energy conference on construction and reconstruction.” (McCarty)
“We’re thinking about using solar or wind power when possible. There’s a new phenomenon that’s occurring now where gardens are built on roofs- helps keep them cool in the summer and then warm in the winter.” (Corriders)
In addition to finding more money and the renovation of schools project, one other issue will be important in the upcoming elections. It is improving student achievement. Syracuse has five schools under state review for low state test scores. Those schools are Fowler High School, Seymour Magnet, Elmwood Elementary, Clary Magnet, and Applied Science Magnet at Martin Luther King Community School.
The district has even more schools under review under No Child Left Behind. That means, if the schools cannot meet the improvement standards set by the state or federal government, they will be closed. Shea Middle School is being phased out because of failure to meet state improvement standards. The budget shortfall affects the ability to make improvements.
Ann Grace is a Levy Middle School parent. She worries about the school district’s ability to improve student achievement.
“The kids are just going to hurt more and more cause now they’re going to start cutting teachers and programs, and some of these kids need that attention.” (Ann Grace)
But Grace insists that the problem is not just with the schools.
“I just think the kids have no ambition. They don’t have that role model. When you have a certain amount of kids like that in the classroom, it affects how the other kids are learning.” (Grace)
Education commissioner Corriders also worries about Grace’s concerns.
“We can redouble our efforts with our parents. Try to get them actively involved where they are encouraging and supporting their children at a level more so than before and mother, father, uncle, cousin, grandparents, neighbor, anyone who’s actively engaged with the children’s education.” (Corriders)
In addition to getting parents involved, commissioner Menkin wants to see more action taken in the classroom.
“We can work to make sure the instruction is delivered in a way that all students can master the lesson plan. We have to provide more opportunities for after-school tutoring. We need to look at a longer school day to provide more time for instruction and assistance.” (Menkin)
The board members have some specific proposals to help improve student achievement. The board wants to make Kindergarten for six-year-olds a full-day program instead of half. They also want to create more pre-Kindergarten classes. Commissioner McCarty says more opportunities earlier on are essential.
“I tutor third-graders, and if you get ‘em there, and get them excited about learning, you’ve got ‘em!” (McCarty)
Commissioners acknowledge there is still a lot of work to be done in the area of student achievement. But commissioner Deuel says the Board of Education has already taken steps to improve student achievement.
“One of the things we did this year was we bought a test system, which will allow teachers to test their kids with tests where you’re really assessing what skills the kids have.” (Deuel)
The teachers can use these tests to see where individual students need additional help before the state exams. Finding more money, the renovation of schools project, and improving student achievement are just a few of the issues the members of the Syracuse Board of Education will be facing in the upcoming elections.
Just a reminder: the Democratic incumbents are President Ned Deuel, Vice President Laurie Menkin, Calvin Corriders, and Nancy McCarty. There are not any confirmed challengers from Democrats or Republicans yet. Potential candidates have until June to decide to run. In June, all candidates will circulate their petitions around Syracuse to get the signatures needed to get on the ballot. By July, we will know the official candidates for the Syracuse Board of Education. The election is November 6.
(Katie Gibas is a sophomore broadcast journalism major)
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