Editor, The Spotlight;
The Voorheesville Central School District elections for Board of Education this year present the voters with a wonderful situation: four candidates running to fill two seats on the Board of Education. I am very happy that so many candidates are willing to serve our district. I am writing to thank all for running and to express my support for one of the newest candidates. Stephen Giordano has very recently joined the race, and I believe he would be an excellent addition to the Board.
Stephen and his wife Susan have lived in the VHS school district for nearly 25 years. Stephen is a Psychologist with almost 25 years of experience, who currently serves as the Albany County Mental Hygiene Commissioner/Director. In this capacity, he manages a multi-million dollar budget, leads a department of close to 100 staff and oversees the delivery of mental health services in the county. He has experience teaching at UAlbany as an adjunct clinical professor. He has served our town on the New Scotland Ethics Board and has served with me on the Voorheesville Community Alliance for Healthy Choices (formerly the VCSD Risk Behavior Task Force). He has a son in the 11th grade at VHS: an honors student who I have had the pleasure of cheering on in his basketball and baseball endeavors.
In all of my interactions with Stephen (as a parent, active community member, and committee member), I have found him to be willing to listen to all viewpoints, thoughtful and measured in his responses, level-headed, intelligent and fair. His work overseeing a large governmental agency has given him the experience necessary to effectively contribute to the Board’s budgetary and personnel responsibilities. He wants to serve as a conduit between the needs of the students/staff and the needs of the citizen taxpayer, and I am certain that he will be able to strike a fair balance in this role.
On Monday night, May 18, at 7 p.m., in the Performing Arts Center at the High School, the Voorheesville PTA will be holding a Board of Education Candidate Forum to give you an opportunity to hear from all of the candidates and ask them questions. I hope many voters will come out to meet the candidates in person and learn about the issues facing the Board of Education.
This year’s budget and Board of Education voting will be held on Tuesday, May 19. Please consider joining me in supporting Stephen Giordano for the VCSD Board of Education with your vote.
Laura Minnick
Voorheesville