What I’d really like us to focus more on is informing the various stakeholders about these challenges and hopefully encourage them to get involved. The schools belong to all of us and protecting them needs to be a community effort. And of course I want to continue to find ways to protect the great educational program we offer here and to see our students learn and grow. That’s what we’re here for.
Michael O’Donnell
Michael O’Donnell, of Gardiner, has been a volunteer at the Mohonk Preserve for four years. He’s also involved in the advocacy group Future4NPZ, which has been fighting for improved educational quality in our local schools.
By trade, he’s the vice president of database management for the PSL Group, and he’s got two children — one at Duzine Elementary School and one entering kindergarten next year.
Why did you decide to run for the New Paltz school board?
My children (aged six and four) are just entering a public school system that is undergoing a rapid transformation. Declines in state aid, the tax cap, unfunded state mandates and overburdened taxpayers have led our district to be faced with extremely difficult choices and little room for error.
I’m also father to a son with special needs, which places special education issues close to my heart. I want to ensure that our district is meeting the needs of students with disabilities.
What skills, experiences or qualifications do you have that make you believe you would make a competent member of the board?
I am a VP at a medical communications and market research firm, responsible for leveraging and managing data to inform operations and achieve competitive advantages. It is unique role that requires experience in data analysis, marketing and strategic thinking. Those skills will be critical as we navigate a school finance climate that is under pressure from multiple sources.
I am also VP for the local education advocacy group Future4NPZ. My focus in that role has been researching and communicating the dangers of our financing predicament, advocating for our recent capital project and speaking in favor of local control regarding state testing and teacher evaluations.
I believe in making decisions through the prism of an established conceptual framework. For me, students always come first, so all of my decisions will be driven by the goal of improving educational opportunities and the school experience.
What do you see as the top three challenges facing the New Paltz Central School District?
Financing. Off-formula foundation aid, the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA), the tax cap and unfunded state mandates are conspiring to reduce educational opportunities. If we do not take action to address these issues, class sizes will continue to rise and programming will have to be cut.
Loss of local control. An increasing portion of our budget is being absorbed by programs and policies dictated by the state. This year’s state budget has upped the ante by dealing a major blow by shifting a large portion of the teacher evaluation process out of the district. It is a trend that threatens to take personnel decisions completely out of our hands.
Maximizing education and the student experience. The challenges we face in terms of financing and local control are long-term battles subject to political whims. In the meantime, we need to maintain our focus on the mission of the district: educating our children. When faced with tough choices I will focus on two core principles: 1) programming for students comes first, and 2) we should seek to provide a broad range of opportunities, meaning that I would favor reductions over full-scale cuts.
If elected, what would be your top three priorities?
Provide a broad base of opportunities to ensure that we have something special to offer to the entirety of our student population.
Deliver the recently approved capital project on time and on budget.
Data-driven lobbying to secure financial relief and recover local control.
Hear more at meet the candidates night
If you’d like to meet with the candidates — or just hear more of what they have to say — head to the meet the candidates night at New Paltz Central High School. The event, sponsored by the local PTAs, will be held on Monday, May 4 and starts at 7 p.m.
