By Jonann Brady and Anthony Rifilato
The candidates have until May 20 to make their cases to the community, and the Parent Teacher Association will host a candidate forum on Wednesday, May 7 at 8 p.m. at the District Office.
Following are profiles of the four contenders.
Volunteer wants to be part of decision making
Russell Martinez, 48, says that as a long-time volunteer in the Baldwin community, he now wants to be part of the decision-making process in the Baldwin schools. Among the changes he'd like to see are a dress code for both students and teachers and opening the high school at night to give students a place to go.
Martinez, a 20-year Baldwin resident, runs Russell Martin Industries, a maintenance and safety-supply business, from his home. His two sons, ages 12 and 14, attend Baldwin schools, and Martinez spends much of his time volunteering with organizations like the Baldwin Education Association, where he serves on several committees, the Kiwanis Club, the Republican Club, the Key Club and the Chamber of Commerce. He is also a former PTA member of Steele Elementary School.
"Because I've been involved with the community for so long, I know parents, kids and teachers, and I know their ideas and answer their questions," said Martinez.
A school dress code would help build self-esteem in students, said Martinez, but the example should start at the top, with women teachers wearing dresses and male teachers wearing jackets and ties.
Martinez has mixed feelings about the notion of tightening security at schools. While he wouldn't want to see the high school become like a "police state," he is in favor of getting rid of "the pit," an area in the Baldwin Shopping Center where kids hang out, and having the high school open at night as a sort of community center for kids. He said parents and teachers could volunteer to staff the center.
"There should be more community involvement and more parental involvement in schools," he said. "Parents should have a more open-door feeling with the school."
Another of Martinez's goals would be to try and roll back new state-mandated Regents rules, which by 2005 require students to pass five Regents exams with a minimum score of 65 in order to graduate. "The Regents should be changed," he said. "They're jumping the gun. Kids aren't prepared for this. They should get back to basics."
Martinez had no particular gripes with the current board, and said "money is being spent wisely overall ... but there has to be a better method."
Martinez, who is coming off a year-long battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma, said he is ready to get re-involved with the community. He said as someone who has faced his share of hurdles, including myriad health problems, he has come to realize that "volunteering is better than making money," and he wants to put his time to work for the schools.
Experience in fiscal storm
Incumbent Mary Jo O'Hagan says that with her nine years of experience on the Baldwin Board of Education, she is well equipped to help guide the district through a state budget crisis and a series of unfunded state and federal mandates that will have repercussions for years to come.
"Difficult decisions need to be made, and we need to work at preserving existing programs," said O'Hagan, adding that she is proud of working to add programs like full-day kindergarten and reduced elementary class sizes while beefing up staff in the high school for advanced-placement classes and additional deans. "We've squeezed everything we could out of every dollar we have," she said.
O'Hagan, 58, lives in Freeport and works as a secretary in the Bayview Elementary School there. Her two grown children attended Baldwin schools, and she has been active in the school system for many years as a PTA member, first at Brookside Elementary and then at the high school. She was elected to the board of education in 1994, served two terms as vice president and was president from 2000 to 2002. She is also an executive board member of the Nassau Suffolk School Boards Association and the National School Boards Association.
O'Hagan acknowledges that the board and the district need to improve relations with the community, and they have instituted a "key communicators program," which identifies individuals in the community to disseminate important information. The district would also like to make its Web site a more accessible source of information, but O'Hagan said that economic factors are slowing that down.
The board also wants to create a good working environment for teachers to ensure low turnover, said O'Hagan, and the district holds a number of staff development workshops and has hired additional deans to free up teachers to teach. "We don't have the kind of tax base to pay salaries in the top levels," said O'Hagan. "[But] we want to make staff feel this is a good place to work."
When asked about the perception that Baldwin High is becoming increasingly violent, O'Hagan said that despite a few well-publicized events, the high school has relatively few violent incidents for its size. "The current board has always taken a very hard line [on violence]," she said. "The public perception needs to be that this is a safe and orderly place." She explained that the school has added deans, tightened security and maintained an excellent relationship with the First Precinct to maintain student safety.
Public schools are undergoing enormous changes, with new state and federal directives being handed down, such as the more rigorous Regents requirements, said O'Hagan. "When people talk about public schools failing, they forget the standards have been ratcheted up dramatically," she said, insisting that Baldwin schools are up to the challenge. "At the end of the race, our statistics are great."
