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GREENBURGH, N.Y. – Voters will have plenty of school board candidates to choose from when they hit the polls next week in Greenburgh.
Contenders vying for a seat on the Greenburgh Central School District 7 Board of Education include political newcomers, seasoned veterans, a New York City school administrator, a former scientist, a PTA president and a former town council member.
In total, 10 candidates will be on the May 15 ticket hoping to secure one of three, three -year terms on the board. Nine of the potential trustees introduced themselves to the community in a meet-and-greet session at the Woodlands High School cafeteria Wednesday.
Susan Penchansky, one of the candidates, was not able to attend the session due to a family death.
While each of the candidates said they had different reasons for why they should be elected or what they plan to do if chosen by voters, all agreed they were there for one reason.
“All of us at this table share a passion for public education,” candidate Eric Bitterman said.
The three current board members whose terms are set to expire, President Terry Williams and Trustees Cora Carey and Charles Bronz, are all seeking reelection.
The seven challengers Penchansky, Bitterman, Sonja Brown, Milena Din, Jacqueline Hoeger, Min Hong and Amy Huang, are all hoping to take a seat on the board.
For two hours the group gave their pitch as to why they should be the ones chosen by voters and outlined their goals for Greenburgh. All of the six challengers, who have children within the district, said their experience either working in a school system or volunteering in a variety of school functions helped prepare them for a term on the board.
“Everyone has to be given an opportunity to start somewhere,” Hong said. “I think this can be my opportunity.”
The three incumbents stressed a need for stability and experience on the board as the district goes through what they called a critical juncture.
“I believe that you need experienced people at this time on this board basically because we want to continue the good work we started,” Carey said. “Board members in training need to come later when we’ve established our goal.”
The vote is set for May 15 at Woodlands High School.
Comments (4)
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GC7 PTA Candidates Night * May 9, 2012
The incumbents have to go! They are part of the problem, just like career politicians. Everybody should come out and vote to cut whatever is necessary to keep our taxes from going up yet again.
WPEyes and Ears, the district gave several informationals for the community and parents on the budget. During one session, i learned that taxes will go up for every tax payer whether the budget passes or not. Many are misinformed in thinking no budget means no tax hike. Not true. This article is about the 10 candidates for 3 BOE seats, not the budget....We all have our favorite candidate but be clear that taxes will increase regardless of budget or BOE trustee.
Matt!! I was anxiously awaiting your write up of tonights event! Thank you for continuing to cover the excellence in our district!
It's very telling to see 10 Greenburgh residents as candidates for our school district! It means the time is now, NOW is the time our district will receive the support, funding and positive publicity we deserve! Everyone wants in on the action....
The incumbents (Williams, Carey and Bronz) aren't too tired of meetings and committees to request another 3 years of service to the district. They each talked about wanting to continue the momentum they have as a board and the desire to continue serving and working within the district to help our children achieve their goals. They cited things they've alredy done over the course of their terms as board members, a slight advantage they have over the "newbies".
The moms, Huang, Hoeger and Din talked about being mothers of multiple children in the district, their experiences and their desire to focus on academic achievement and their hard work on PTAs. They've been at Bord of Education meetings asking questions and have "put their money where their mouth is" by getting on the ticket for a seat of their own.
Brown, Bitterman and Hong discussed how their professional experiences added to their desire to be on the board. As a past Town of Greenburgh Board member, public school teacher/co-op board president and public school administrator respectively, they each bring along assets to the candidate list. Although "newbies" they're each fiery in their own way.
Of course I have my favorites. However, every one of them feels called to serve this district. Every one of them spoke from the heart. I'm grateful to see so much love for our kids!
This will be a race for the record folks! Keep your eye on GC7....we're doing big things, big things are coming!