Warwick School Board candidates answer ‘Green Screen’ questions

Sustainable Warwick recently conducted “Green Screen” interviews with the five candidates running this year for three positions on the Warwick Valley School Board. The objective is to get the candidates positions on environmental issues that affect the schools and this year two questions were posed:

1. What are your thoughts on the school lunch program and the possibility of incorporating more local produce?

2. Would you encourage the School District to better provide more information, perhaps an annual report about the financial and environmental benefits of existing programs like the District’s solar array, as well as other environmental issues like the transition to electric buses, battery storage issues, and more.

There are three incumbents running this year, Bob Howe, Dory Masefield and John Garcia, as well as 2 challengers, Melanie Kolacy, and Bob Larsen. Here are their responses to the Green Screen questions:

Robert (Bob) Howe:

1. The high and middle schools had withdrawn from the federal Lunch programs, specifically so that they could provide more nutritious local food. Governor Hochul has just made school lunches free for all, but the School Board is still working with Cornell Co-operative to boost the nutritional aspects of the federal program.

2. The environmental achievements of the Warwick schools are many — upgrading the school bus fleet, zero electric bills due to the Solar array, recycling events like clothing swop meets and in -classroom recycling activities etc. These are all posted on the dchool website but more could be done to promote the huge success of these initiatives, maybe with an annual report on the success stories and on-going progress on environmental issues.

Dory Masefield:

1. The district currently seeks to integrate local produce into the lunch program where possible, based on seasonal availability. I would support any policies that continue to build on these initiatives.

2. I would definitely continue to encourage the district to highlight the important environmental initiatives that our district has made in the recent years, including the solar array which is the largest school-owned array in New York State. Solar array data is also available for teachers to use in classrooms, so that students are aware of these benefits.

John Garcia:

1. We bring in as much local food as we can. However, we need to provide food that the kids will eat and not throw away.

2. In Warwick we are proud of our solar field and proud of our beautification programs. Today’s kids are interested in preserving our environment. I am concerned about funding for electric buses and worried that we have five routes that exceed an electric bus’s range. We should be getting the word out about our successes and our on-going concerns.

Melanie Kolacy:

1. I reached out to food services and they said they are now sourcing fresh food from Goshen. We should be publicizing more of the good things, maybe even highlight a ‘harvest of the month’ food.

2. I don’t think anyone really knows about much besides the solar field since that’s the most visible. More easily understandable info on the benefits would be helpful.

Bob Larsen:

1. I fully support the district providing free lunch, as it’s an important benefit for families and I support integrating local produce whenever it is practical and cost-effective and aligns with what students actually eat. That’s a win for both students and the community.

2. Yes, I would absolutely support increased transparency in this area. If the district is investing in initiatives such as solar energy, battery storage, and operational efficiencies, both taxpayers and students should clearly understand the benefits. I believe this information should be communicated in a way that is clear, accessible, and easy to understand so the community can fully appreciate the impact of these investments.