Greene County school districts prepare for BOE elections

Cairo-Durham

Cairo-Durham Central School District’s school board has four candidates looking to fill three three-year seats, as the terms of incumbent board members Brian Coletti, Elizabeth Daly and Christopher O’Connell are set to expire June 30.

Along with Coletti’s, Daly’s and O’Connell’s reelection bids, longtime county and current Cairo resident Matthew Maraglio is looking to unseat one incumbent and take a spot on the board.

Daly, the board president and a middle school guidance counselor in the Catskill Central School District, has served on the Board of Education since 2012.

As a board member, Daly has faced challenges that she enjoyed tackling because she wants to make the school district better, she said.

“I strongly believe that there should be an educator included in the membership of the school board,” Daly said on the school district’s website. “I have been in public education for 30-plus years as a school counselor, with a background in therapeutic residential care prior to that. I take this responsibility seriously and only want to make our schools stronger—one student, one decision at a time.”

Coletti, the board’s vice president, has been a member of the board since 2014.

He has been a part of the district’s capital projects and employee negotiations, and said on the district’s website he wants to continue supporting the community.

He believes that focusing on the students’ ongoing educational needs while supporting and representing the community allows him to continue to be an asset to the board.

O’Connell has been on the board for nine years.

During those nine years, O’Connell said the district has only shown growth and improvement.

“I am very excited about how our district is trending in such a positive direction,” he said on the school district’s website.

Maraglio, a newcomer, wants to ensure all students and their support systems are being heard, acknowledged, and challenged.

“With two children in the district, a public school teacher for a spouse and board-level experience at the state and local levels, I would like to work to ensure that all students receive equitable access to a robust, challenging and appropriate education,” she said on the district’s website. “Our teachers are adequately supported, appropriately empowered, well trained, and fairly compensated. Our tax dollars are wisely stewarded while providing for strong public communication and input, and that we respectfully challenge ourselves, as a board, to continuously improve and to not necessarily accept the status quo.”

Cairo-Durham’s vote will be held in the Distance Learning Room of the Cairo Durham High School, 1301 Route 145, Cairo. Absentee ballots are available and can be obtained from the district clerk during school business hours.

Catskill

Seven candidates are vying for three three-year seats and one two-year unexpired seat on the Catskill Central School District’s Board of Education.

The seats of board members Jeremy Engelin, Stephanie Oakley-Edwards, Jennifer Shanley are up this year. Engelin is the only one of the three incumbents running for reelection. The unexpired term of former board member Deborah Johnson, who resigned from her post in September, was filled by Lee Heim. Heim, who was appointed to the board the same month of Johnson’s resignation, came in fourth in last year’s school board elections where three seats were up for grabs. This month’s election will decide who will fill the remaining two years of Johnson’s three-year term .

Two former board members, Andrew Jones and Michael Dedrick, will join Engelin and Heim in the race, along with and three newcomers, Mike Konsul, Karen Van Wie and Jeffrey Holliday in the race.

Engelin, who serves as board president, previously served as its vice president for four years. In his time on the board, Engelin said the district has undergone multiple transformations through capital projects, pandemic learning shifts and changing demographics.

“This year, in response to ongoing demographic shifts, we prioritized establishing a roadmap for the next five years to tailor our educational offerings to the evolving needs of our community,” he said. “By prioritizing the needs of our students, staff, and community, we can ensure sustainable growth while minimizing tax burdens on residents. Over the years, we have successfully maintained low tax levies while ensuring access to essential programs, teaching staff, and resources vital for our children’s success.”

Engelin said he looks forward to creating a more student-forward approach within the district.

“By strategically reallocating resources and reevaluating our priorities, we can cultivate an educational environment that places the well-being and success of every student, family, and staff member at the forefront,” he said.

Other candidates, however, are looking to create a transparent bond between the district and its community.

Heim is pushing for more transparency by the board.

“I have two children, one in the middle school and another in the high school, and the students are my main motivation to serve,” he said. “I hear my own kids’ concerns about the district and I will try my best to make a difference for all the students and staff.”

Heim hopes to understand the challenges within the district to ensure a safe and enriching experience for both the students and staff, but also provide a high level of security on the district’s properties, he said.

“I want to be more informed about district-owned property maintenance needs and to set goals for improvements and prioritize the safety and comfort of the facilities for students and staff,” he said.

For Heim, one of his biggest goals is to be transparent with taxpayers regarding issues, programs and projects to taxpayers.

“My personal philosophy is to provide common sense, common courtesy, open-mindedness and humility in all decisions,” he said. “Humility is the ability to view yourself accurately as an individual with talents, as well as flaws, while being void of arrogance and low self-esteem. I enjoy being a public servant, both professionally and in personal endeavors, and I would apply this to serving on the board. Listening has always been one of my talents and I want to hear from the community, students and staff members.”

