Scandal helps spark civic involvement Schenectady sporting impressive number of school board candidates
By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer First published in print: Wednesday, April 14, 2010
SCHENECTADY -- Kennard Singh is a part-time tax preparer and member of a new local Guyanese organization. Matthew Brockbank, whose father was once city corporation counsel, is a 22-year-old culinary student.
Thanks to the recent controversies surrounding the city school district, these two newcomers are among possibly 10 people running to take four seats on the Board of Education. In a district where school board candidates typically run unopposed and voter turnout is low, such interest in a Schenectady school race hasn't been seen in decades. Current school board President, Maxine Brisport is seeking another term. Five other candidates have filed petitions to run. But another four people have declared their intentions to enter the May 18 race and are expected to attend candidate events today and Thursday.
Many of the hopefuls invoke the hot-button issue of the district -- if Superintendent Eric Ely should stay in office. Ely's close ties to former school facilities supervisor Steven Raucci have come under fire. in the wake of Raucci's trial and conviction for arson and weapons possession.
The school board is now mulling over Ely's employment during closed-door executive sessions. Firing him would cost at least $200,000 if the board cannot find cause to do so.
"I'm very open in my feelings," said Brockbank, a 2005 Schenectady High graduate, who is taking culinary classes at Schenectady County Community College. "I want to get rid of Eric Ely."
Candidate Robert Barnes, who works for the state comptroller's office, isn't shy on that topic either. "We, the taxpayers of the Schenectady City School District, have the power to demand the removal of Superintendent Eric Ely!" his Web site states. Barnes says he will present a petition at the Board of Education meeting tonight that calls for Ely's immediate suspension.
Other candidates talk mostly about school fiscal matters, as federal and state aid drops while property taxes for city residents are some of the highest in the state.
"My school taxes are sending a clear message to me," said Singh, who is also studying to be a real estate agent and had a son who graduated from the high school last year. "They're not doing anything creative enough to cut costs."
Fallout from the Raucci case was felt in last year's votes on the budget and school board. Voters rejected the spending plan the first time around before narrowly passing it on the second ballot. Also, two self-proclaimed reformers were elected to the board. However, one of those winners, Joyce Wachala, left after a month when her young son developed health problems.
Four of the current candidates are endorsed by a citizen's group called Schenectady Committee on Openness in Public Education (SCOPE) that already has lawn signs on Wendell Avenue and Union Street.
But the other candidates are apparently running independently, such as Benjamin Wallach, a furniture wholesaler who frequently makes his opinions known on local blogs, and Nicolle Ragone, a mother of seven who posted a statement about her candidacy on Craigslist in March.............>>>>............>>>>.............Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/AspS.....4/2010#ixzz0l4SZT5tB
Sch’dy schools need big changes, starting with board members
Re the April 7 letter by Mrs. Maxine Brisport, president of the Schenectady school board: It was with great amusement that I read Mrs. Brisport’s letter regarding the need for the Schenectady school district to continue to make changes. I could not agree more: Change is imperative to restore the school district and its reputation. President Brisport’s apology to the students, faculty, parents, staff and taxpayers, while appreciated, seemed to exonerate the members of the school board and remove them from the “culture and climate” that allowed the farreaching corruption that came to light with the trial and conviction of [former building and grounds supervisor Steven] Raucci. Make no mistake: While it was Raucci’s hand that set the fuses and wielded the paint cans, he could not have done so had he not been shielded and emboldened by the school board, [Superintendent Eric] Ely, [Human Resources Administrator Mike] Stricos and others in the administration. Every member of the top administration, as well as the school board, must take responsibility for the abysmal failure in leadership that allowed one man to terrorize an entire school district and community. Yes, I agree with Mrs. Brisport that it is time for the Schenectady City School District to make changes, first of which is to replace every board member with intelligent, principled and experienced persons who can lead this district to excellence and out of its current sorry state of affairs. After thorough research, I have come to support the four candidates who are running together and would urge you to join me May 18 by casting your votes for Ann Reilly, Ron Lindsay, Cathy Lewis and Andy Chestnut. They bring to the table enormous talent and knowledge, and together they can provide the direction and leadership needed to set the Schenectady City School District on the path to academic excellence.
