The Spotlight sent out a questionnaire to all school board candidates running in the Tuesday May 18 elections. Each candidate was asked to provide a short biography, answer four questions, and provide a free response on any topic. The six candidates below will be vying for four seats on the school board. The three candidates will the most votes will be elected to full 3 year terms, while the candidate that comes in 4th place will be elected to a one year term, to complete the term of deceased member John Dornbush. Emilio Genzano, who is currently running for the first time, was appointed by the board last year to fill the seat left vacant.
Barbara Fraterrigo
Biography:
Barbara Fraterrigo and her husband, Philip, are the proud parents of five children, Philip, Michael, David, Lynn and Kerri-Ann. All are Guilderland graduates. Mrs. Fraterrigo is a graduate of Emmanuel College in Boston where she majored in biology and chemistry and minored in secondary education. She has shared her enthusiasm for sports with the youth of our community by managing and coaching baseball, softball and CYO and GBA basketball over a 20-year period. Mrs. Fraterrigo currently serves on the Guilderland Public Library Board and the School Board and is a communicant of Christ the King Church.
What Motivated You To Run for the School Board? I’m offering to serve another term on the Board because of a true desire to give back to a community that I have called home for thirty-eight years. A good education is the greatest gift that a community can give its children. My children benefited greatly and I’d like to continue our tradition of excellence. I have served on the Board since 1997 and believe that I have demonstrated an ability to serve the needs of our students while being ever mindful of the ability of the taxpayer to foot the bill. I have the ability to listen with an open mind to all sides of an issue before reaching a conclusion.
If elected, what do you hope to accomplish? Working with my fellow Board colleagues, I hope to hire a superintendent that will lead our district to even greater excellence. I will continue to advocate for open lines of communication between the Board and our fellow citizens, teachers, support staff and administrators. In addition, I would continue to stress fiscal responsibility.
What is your opinion of the 2010-11 school budget? This was the most difficult budget that I have had to face since I began serving on the Board in 1997. Fiscal realities being what they were, our administration was forced to present substantial cuts in programs and personnel. I do hope our voters will support our proposal.
Free response. Take 50 words to say anything you’d like on any topic. I have truly enjoyed serving my community as a school board member. If re-elected, my fellow citizens will certainly know that I will exert my best effort to preserve our great programs while watching our expenditures. By all accounts next year will be even more difficult and require the loss of many non-mandated services.
Allan Simpson
Biography: (no comment)
What motivated you to run for school board?
I am running for the board because I feel the board could use a business person’s perspective especially during these difficult economic times.
What skill set do you bring to the board?
My skills are 30+ years of working in finance, accounting and budgeting.
If elected, what do you hope to accomplish?
I would like to maintain Guilderland’s high quality of education. This will be difficult considering the current and projected economic climate. I feel I can offer a different perspective to the challenges that face us ahead.
What is you opinion of the 2010-11 school budget?
I am disappointed with the current budgeted spending plan. I do not agree with deferring the interest payments related to the bonds for six months. The budget should have either been increased to make the payment as scheduled or other expenses should have been looked at to be reduced in order to make the payments as scheduled.
Free response. Take 50 words to say anything you’d like on any topic. (no comment)
Emilio Genzano
Biography:
I have been a resident of the district for over twenty years and have been an active community member in youth and school activities. My wife and I have three children, Emilio Jr. (2009 Graduate), Joseph (Special Needs) and Maria (Westmere). I am presently employed at Albany Medical center as the assistant Vice President of Engineering and Construction. My background includes over twenty years of commercial construction experience, construction planning and budget control and reporting. As a father of three children I understand that a good and appropriate education can be attained regardless of the level of ability or disability. I have served on the Guilderland Pop warner board for ten years and assisted in the formation of the Guilderland Challenger Football Division for children with disabilities.
What motivated you to run for school board? Share my background and experiences in the vision of our district.
What skill set do you bring to the board? The ability to listen with a broad range of community background from youth and school organizations.
If elected, what do you hope to accomplish? My hope is to work with the board as a whole so we converse with our diverse backgrounds and come to a unified and complete resolution.
What is you opinion of the 2010-11 school budget? The 2010-11 budget is one of transition. We have to remain focused on the results of our decisions in preparation for next year’s challenges.
Free response. Take 50 words to say anything you’d like on any topic.
As an appointed member my first six months have been all I could have imagined. Listening to all the different perspectives has given me a unique look at our community. The word tradition has many meanings. Our challenge as a board is to exhibit respect for each of the traditions presented to us and foster them into a positive direction for our district. The children are our future and we are obligated to provide them the ability to develop sound decision making skills, respect for themselves and others and becoming good citizens.
Colleen O’Connell
Biography:
My name is Colleen O’Connell and I have been a resident of Guilderland for fifteen years. My husband is Joe Scott, a municipal finance attorney. We have three children, Hannah, a senior, Nate, a junior at the high school and Noah, an eighth grader at the middle school. I graduated from Hamilton College and the University of Connecticut School of Law and practiced for 18 years as a civil trial attorney. I have been active in various PTAs, the cross country running and girls lacrosse booster clubs, St. Madeleine Sophie finance council and teaching religion for St. Madeleine Sophie.