Lobbying on behalf of schools
By Anthony Rifilato
B.A. Schoen has been a member of the school board since 1996, and he believes there are many issues that need to be addressed in the coming years, such as cuts to state education aid as well as state funding reforms.
"I love my town and the schools," Schoen said in explaining why he decided to run. "I felt I understood the issues pretty well."
As a liasion to the New York State School Boards Association, Schoen has spearheaded efforts by the board to stave off dwindling state aid and state mandates such as increased Regents requirements. "The draconian way the graduation requirements are being implemented could harm the student," Schoen said. "All New York state kids who started in non-Regents courses are expected to finish in Regents courses."
As president of Reform Financing Inequities Today (REFIT), a non-profit organization that lobbies for state education funding reforms, Schoen has pressed for adequate state education aid for schools in property-poor, high-tax districts. "High taxes are a real anchor on the community," he said. "They hold us down."
A BP Amoco Corp. employee and Moorhead State University graduate, Schoen, 55, is a lifelong resident of Baldwin, where he lives with his wife, Ann. His four children all graduated from Baldwin Senior High School. Schoen also is a Nassau County referee and former junior high school wrestling coach.
As a school board member, Schoen said he has supported a number of district improvements over the years, such as the decision to move the sixth grade to the middle school as well as the expansion of the middle school a few years ago.
"There's no better example of invigoration than the production of 'Annie,'" said Schoen, explaining that such a large production was unthinkable just a few years ago.
Schoen said that the board has done an excellent job of addressing issues and incidents that have impacted the district recently, such as a gang stabbing outside the high school last year. "We take it very seriously," Schoen said of school violence, explaining that in the past year the district has taken steps to increase security, such as the addition of two new deans at the high school and middle school. He also noted the district's relationship with the First Precinct, as well as workshops and peer-to-peer groups that address gang violence.
"We have a safe school," he said.
Schoen also said the board has been receptive to the concerns of the community, despite criticism of the board's insularity. "We do a great job following up," he said of concerns voiced by parents at school board meetings. Schoen said the board has been pro-active, and when tensions flared during the controversy surrounding the firing of Brookside prinicpal Cheryl McBeth, the board implemented conflict-resolution programs to reach out and address the concerns of Brookside parents. "Our responsiblity is to the whole community," he said. "We're elected by everyone to serve everyone."
Schoen said that in the coming years, he would like to help ease the board through some changes, such as the departure of Deputy Superintendent Lee Chapman, in addition to his continuous lobbying on behalf of schools. "I want to be a part of that," he said.
A voice for the entire community
Baldwin resident Bernard Woodside, 38, is running for school board trustee on a platform of inclusion. "What my group is building on is being more inclusive and providing a voice for the entire community," said Woodside, a 12-year-resident of Baldwin and a pastor at Cross Roads Family Worship Center in Brooklyn. "It's a diverse community, and the demographics are changing."
Woodside's campaign follows some turbulence between the community and the school board over the past year, particularly an incident last summer when Brookside principal Cheryl McBeth was fired, provoking outrage from some in the community, who felt their concerns were ignored by the board.
"There are quite a few people who go to school board meetings and feel that their voice is not heard," said Woodside.
Afterward, parents who supported McBeth said there was a need for greater minority representation on the school board, and many say that Woodside has the qualifications to work with a diverse community.
"There's an appearance of a void in the current board membership," said Eddison Bramble of Concerned Parents for Brookside School. "I think he saw a void and thought it would be great to lend his voice."
Woodside would like to address other concerns, including the lack of state aid to the district, tightening security at the schools and, with new state testing requirements, ensuring that teachers aren't just preparing students for tests. When it comes to school and gang violence, Woodside said he has the experience in addressing those issues from his work with the Weed and Seed program in Hempstead, which combats gang violence.
Woodside and his wife, Patricia, have two children who attend Brookside Elementary School. He has served on a number of religious and non-denominational boards, and currently serves as chairman of the board at Learning 4 Life, a consortium of churches that run child care centers. Woodside is also an ex-college basketball star at Louisiana State University, had a stint in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, and owns a film and production company that produces gospel music and television programs.
Now, as he gears up for a rally on May 9 at the Second Baptist Church on Grand Avenue, Woodside said he is committed to bringing new life to the school board. "My stance is running for everybody," he said.
