Four vie for vacant school-board seat

      Four residents, each praising the current school board but saying that they can make it better, have filed petitions to run for the seat left empty by the death of Louis Rotondo earlier this year. The four will face off at a candidates forum on Wednesday, November 1 at the school-district office, 960 Hastings Street.
      For the candidates, Bill Edelman, Roberta Nelson, Robert Paskoff and Joel Peskoff, the hot topics range from the need for higher technology to the new state standards. They have also expressed opinions on smaller class size and full-day kindergarten.

Technology, the wave of the future

      Mr. Peskoff said he had always considered Mr. Rotondo the board's technology expert. He consulted Mr. Rotondo whenever he had an idea or a question about the school district's technology program and thinks there is a need to place another technology -oriented person on the board. Mr. Peskoff, a project manager for the New York City Transit Authority, says he is that person.
      Technology is also a major plank for Mr. Edelman, who operates his own alarm company. He thinks the Internet should play a bigger role in education and that the district must work to make teachers more comfortable with technology.
      Ms. Nelson, a former New York City teacher and currently the coordinator of a law magnate program created to entice high-quality students to attend City schools, overseas the purchasing of technology and enrichment textbooks and the creation of curriculum at her school.
      Mr. Paskoff, an adjunct assistant professor of physical therapy at Touro College, is also a strong supporter of technology.

Keeping up with the standards

      The state standards for education were tops on the minds of all four candidates. "I've seen our scores go down," said Ms. Nelson. "As an educator, that's a red flag to me."
      While Ms. Nelson said she believes there are "very good things happening in our schools," she thinks there needs to be a transition to more innovative ideas. As an example, Ms. Nelson said that in her schools, elementary children read and perform Shakespeare.
      Mr. Paskoff, who also would like to see the district's scores improve, said he likes the curriculum changes the district has made to help students achieve higher marks on the test.
      However, he would like to see a more targeted approach to reaching those children in greatest need of remediation. "I think there are a lot of parents that don't know how to get help."
      Mr. Edelman also supports the effects of the standards. "I'm glad to see that it has forced teachers in every subject to put a new focus on reading comprehension," he said.
      Mr. Edelman believes that students need to be taught practical skills and resourcefulness and that some of the new standards are addressing these issues.
      Mr. Peskoff was the only candidate to challenge the value of the standards. He said he has watched other districts "teach to the test" and does not want to see that happen in Baldwin. He believes that if teachers concentrate on getting students to pass one set of tests, they will not be able to touch on other items that children should learn.
"Generally speaking, I think the Baldwin schools are doing a pretty good job," he said.

The new committees

      Last month two committees formed to discuss the possibility of lowering class sizes and/or converting to a full-day kindergarten program. All candidates are interested in the results of the committees' work. Some were more outspoken than others about what they would like to see and what they think the budget can support.
      From the beginning of his campaign, Mr. Paskoff has made known his desire for a full- day kindergarten program to be created in Baldwin. He thinks the district should at least look at creating a choice for parents, as has been done in such districts as Lynbrook and Oceanside.
      In addition to offering a half-day program, Mr. Paskoff thinks the district should offer a full-day program that would be financially supplemented by parents who want their children to attend it. He explained that the fee could be set on a sliding scale based on financial ability, so that everyone who wanted their child to attend could afford the program. "Kids can do it," he said. "It's just figuring out a way to finance it."
      Mr. Edelman believes there are merits to both programs but does not believe there is money in the budget to support both. He said that he wants to hear both committees' findings before he voices an opinion. However, he said, once a decision has been made, he would like to see it acted on as soon as possible.
      Ms. Nelson believes the implementation of both programs is vital to the growth of the district. However, as a member of the district's budget committee, Ms. Nelson said that she does not see how the district can fund the programs. She thinks her experience in working with grants, however, will come in handy. "There are millions of dollars in grant money that we can tap," she said, adding that hiring a grant writer would bring money into the district.
      Mr. Peskoff, who said he is open-minded to the possibility of either program, would like to see the results of the research before he offers an opinion.

      The special election will be Wednesday, November 15.

Candidates' bios

Bill Edelman

      Bill Edelman is a lifelong Baldwin resident who is married and the father of two daughters, Kate and Suzanne. A former Baldwin Chamber of Commerce president, Mr. Edelman is the founder of two companies, IPS Alarms and FirePlan. He attended Nassau Community College, for Engineering and Electronics, and is a certified fire protection engineering technologist.
      Mr. Edelman is a member of both the Plaza School PTA and the Baldwin School to Career Advisory Board. He also has served the community as a member of the Baldwin Fire Department for more than 20 years.

Roberta Nelson

      Roberta Nelson and her husband moved to Baldwin 14 years ago. They do not have children. She was a teacher in the New York City school system for 31 years and has taught all grades except kindergarten and first. During that time, Ms. Nelson also taught students needing special education, as well as the "gifted."
      Ms. Nelson is currently the coordinator of a federally funded program designed to attract high-quality students to the City system instead of private schools. In this position, she is in charge of budgeting, curriculum and monitoring teachers.

Robert Paskoff

      Robert Paskoff, an eight-year Baldwin resident, has three children. Mr. Paskoff is an adjunct assistant professor of physical therapy at Touro College in Bay Shore and has taught on the college level in several physical-therapy programs over the past 14 years.
      Mr. Paskoff became interested in running for the board last year when he attended the meetings as a Lenox PTA representative. He said he has volunteered in many capacities, most recently as a soccer coach and on the New York State Physical Therapy Association Board.

Joel Peskoff

      Joel Peskoff is a seven-year resident of Baldwin and the father of three sons. He is a project manager for the New York City Transit Authority and has worked in their capital improvements area. Through his work, he has been involved in the creation of numerous budgets.
      Mr. Peskoff helped found the Meadow Playground Committee and is its current treasurer. The committee was formed to raise funds to replace the school's aging playground equipment. He has also volunteered for the Baldwin Little League. His wife is a teacher.

What they said:

"I think there needs to be a rejuvenation on the board and I'm hoping to do that." Bill Edelman

"My idea of a school-board member is to help direct the administration of the school and to help promote new ideas that the administration can then work on." Rob Paskoff

"The key to good education is small class sizes and individual attention." Roberta Nelson

"[Budgeting], I think that's an area I excel in." Joel Peskoff