Konsul also wants to provide transparency to the community, if elected.

Konsul has been a lifelong member of the community and his two children graduated from Catskill High School in 2022.

“I am running for the Board of Education to restore transparency and trust to our school district,” he said. “The function of the Board of Education is to serve the interest of the community and the taxpayers who fund our schools, teachers, coaches and administrators. In my opinion, our current Board of Education has become dysfunctional. If elected, I will work towards making our Board of Education functional, transparent, and trustworthy.”

Karen Van Wie agreed with Konsul that something needs to change and that’s why she is running for the board. Van Wie has been a member of the community for 30 years and recently felt compelled to run for election.

“I have learned so much and witnessed what works, as well as what doesn’t,” she said. “I want to be a part of a BOE that respects and communicates with the community, who will listen to the issues the students, staff and taxpayers have and appreciates their input. I would like to see increased transparency regarding board policies and procedures.

“Our kids and school staff deserve the best and our district reputation is on the line. I would be honored as well as dedicated to serving the Catskill Community as a Board of Education member.”

For Jeffrey Holliday, community transparency has been something he’s strived to do in his previous position as a village trustee, which he hopes to continue, if elected.

As a village trustee, Holliday was involved in creating municipal budgets with minimal effect to taxpayers, as well as handling personnel matters. As a school board member, he hopes to bring these skills and communication skills to the post.

“I believe in a transparent system that listens to its constituents, fosters strong communication with its partners and is forward thinking,” he said. “If elected, I am committed to help enact or amend policies and procedures that address the needs of the district while ensuring that the students are put first. School administration should be collaborating with its campus administrators, faculty and support staff to ensure a positive working environment. If this is done, the district will be able to recruit, train and retain the best educators which will benefit every student in the district.”

Jones and Dedrick hope to get back on the board to keep growth happening at Catskill.

Jones previously served on the board for 15 years where he had stints as its president and vice president.

“My mission is to keep Catskill schools achieving and raising the bar in education,” Jones said. “Students, school staff (teachers) and parents are the three most important aspects of a good school district.”

Similarly, Michael Dedrick served on the board from 2017 to 2020 and wants the district to continue to grow.

“I am proud of the progress we made during my previous tenure on the BOE,” Dedrick said in an email. “We achieved great progress for the district, the students, faculty and staff. I would like this opportunity again to help make our school district the best it can be. Our students, staff and community deserve nothing less than that.”

The top three vote-getters will fill the open three-year terms on the board while the candidate who receives the fourth-highest number of votes will serve the remaining two years a Johnson’s unexpired term running..

Catskill will hold a meet the candidates night at 6 p.m. May 6 in the high school library.

The school board elections will take place in the high school gymnasium, 341 West Main St., Catskill.

Coxsackie-Athens

Coxsackie-Athens Central School District’s Board of Education school district’s election will consist of three candidates looking to fill three, three-year seats.

The seats of board members Barton Wallace, David Taylor and Kyle Garland are set to expire.

While Taylor is not running to retain his seat on the board, Wallace and Garland are running for reelection, along with newcomer Sam Anderson.

Wallace has served on different Board of Education committees during his time in office.

Barton believes an effective board is a collaborative effort with community residents, parents, teachers, staff and administration, he said.

“We all should have an equal voice to ensure positive results,” he said in a district newsletter.

As a board member, he wants to provide oversight and make policy decisions that keep the district mission and vision strong, empowering our students to create their own personalized learning pathways, to be critical thinkers and work collaboratively in our community and beyond, he said in the newsletter.

Garland also looks to continue his work on the board giving support to the students and staff, according to the newsletter

He hopes to continue to reinforce the district’s core values, and bring a collaborative mindset to the board. As a proud lifelong resident of the area, he said it would be a honor to continue to be a member of the board.

For Anderson, attending board meetings has been an eye-opener for him, he said in the newsletter.

“I now have a greater appreciation for the board,” according to Anderson. “I feel that by becoming a member of the board, I could bring a different point of view to the table. There are a lot of issues that arise that I feel I could assist with. Most importantly, as a district we continue to lag behind other schools in the county with our state reported test scores. I would like to see more effort put into the fundamentals of learning.”

The school board election will be held at the Edward J. Arthur Elementary School, 51 Third St., Athens, for Election District 1 and at the Coxsackie Elementary School, 24 Sunset Blvd., Coxsackie, for Election District 2.

GreenvilLE

Greenville Central School District has three vacant seats for its board of education. Three incumbent members, Angela Mauriello, Tracy Young and James Goode Jr. are running uncontested for reelection.

The election will be held in the Scott M. Ellis Elementary School cafeteria in Greenville.

The Board of Education elections will be held from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. May 21.