An open letter to the Warwick Valley CSD Board Of Education
I am grateful that next year s school budget has passed and am excited to see new faces on the Board of Education. Your experiences, background and diversity have the potential to create a new culture of openness, creativity and collaboration. I d like to share my perspective of the past several years with the hope that it will provide you with the understanding of many residents and inspire you to do things differently.
We need a culture of honesty and transparency. Paul Caskey’s resignation was announced immediately following the tally of the BOE election. On the spot, the existing BOE members decided to allow the candidate with the fourth highest number of votes to fill his seat and finish his term. I’m sure that all of the candidates will do a wonderful job, but the announcement of Mr. Caskey s resignation was poorly timed and lends itself to scrutiny.
Shannon Hockswender seems like a great candidate with a lot to offer. Her educational background should be a huge asset to our board. It saddens me to see that the way she took office will be marred with controversy.
We need consistency. The BOE has been very inconsistent in their decision making process and appear to make arbitrary decisions. The BOE elected to close Pine Island, regardless of the impact it would have on business and real estate in the Pine Island region because it was the older, smaller school. As a result, we have seen that area suffer a disproportionate decline in real estate transactions and business starts. When they elected to close Kings, they seemed to cave to the Warwick Village Chamber of Commerce, which Dr. Bryant sits on as a Board Member and decided to close the newer, larger school. They did this knowing it would cost more in transportation costs and operating costs and worst of all put the building over capacity, which was strongly discouraged by the independent census study.
We need strong, pragmatic long-range planners that will make enduring decisions. During better economic times, it was decided to build a grand, state of the art, elementary school. While the dramatic economic downturn could not have been predicted, it was negligent to presume infinite prosperity of the economy and Warwick real estate market. Building Sanfordville was one of the greatest mistakes our District made. Sanfordville s price tag and oversizing is what is ultimately causing two District owned buildings to sit vacant and cause the outskirt students to become underserved by our district.
We need openness and collaboration. As residents, we are continually asked to participate in the process, but these invitations have historically been inauthentic. Since 2007, I have been attending numerous meetings, Saturday planning sessions and surveys. I have continually signed up for 20/20 sub-committees and requested participation in the district-wide compact team. To date, I have never once been contacted for any of these committees or teams. The only way to come up with solutions to the continued challenges and burden facing our schools is through creative new ideas. The more people involved, the more likely to develop fresh ideas and programs and a strong volunteer pool from which to draw.
As this new Board comes together you will be crafting a plan for our future. You face huge challenges. As a Board you will have to address the economic crisis facing all New York schools. That combined with the District specific challenges like reduction in enrollment, increase in local drug use, and the selection of a new Superintendent will make your job very difficult. I value your service to our students and our community. You give up time with your family and jobs to serve the district. This is a sacrifice that few people are willing to make. Please recognize that you are not alone. A culture of honesty and transparency inspire others to help. We all want the best for Warwick Valley students. I m confident that we can get through this if the Board of Education and the community begin to view each other as partners that should be heard, considered and involved.
Connie Wright
Chester