By Andrew Coen
Incumbent school board members Marcy Goldberg, Jill Stern and Steve Witt, who all won seats on the board in 2003, are running as a team to maintain stability in the district. The lone challenger in the at-large race is Hewlett resident Dr. Cliff Bryer. The top three vote-getters will win spots on the board.
The incumbents all stated that they enjoy working together on the board and want to continue doing so to accomplish further goals. "I think the board has worked really well the last three years," said Stern, who, along with Goldberg, was co-president of the Hewlett-Woodmere Central Council PTA before winning her trustee seat. "Even though we don't always agree on everything, we bring together a mutual respect."
"We all have diverse backgrounds, and it's a perfect balance that we have on the board," said Witt. "Our relationships with one another are excellent."
"We're a very cohesive board," said Goldberg. "Everyone comes to the table with different things, but it works."
While the three candidates differ from Bryer on the direction in which the board should go, all four said the status of the Woodmere Middle School is the most pressing concern in the district. The board is hoping to approve a referendum to build a new facility or renovate the current one later this year, though three previous bond attempts failed - the most recent in 2002.
Bryer, whose youngest child recently graduated from Hewlett High School, said he wants to serve on the board to stay involved in the community he made a commitment to after moving to the area 23 years ago. For the last five years, Bryer has kept up to date with the key news of the district by attending nearly every school board meeting, serving on the Bridge Committee, the Long-Range Transportation Committee and superintendent's Woodmere Middle School advisory committee.
"My heart lies as a community resident to continue to work for the community," Bryer said. "I'm continuing that commitment ... by running for the school board."
Bryer said that if elected, he would bring an independent voice to the school board. He said that the current school board has taken too long to move the Woodmere Middle School issue along, and has not reached out to the community as much as it should. One idea Bryer said he would like to explore if elected is rotating the numerous school board meetings throughout the district rather than holding them solely at the Woodmere Education Center and occasionally at Hewlett High School.
"A concerted effort has to be made to make the community a part of the process," said Bryer. "I think it's important to bring the community together for the common good."
Stern, who grew up in Hewlett-Woodmere, said she is motivated to serve another three-year term to maintain the stability of the current board and to contribute to her home district's success. "I feel very passionate about the schools," she said. "You have to have a strong school district to have a strong community."
Stern, who has one child left in the school district, said she felt that the most important issue facing the district, in addition to the middle school, is the community's support of the district's proposed budgets. Last year, Hewlett-Woodmere suffered its first budget defeat in 10 years before residents passed a revised proposal in a re-vote.
Prior to winning her seat on the school board, Stern was active in the PTA, serving with Goldberg as co-Central Council president.
Witt, who served on the District 14 school board from 1984 to 1996 before winning his seat three years ago, said he is motivated to continue as a trustee so he can help get more state aid and contribute his financial expertise - he is a former vice president of Citibank and J.P. Morgan. "I have all the right contacts at both the county and state level, and I use them," said Witt, adding that he was appointed by Governor George Pataki to set up the enhanced School Tax Relief (STAR) program, which has provided savings for senior citizens. "With all my years of experience and with my political contacts," Witt said, "I provide them something that they need in this difficult time.
Witt, 69, stays current on educational issues outside District 14 by serving on the executive committee of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, and is also a member of the Nassau County Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) School Board and the New York State School Board. He is also heavily involved with the Hewlett-Woodmere student body, volunteering as a football, basketball and lacrosse coach at Hewlett High School. Witt, who pointed out that he has helped cut BOCES costs for the district, also said he is motivated to stay on the board in part due to increasing state and federal mandates the district faces today and in the future. "If it wasn't for the environment we're in today, I wouldn't run," he said.
Despite wearing many hats, Witt said he has found time to concentrate on the issues facing Hewlett-Woodmere, and received the President's Volunteer Service Award from President Bush last year.
Goldberg that said while the district is moving in a positive direction, if she is re-elected, she would like to see the WMS situation resolved with a decision on a new facility or a renovated one. "I think we are moving in a positive direction, but if there's one thing I want to get resolved in this next term, it's the middle school," she said.
Goldberg added that she would like to help the district attract more state aid, since what it currently receives from Albany covers only about 7 percent of its operating budget. "That's something we clearly have to work on the future," she said.
Goldberg, a past PTA president who has one child remaining in the district, said that being a parent helps her gauge the important issues and relate to concerned parents. "People feel comfortable talking to a board member who is a parent," she said.
The public will have a chance to hear the candidates address a variety of topics at a "Meet the Candidates" forum scheduled for Monday, May 8, at 7:30 p.m., at the Woodmere Education Center.
Comments about this story? ACoen@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