SCHENECTADY School board hopefuls put Ely in bull’s-eye BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
Schenectady Board of Education President Maxine Brisport was not welcomed with open arms at Thursday’s Meet the Candidates Night. Other candidates offered her calculators, a reference to Wednesday’s meeting debacle at which the board was briefly unable to calculate its budget. One voter spoke scornfully of the times Brisport teared up at board meetings. And some in the audience at Petta’s Restaurant even heckled her, shouting at her as she tried to speak. But she passionately defended herself, blaming former board president Jeff Janiszewski for all of the criticism leveled at the board. She told voters she is now making progress toward firing Superintendent Eric Ely after “being stifled” while Janiszewski led the board. She accused him of running a “man’s club” that chose the superintendent, created the annual budget and made all policy decisions. She also said Janiszewski controlled Ely as a “puppet.” She was not allowed to do anything, she said, until she became president this year. “Now I feel the handcuffs are off,” she said. “I did not create the situation. I am not Jeff Janiszewski.” While she won some applause when she said she had not voted to extend Superintendent Eric Ely’s contract last year, she was heckled when she said residents should have questioned his hiring. “Where was the uprising?” she said. “Someone like me needs the support to make it work.” Voters shouted that she was blaming them for her failings. Four board seats are up for election in the May 18 balloting. The other candidates focused on the future. .................>>>>.............>>>>...........http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01303&AppName=1
If it weren’t so critically important to the future of Schenectady, and frighteningly serious to the victims, it might be amusing to draw an analogy between the characters in the Steven Raucci fiasco and Donald Trump’s TV show, “Celebrity Apprentice.” The episode would go something like this” “Team Schenectady school executive administration’s” task was to provide a safe, nurturing, and fiscally sound environment for teachers to educate their students. The team chose as their project manager Eric Ely. Other members of the team were the school board and its president, Jeff Janiszewski, key central staff enablers like [Assistant Superintendent] Michael San Angelo and [Human Resources Administrator] Michael Stricos, and school attorney Shari Greenleaf. The team’s strategy was to use the time-tested doctrine of fear, intimidation and secrecy to achieve its task. They plucked their enforcer from the ranks — an eager Steven Raucci — and ran the team with a “nod-and-wink” system of accountability. In my story, Donald Trump is a metaphor for the citizens and taxpayers of Schenectady. At the board meeting, Team Schenectady reports what happened on their watch: 1) the high school was labeled as “persistently violent”; 2) graduation rates sunk to fewer than six out of 10 students; 3) the civil service system was manipulated to reward their own; and 4) the veil of secrecy was maintained despite numerous Freedom of Information Law requests. Is there a happy ending? The answer will be yes if, on May 18, voters say to what remains of the old Team Schenectady a loud, “You’re fired!” And there is no excuse not to.
By MARV CERMAK COVERING SCHENECTADY First published in print: Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Schenectady Board of Education members have successfully distanced themselves from the atrocious behavior of convicted bomber Steve Raucci.
When questioned about Raucci's destructive conduct the standard reply would be something like the famous grunt from Sgt. Schultz of "Hogan's Heroes"`: "I know nothing!'' I recall coming upon since-departed board member Jim Casino at Saratoga last summer. He waffled when I insisted it was impossible for board members to not know about any of Raucci's outrageous maneuvers.
Concrete evidence was scarce in connection with who on the board knew what about Raucci. In glaring contrast, this same amnesiac board could have been indicted for contempt toward voters in the 2009 budget process.
Lest one forget, a budget with a 4.8 percent property tax increase was defeated by voters. The board and Superintendent Eric Ely, another guy with memory loss, went back to the drawing board.
Taxpayers made it clear 4.8 percent was too high. So Ely and Co. retaliated with a revised budget carrying a higher 5.8 percent increase.
They prepared an even more nasty encore. Should voters reject the budget again they would be rewarded with a whopping 15 percent tax hike contingency budget.
Well, I've been around a long time -- too long in the minds of many elected people -- but this was a first for me. Ely and the board got the voter message but they said "stick it."
