Siren Chudgar and incumbent Ann Foster look for your vote in N. Colonie election
The vote on school district budgets is Tuesday, May 17, which is not too far away, but also on that day district residents will be able to vote in members of the Board of Education.
In North Colonie Central School District, two candidates are running unopposed for their positions, but they are still going to be looking for the public’s votes. One of them is Siren Chudgar, who has two children that attend Forts Ferry Elementary School, and is the PTA Council President.
He has been at many of the Board of Education meetings and nearly all of the budget forums the district had held. Keeping informed is something that is important to Chudgar, and after a few years of attending meetings, he felt it was the right time to take a more active role.
I feel like it is the right time for me to step forward and really volunteer my time at a different level for the benefit of all the students in North Colonie, he said. `I really want to work hard with the board members and the administration, to ensure that we provide all our children with the best education possible and do it in a manner that is fiscally prudent and responsible.`
He said he plans to work hard on the budget and recognizes that it most likely won’t be any easier. As the district began the budget process in October, he commended the board for hearing many of the district’s parents’ concerns very early on.
`This is a board of education and an administration that listens to parents voice their opinions and concerns on a variety of issues and I think that connection with our parents is very important,` he said. `If the superintendent suggests next year that we do that again, I would be fully supportive of getting out ahead of it again next year.`
Chugar was even a student in the North Colonie Central School District, graduating from Shaker High School and moving onto Clarkson University. From there, he went to SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse for his Medical degree, as he said he wanted to use his science skills in a different venue, along with interacting and helping people. He is now the medical director at WellPoint for the past four years.
Ending back in the North Colonie district, Chudgar said he loves the district and said it is a great place to raise a family. He said by becoming a board member, he hopes to preserve that.
He said just being a parent now he doesn’t know what cuts or where money should have been spent. Something he hopes to learn when he takes the position.
`You don’t know all of the details,` he said. `You don’t know what’s contractually obligated and what’s not.`
One veteran who is running for reelection is Ann Foster. She graduated from Siena College with an accountant degree and went on to work for KPMG as a certified public accountant.
With five years of experience on the board, Foster has been the Chair of the budget committee. Which with this past year’s budget, it is not the easiest of jobs. But with her background as a Certified Public Accountant and working in the New York State Division of Budget, she said she was prepared to deal with the challenges.
`That was very challenging to say the least,` she said of her time in the state budget division. `The problem the district faced was similar, but is on a much grander scale in the state. I feel these problems we face will continue until the economy turns around.`
She said if state aid doesn’t improve next year that the district will have to begin making some more difficult decision. While this year they did some staffing cuts and had to close Maplewood Elementary School, a choice which she agreed with based on the lack of resident students, she said all areas will have to sacrifice.
`I think the challenge of it is how to preserve the instructional programming without taking deep cuts,` she said, adding that the district needs to look at recurring changes. `I think we need to look at everything. We have to choose what is best for the district in balancing all its needs.`
Foster has two daughters attending Shaker High School, which she said five her an added interest in the well-being of the district.
`Obviously with having children in the district, I’m not only concerned about my children but I’m concerned for all of the children,` she said. `I’m giving it my best.
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