What motivated you to run for school board? After 4 years on Citizens Budget Committee, I wanted to contribute something more to the district and ran in 2004. There is a significant learning curve in this position. I believe with my six years of experience, I can contribute to the district especially with respect to the new superintendent.
What skill set do you bring to the board? I believe I am an attentive listener whether involving our administration, presenters at public meetings or listening to concerned constituents on the telephone. As a former trial attorney, I believe I am a critical thinker and that I ask fair yet probing questions so as to resolve and explain issues.
If elected, what do you hope to accomplish? My first priority would be to help orient our new superintendent and assist in his or her transition to this key position. The more our new superintendent understands our Guilderland culture and expectations, the more successful he or she will be.
What is you opinion of the 2010-11 school budget? In unprecedented times, the district put together a budget that kept as much program as possible while keeping the tax rate down. I am proud of how transparent the process is, that the proposed budget was vetted by Citizens Budget and commented on by public comment and hundreds of emails.
Free response. Take 50 words to say anything you’d like on any topic. I take the BOE commitment very seriously and am proud of my near perfect attendance record over the past six years: attending BOE meetings, liaison PTA schools and two committees I currently chair, audit and superintendent search. If fortunate enough to be reelected, I will continue this level of commitment.
Elijah Sharma
Biography:
I attended Westmere Elementary School, Farnsworth Middle School, and graduated from the Guilderland High School Class of 2009. I am currently enrolled at Hudson Valley Community College and am pursuing a degree in Political Science. I plan to complete my degree at SUNY Albany. Throughout my years in the Guilderland Central School District I was involved in student government and served as vice president of the Guilderland Class of 2009. I believe in the value of athletics and healthy living and worked for years to get my black belt in Tae Kwon Do. I live in Altamont, New York with my parents and my baby sister Grace.
What motivated you to run for school board? People need choices and I offer a real choice. I couldn’t just sit by and watch as the board of education destroyed special education, sports, and ignore the people they represent. Guilderland empowered me to succeed and now I want to do the same for our district.
What skill set do you bring to the board? I am a product of the Guilderland education and I known how successful it is. I know how drastic and harmful the cuts in this budget are and I know they are unnecessary. There is waste in the proposed budget and I will be brave enough to cut the waste and protect the classroom.
If elected, what do you hope to accomplish? I will immediately work to make the board more transparent and accountable, and work to begin restoring the cuts to special education and sports. I want to focus on decreasing class sizes in the elementary school, removing waste from the budget, and preserving Guilderland’s hard-earned reputation.
What is you opinion of the 2010-11 school budget? I support this budget because voting it down would not be in the best interest of the students. However, the board of education put Guilderland voters in an unfair place by presenting them with a mediocre budget that cuts away at special education, sports, and hurts students.
Free response. Take 50 words to say anything you’d like on any topic. The cuts to cheerleading and other sports are offensive to me. I am disgusted that Barbara Fraterrigo’s motion to restore these valuable programs was voted down by the three incumbents running for re-election. Obviously they have forgotten the priorities of this district. I commend Barbara Fraterrigo and Julie Cuneo for their bravery and dedication to the community.
Gloria Towle-Hilt
Biography:
Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY I came upstate to attend the UAlbany from which I graduated with a BA and MA in Secondary Social Studies Education. After a summer studying in West Africa, I began my teaching career at Farnsworth Middle School in Guilderland. My husband and I were granted a leave Central Africa from 1976-78. We have two children, both of whom graduated from Guilderland. After 37 years, I retired from the Guilderland District in 2007 and ran for the Board of Education. I work part time as a Supervisor of Student Teachers for the College of St. Rose. I have a number of volunteer activities. I run a soup kitchen in the south end of Albany. I am an active member of my church, St. Madeleine Sophie, as Chair of the Pastoral Council and Christian Service Committee, lector, and Eucharistic minister. I also serve as a member of the Executive Board for the Capital District Council for the Social Studies.
What motivated you to run for school board? I had the honor of working as a seventh grade social studies teacher in at the middle school in Guilderland for 37 years. When I made the decision to retire, I also thought that serving on the Board of Education would give me the opportunity to continue as an active participant in the educational process. I would be able to give back to a community which supported me in my professional life.
What skill set do you bring to the board? I am a trained and experienced educator. I have lived the history of this district for 40 years. I have lots of experienced in working in a shared-decision-making environment.
If elected, what do you hope to accomplish? I hope to work with my fellow board members to provide the best possible education for our students and thus make our community a better place. I do not come with a personal agenda.
What is you opinion of the 2010-11 school budget? I support the proposed budget. I feel it represents the concerns expressed by the community through the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee as well as the best thinking of our staff. Given the tough economic climate, we have had to come to grips with the fact that we can not longer provide everything we may want but instead need to prioritize and make choices. This budget represents that new thinking.
Free response. Take 50 words to say anything you’d like on any topic. As I complete my first term on the Board, I am extremely grateful to my colleagues from whom I have learned so much. I am proud of the work we have accomplished and the fact that we do so in a respectful and conscientious manner.
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