Their action was nothing more than in your face contempt, arrogance, hubris whatever you want to call it toward taxpayers. Voters should remember this at the May 18 election. Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/AspS.....7/2010#ixzz0mIkwuLwa
SCHENECTADY 10 file to seek board seats Former president Janiszewski won’t vie for re-election BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
The powerful former leader of the Schenectady Board of Education will not run for re-election. Jeff Janiszewski, who led the board from 2004 to 2009, did not submit a petition to get onto the May 18 ballot. Petitions were due Wednesday by 5 p.m. Janiszewski never announced his intentions, but said repeatedly that he was “leaning against” running. It has been a difficult year for Janiszewski, who lost his presidency and came under heavy criticism from residents and current board President Maxine Brisport. Residents accused him of Brisport corruption. Brisport said he led a “man’s club” that privately made all the important decisions for the district — including hiring Superintendent Eric Ely, now also under fire. She also said she had to “wrest away” the presidency last summer, with Janiszewski trying desperately to persuade enough board members to support him. Those conversations were not public, and when the meeting began, Janiszewski said he did not want to remain president. The board needed a fresh start, he said. Janiszewski has also denied the various allegations against him, particularly criticism related to former district employee Steven Raucci. Janiszewski was accused by some of turning a blind eye to Raucci’s activities, which included forcing employees to campaign for Janiszewski and other board members on district time, as well as giving them fraudulent overtime pay to work after hours. No hard evidence implicating Janiszewski has been released. E-mails used during Raucci’s trial included Janiszewski’s frequent requests for Raucci to call him rather than e-mailing him; he said he would then castigate Raucci for violating campaign rules. His only written comment on the issue was one e-mail in which he told Raucci that employees must be on their own time when they work on campaigns, and must not be forced to campaign. A district investigation on the issue determined that Janiszewski knew Raucci was wrongly using the school’s communication system to organize campaign workers, but that he did not know those workers were being paid by the district for their campaigning. However, the investigation has been criticized for missing crucial information on other issues. That information was revealed in court. BELLICK OUT ALSO A second board member, Linda Bellick, also chose not to run. ..............>>>>................>>>>.............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00100&AppName=1
The Democrats simply run different candidates in their place and figure the stupid voters will put in different proxies for the dem bosses. And they are probably right.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
SCHENECTADY 2 city school board candidates eliminated BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Kathleen Moore at 395-3120 or moore@dailygazette.com.
There will be nine candidates on the Schenectady Board of Education ballot on May 18. Two candidates have been eliminated for having too few valid signatures. Charlene Fisher and Nicole Ragone both came up short once the clerk of the board checked addresses and compared signatures to voter registration cards. Ragone, who collected 117 signatures, had just two of them pass district scrutiny. She needed 100. Some signers had Niskayuna or Rotterdam addresses. One lived in Albany. Others gave addresses that were clearly wrong. One signer reported living on “Van Rankin” — which does not exist, though the similarsounding Van Vranken Avenue does. Ragone turned in her petitions a week ago and began campaigning, going to neighborhood meetings and a Meet the Candidates Night. Then on Monday, the clerk of the board told her that only two of her signatures could be verifi ed. In two days, Ragone collected another 83, she said. But she couldn’t get enough to meet Wednesday’s deadline. “It’s sad, because I went door to door,” she said. “I’ve been walking the city for days. I feel like a runover train wreck.” Charlene Fisher came much closer to getting onto the ballot. She had 76 acceptable signatures; another 40 were denied. She didn’t have a chance to correct her mistake — she turned her petitions in just 15 minutes before the deadline, the clerk said. She learned Thursday that she would not be on the ballot. ..............>>>>.................>>>>............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01001&AppName=1
It’s rare when an election brings near-universal agreement on an issue, but that’s what we seem to have here as Schenectady voters prepare to go to the polls May 18 to fill four seats on the Schenectady school board. The many fi ne candidates running, as well as their supporters, all agree on one thing: We need a new board majority that will direct significant change in the school district administration. Two candidates are particularly outstanding and deserve voters’ support. Cathy Lewis distinguished herself on the City Council and has the ability, intelligence and integrity to help lead the change we need. Likewise, Maxine Brisport is an experienced and trustworthy public servant who has, time and again, put children above politics and pettiness. Electing Cathy Lewis and Maxine Brisport to work with [school board member] Diane Herrmann, who has proven to be a tremendous leader of reform, would be a major step toward restoring the school board’s credibility. The students and families of this community deserve nothing less.
SCHENECTADY Teachers union endorses 3 for board Brisport, Lewis, Reilly get group’s backing in race to fill 4 seats BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Kathleen Moore at 395-3120 or moore@dailygazette.com.
The city’s teachers union has endorsed just three school board candidates for the four seats up in this year’s election. The Schenectady Federation of Teachers chose to endorse two of the SCOPE-backed candidates as well as the only incumbent in the race. The union gave its endorsement to Cathy Lewis, Ann Reilly and school board President Maxine Brisport. The union’s president did not return calls Tuesday seeking comment on the endorsements. Brisport said the endorsement was a confirmation of her explanation that she could not change the school board or criticize it publicly when it was under former President Jeff Janiszewski’s control. “I am very grateful and thankful,” she said of the endorsement. “They understood I was just one vote. They understood I have not been the obstacle. I know what went wrong and how to prevent it.” She also said that she told the union that she would help “unify” the new board members with the current board members. Lewis said her interview with the union was extremely short — less than 10 minutes — and focused on her prior experience. She sat on the City Council and gained a reputation for thoroughly examining every budget. She has also criticized this year’s school budget process, emphasizing that the board must get input from the principals and teachers on where and what to cut. .......................>>>>............>>>>.......http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01100&AppName=1
Logged
Both Jiffy Jeffy and Linda Bellick are not running? They had no comment? What a blow to the educational community-NOT! 
