Ruth Quinn
Ruth Quinn. (Photo by Lauren Thomas)
Ruth Quinn and her family first came to Esopus nine years ago, based on the good reputation of the New Paltz School District. Professionally, the 45-year-old mother of three has made her living working for non-profits, often as a grant writer, and once served as the director of education for the Teatown Lake Reservation.
Quinn, who has one child with autism, has also been an advocate for children with special needs. She serves as a parent member of the school district’s Special Education Committee and co-founded a support group website for parents with special needs kids in the Hudson Valley.
She’s also a board member of the New Paltz Central School District Foundation for Student Enhancement. That group acts as an official fundraising group for the New Paltz schools, getting funds through private donations to pay for programs.
Q: Why are you running for school board?
RQ: I moved to this district to raise a family because of its excellent reputation. I have three young kids in the district, and one who has special needs. I understand our fiscal crisis and the tough decisions ahead and believe that if we need to make cuts, these cuts need to be as far from kids as possible.
I am running for the Board of Education so students have an advocate on the board, so that families know that quality education will not be compromised, and so that this community continues to be a desired place to live, work and play.
Q: What are the top three issues facing the New Paltz schools, and if you got elected how would you address them?
RQ: Facilities, communication and the budget are the three major issues facing the New Paltz Central School District. These issues are all tied together and have led to community fracturing. The key to addressing these issues is trust-building and educating the stakeholders so that we can move forward in a unified manner.
In particular, I think we need to outreach in more meaningful and innovative ways — using traditional channels as well as using social media, webinars and live-streaming meetings. We need to harness the passion that exists in this community regarding budget issues and focus it towards legislative changes to school funding.
Q: This year school board members settled on a $50.31 million budget that would raise the tax levy by 4.4 percent. Would you have voted yes for that budget too? Why or why not?
RQ: I spoke at that board meeting to urge the board to vote yes for the 4.4 percent levy budget because it has innovative cost savings as well as significant cuts.
Strong schools lead to strong communities, and research has shown that for every 1 percent increase in reading or math scores property values go up by 0.5 percent or more. This study highlights the importance of maintaining quality education, not just for students, but also for our community.
Q: After briefly promoting $12.3 million in fixes to the four school buildings — known as the “Health & Safety Bond” project — the board took it off May’s ballot. Do you support those repairs? Would you have approached the decision to remove that bond project differently?
RQ: I absolutely support the Health & Safety Bond because we have significant problems with our facilities. All you need to do is walk through our buildings to see that these repairs are necessary and urgent.
I think it was prudent of the board to remove it from the May ballot, given that we just had a special vote for land acquisition that failed. Because of the gravity of the situation with our buildings it is imperative that the information for the Health & Safety Bond be properly delivered and all questions answered before it is brought up to public vote.
Q: New Paltz school board members are currently developing a long-term facilities plan that could call for the closure of two schools and a consolidation down to two campuses. It could also call for the closure of one school and a consolidation to three campuses. Do you support that consolidation? If not, how else should the district move forward?
RQ: Without a doubt, school consolidation is an innovative cost-saving plan — simply put, less facilities means less staff, less costs. Unfortunately, while it looks good on paper, there have been real issues when it comes to implementation.
Campus consolidation requires a large initial investment and voters have been consistently unwilling to support the project. However, there are other ways to consolidate, such as the shared central business office at BOCES between Highland and New Paltz.
Q: How will your previous experiences help you if you got elected, and how would they be an asset for those who vote for you? In other words, why should people vote for you?
RQ: I have over 20 years of non-profit experience, including running capital campaigns, managing multi-agency collaborations, and creating educational programs that meet core learning standards. My recent work as a web administrator and advocate has focused on meeting the needs of children by linking parents, agencies and community programs together. I am a trained advocate in special education and mental health systems of care, and understand many of the mandates that are involved with disabilities and education.
All of my work has required an ability to listen, understand issues from multiple angles and achieve consensus.
