By Richard Tedesco
Each candidate was asked questions culled from the audience and posed by a local League of Women Voters representative. Sometimes candidates responded directly to the questions. More often, they responded with the same sort of rhetoric that makes Lawrence school board meetings so volatile.
Candidates were frequently greeted with applause or catcalls from the audience, effectively recreating the ambience of a public school board session. Requests by the moderator to refrain from applauding proved fruitless. The venue was the Lawrence Middle School cafeteria, and drew an audience of approximately 100 prospective voters.
Two of the best questions were saved for last: the $64,000 question about what to do with the $27.5 million windfall from the sale of the No. 1 school, and the question of how to heal the divisiveness that clearly characterizes the board.
"The money is first going to be used for repairs. It will not be done in haste," said Dr. David Sussman, sounding a theme that mirrors the perspective of the Orthodox majority on the board.
Sussman reminded the audience that he has two sons in the public school system, and attempted to present himself as a candidate who could bridge the gap between the board's Orthodox and secular Jewish members.
Orthodox candidate Nacham Marcus agreed that repairs needed to be addressed with the No. 1 school money, suggesting the remainder be given back to Lawrence taxpayers.
Pam Greenbaum, who vacated her board seat to directly challenge Dr. Sussman, responded to the question about the $27.5 million by questioning the board's commitment to repairs. "If everybody is so serious about it, why haven't they done it?"
Maribel Cancelliere, one of three candidates representing Advocates for Lawrence Public Schools along with Greenbaum and Andrew Levey, said it would be "common sense" to address the building repairs. Levey suggested private school parents take a tour of the public school facilities themselves to see conditions first-hand.
On the divisiveness issue, Greenbaum said a free flow of information is the solution to the prevailing contentious atmosphere: "People get bits and pieces of information. If they get all the information, things would be less divisive."
Dr. Sussman struck an ecumenical chord with his response: "What you do is you reach out equally."
Marcus said he'd like to try to bridge the gap, asserting his personal commitment to "enhance" the public schools and private and to "make things better" for private school children as well.
"We just don't see eye to eye on what we want for our kids," said Levey. "If we took the time to work together, there are a lot of things where we could do better."
Cancelliere said it's about school board members finding common ground: "The board needs to be collectively together in its interests, the Lawrence public schools and the private schools, and the interests of the children."
Comments? RTedesco@liherald.com
or call (516) 569-4000, ext. 204.
