Category: Whitehall

The special election to determine the last seat on the school board due to a Board Member candidate tie in the regular election has now been finalized.

June 20, 2017 in the Jr/Sr High School Gymnasium from 2:00 PM – 8:00 PM.

To elect one (1) member of the Board of Education due to a Board Member candidate tie.

Michele M. Redmond
Roxanne Waters

The vote for the School Board Member will be by paper ballot or absentee ballot.

The vote totals from yesterday’s school district election:

Proposition 1 – Budget Proposition
Yes – 214
No – 50

Proposition 2 – Bus Proposition
Yes – 207
No – 54

Board Of Education Election (Top 5 candidates)

4 year seat for Jeremy Putorti – Resigned (immediate start) – Chris Dudley* 232 votes
3 year seat (July 1 start) – Richard LaChappelle* – 225 votes
3 year seat (July 1 start) – James Brooks* 208 votes
2 year seat for Tony Scrimo – Deceased (immediate start) – Jason Hoagland* 147 votes
2 year seat for Amy Austin – Resigned (immediate start) – (TIE) Michelle Redmond & Roxanne Waters 140 votes
TIE to be determined by special election

Virginia Rivette – 117 votes

*Winner

Below, I post a candidate interview with Michele Redmond, candidate for the school board. She is one of seven candidates running for five seats on the Whitehall School Board. Voting is Tuesday, May 16th. I mailed candidate questionnaires to all those running in this year’s election and will post their responses in the order received. Below are my questions and Ms. Redmond’’s responses.

1.) Could you please tell us about yourself and why you are running for the school board?

I was raised in Whitehall and currently live here with my husband and two children. I am a Registered Nurse and a Nationally Certified Diabetes Educator. I am very interested in the education that our students are receiving. Although I have already had one child graduate from Whitehall Jr. Sr. High School and I currently have a child in the ninth grade, I want to be directly involved in decisions that are being made that will ultimately benefit ALL the students at Whitehall Central School.

2.) The Whitehall school district has consistently been ranked in the lower half of Washington County school districts based on standardized test scores. What will you do to increase the test scores?

I would suggest that the school board members work closely with the Superintendent to develop a committee that will collaborate with local school districts that excel on these standardized tests.

3.) Many of the students educated in the Whitehall school district talk about leaving Whitehall once they graduate and going elsewhere to look for work. Does the school board have a responsibility to cut spending to make the local taxing climate more receptive to jobs and growth?

I don’t know that cutting spending is the answer, but being fiscally responsible is important. What might be a better option would be to create job shadowing/internship opportunities for our students with local businesses. I’m sure that many students, and community members, have no idea the many different job opportunities that are available in our area. Through this program, we many encourage our graduates to stay in Whitehall, or return to Whitehall in the future. Who knows, our graduates might open their own businesses and create more job opportunities in the future.

4.) The job market today is a highly competitive one. Should the school district be doing something that it is not already doing or should it be offering additional classes to see that its graduates have the skills and education necessary for success?

Whitehall Central School District has been offering college level classes through SUNY Adirondack for several years. Starting in the fall of 2017, they will be offering additional advanced classes in Science, Math and Business.

5.) Health insurance costs are increasing by 10.5 percent this year. What can realistically be done to keep this cost from rising so fast?

Whitehall Central School joined the BOCES consortium so that they could benefit from the best negotiated health insurance rate. The 10.5% increase is the rate that all schools in the consortium face this fall. Healthcare is expensive and until it is fixed on the national level, it is the reality that every employer faces.

6.) What is the biggest issue that children face today and what can the school board do to address it?

I turned to my children for their input on this question. One of their biggest concerns is that there is so much material that needs to be covered to prepare them for Common Core and Regents testing that students sometimes haven’t fully grasped a concept before they have to move on to the next concept. If a student doesn’t have a good grasp on the material before having to move on, they are more apt to do poorly. Perhaps the school board needs to take this perspective into consideration.

Editors Note: I would like to thank Ms. Redmond for her answers to my questions. I will post the other candidate’s responses in the order I receive them.

The minutes for the March and April school board meeting of the Whitehall Central School district are posted below.

March minutes.

April minutes.

Voting for five open seats on the school board, adoption of the annual school budget and a school bus purchase resolution will take place on Tuesday, May 16th between 12:00 noon and 9:00 pm at the Gymnasium of the Junior-Senior high school building on Buckley Road in Whitehall.

Under the proposed budget the school district is proposing to increase spending by $602,383 which represents an increase of 3.92 percent from this year. The tax levy is expected to rise 2.51 percent or $133,267 with the remainder coming from increases in state taxes.

Voters will also be asked to approve the purchase of two school buses, not to exceed the cost of $220,000.

I expect to be sending out questionnaires to all the candidates running for the school board in the next few days.

A public hearing will be held on Monday, May 8th at 6:00 pm for those with questions concerning the budget and/or vote.

Seven candidates have filed to run for the five school board seats up for election this year in the Whitehall Central School District. Those candidates are:

James Brooks
Chris Dudley
Jason Hoagland
Richard LaChappelle
Michele Redmond
Virginia Rivette
Roxanne Waters

More to come.

The minutes for the February school board meeting of the Whitehall Central School district were recently finalized. Here is a link to the February minutes.

Five school board seats will be up for election in 2017. School board President, Jeremy Putorti resigned in March, making a four-year seat available. Two other current members, James Brooks and Samantha Kingsley, will have their terms end this year. Those seats are three-year terms. Two two-year terms will also be up for a vote as Anthony Scrimo passed away and Any Austin resigned in 2016. Petitions of those seeking these seats must be returned to the district clerk by April 17th no later than 5:00 pm.

