ce on the South Colonie Central School District Board of Education, Vernon Fonda has resigned from the board.
Fonda’s resignation, which comes mid-term, is due to personal responsibilities he said needed to come before his position as board member. But his 14 years of service were marked by achievements and, at times, tough decisions, he said.
Fonda said that before joining the board, he never really had any appreciation for what a board member does.
You have to be extremely committed to it, he said.
As Fonda explained, when running in an election for a school board seat, one runs to be on the board and not for a specific position. Fonda first ran in 1993 and described the election as `a very heated atmosphere.`
Fonda recalled a school board atmosphere in which many members of the community wanted to be on the board to help build the decisions that would shape the school district.
`Looking back on that particular episode in my board career, that was quite an experience,` he said. `I think probably over 3,000 people voted in that election.`
When he first got elected, Fonda said he had a plan: to serve two five-year terms on the board — long enough to be able to sit on the stage as both of his children graduated.
His daughter was a senior at Colonie Central High School the year he got elected.
But Fonda’s plan did not go exactly the way he had expected.
`That was my plan ` to do two terms. But the end of my second term was around the time [Superintendent of Schools] Tom Brown was retiring, so I stayed on to be a part of my search process,` Fonda said.
Fonda described the search for Brown’s replacement as one of the most difficult challenges he had to face on the board.
`Finding a replacement for Tom Brown was a very, very difficult decision for me,` said Fonda. `Tom was a great guy. He just brought that philosophy to school that you want to do what’s best for the kids and understanding what your community is capable of. Tom always had a very, very real understanding of what the students needs are and what the community’s ability was to balance those needs. He set the bar pretty high.`
But eventually, the board came to choose Superintendent of Schools Michael Marcelle, who retired this year. Fonda remained on the district as they chose a new Superintendent Jonathan Buhner.
`When I met with him, he had served the board for many years, and the community too,` said Buhner. `He’s done a lot for the South Colonie community.`
Buhner said the position Fonda is leaving is one that requires an intensive time commitment, but that the district appreciates the time Fonda has given and that he will be missed.
To fill Fonda’s seat, Buhner said the Board of Education is weighing their options and has not yet made a decision about whether to fill the position now, or when the term expires at the end of the year. Buhner said this will be decided by the board within the next few meetings.
But while the school board is determining the fate of Fonda’s seat, Fonda is looking back on his memories as a school board member, and said he is proud of the difference he made in his time with the district.
`When you’re a coach on a Little League team or a Pop Warner team, you have an impact on the 10 kids that are your team,` he said. `When you’re a school board member, you have the potential to have an impact on the 5,800 students that are in our district.`
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