I will be covering these contests and will be sending out questionnaires to all those who enter the race. Stay tuned.

Yesterday’s vote to choose two members of the school board resulted in Jeremy Putorti and Hope Gordon winning five-year terms with 299 and 242 respective votes.

The other candidates gathered these totals:

Harold Nicholson, Jr. 194
Jade Martel 161
Virginia T. Rivette 102
Joseph Swahn 59
Anda Stipins-Gang 43

The proposition for shrinking the school board from nine (9) members to seven (7) members, failed with 213 “yes” and 372 “no” votes.

The proposition to make the term of school board members three (3) years instead of the current five (5) years starting at the next election, passed with 306 “yes” and 280 “no” votes.

The budget for the 2014-2015 school year passed with 483 “yes” votes and 93 “no” votes.

The proposition for buying a new school bus passed, with 461 “yes” and 116 “no” votes.

Harold Nicholson, Jr., candidate for the Whitehall School Board.

Today, I post a candidate interview with Harold Nicholson, Jr., candidate for the school board. He is one of seven candidates running for two seats on the Whitehall School Board. Voting is Tuesday, May 17th. I mailed candidate questionnaires to all those running in this year’s election and will post their responses in the order received. Below are my questions and Mr. Nicholson’s responses.

Could you please tell us about yourself and why you are running for the school board?

I have always felt a desire to help my community, I was born and raised in Gansevoort, but having lived in numerous places in the area, my wife and I settled in Whitehall and have made this our hometown. I am running for a number of reasons, I don’t represent any special interests other than the academic successes of all the students that attend Whitehall Central School District. I believe that we can return our school to the top, and that I am the man to help our school reach that goal. I am running for school board because although we are getting better, we are not even close to where we should be and I feel it is my responsibility to help.

When you were growing up, who was someone you really admired? Why did you admire them?

Growing up multiple individuals earned my admiration. I was surrounded by great people, tremendous civic pillars, but my most admired was Mr. Edward LaFave. Mr. LaFave was not merely my sixth grade teacher, but I had the pleasure to call him mentor. Mr. LaFave was the deputy mayor of the village of South Glens Falls for decades and ran the village with pride and decency for all those that lived in the village. He would listen to anyone that would come to him with problems or concerns and handled adversity with dignity and a level head. He still remains an active volunteer within the Boy Scouts of America and is an outspoken supporter of civic duty and pride in our country. Not only did Mr. LaFave teach those under him, but he also taught through example. He lives his life with an understanding that those around him are just as important as himself, and gives to those that have the least.

Name a leader on the state or national level that you think does a good job advocating to make things better for all of us? Why do you believe this?

This question goes to, what I believe, is one of the fundamental problems with our current governmental system. I don’t know of any particular leader that currently does what I would consider a great job advocating for the greater good. It is my belief that representatives don’t spend nearly enough time listening to their constituents and then following through with what is best for everyone. Senator Betty Little does one of the best jobs in our area. She actually listens to her constituents, and can actually be seen around town, at meetings, and making an effort for us. I have had the pleasure of knowing her for some years now and have seen her on a number of occasions remember individuals by name and can remember what it was she helped them with. The problem with attempting to make things better for everyone is that sometimes that makes things worse for some and better for others. The goal is finding a balance and not unduly burdening one group for the benefit of the whole.

From the 2004-2005 school year until the 2014-2015 school year, total enrollment has declined from 885 students to 736 students. However, the property tax levy increased every one of these years. How will you be an advocate for the taxpayers of the district?

The issue of taxes, especially for the Town of Dresden, as it pertains to the school has been an issue for a number of years, but it is an issue that is all too frequently felt the hardest by those that do not have the ability to pay. There are a number of programs that the school could invest in that would decrease overall expenses. The first would be to look into alternative energy sources. Current solar technology has greatly surpassed my expectations and decreasing operating costs would only be prudent. Tying into that idea the replacement of our aging heating and cooling system would also yield major benefits. The current efficiency ratings for our systems are too low to sustain. Another way of decreasing the tax bill is to stop excess. Wasteful spending is always an issue, and curtailing that my fiduciary responsibility. I would love to see our school be at the forefront of STEAM style learning, and by doing that we can actually make money for our school by charging other schools for our services, including distance learning.

The area that encompasses the Whitehall School district is experiencing serious economic challenges. How would you work on the school board to address these challenges? Do you believe there is a correlation between higher spending, rising property taxes and economic decline?

There is a direct correlation between the quality of the school in a district and the area’s attractiveness for home-buyers and business. We are in a strategic place to grow and need to capitalize on all our opportunities. Creating a strong school will bring more home-buyers and more home-buyers will bring more business. What we need to create though is a balance between strengthening our school and not overburdening our citizens. We need to streamline our spending, make sure our students are receiving the services they need, remove gaps in our curriculum and maintain our facilities in a way to reduce spending.

What is your favorite book? Why do you like it?

I don’t have a favorite book per se, but I rather enjoy dramas and mysteries. I just recently re-read Dan Brown’s Inferno ahead of the movie release. I enjoy stories that make you think, and are full of twists and turns. There is nothing like a good mystery to stimulate your brain.

Editors Note: I would like to thank Mr. Nicholson for his answers to my questions. I will post the other candidate’s responses in the order I receive them.