May 10 issue
New Paltz United Teachers endorse O’Donnell, Armstead and LaPolt for BOE and ask that you vote yes for the budget on May 15
As our budget vote approaches and we acknowledge the annual endeavor to preserve and grow many of the programs that our children need, we ask that you get to New Paltz High School and into the voting booth on May 15 to vote in support of the proposed budget. There will also be six candidates to choose from to fill three Board of Education positions. New Paltz United Teachers is proud to endorse Michael O’Donnell, Glenn LaPolt and Diana Armstead for the New Paltz Board of Education. The NPUT executive team had the pleasure of meeting with most of he candidates last week. (Meghan Goodnow was unavailable to interview). While we realize each candidate would bring a level of expertise, integrity and enthusiasm to the position, it is Mr. O’Donnell, Mr. LaPolt and Ms. Armstead who share the vision of unity, transparency and progressive social justice reform that NPUT shares.
Michael O’Donnell’s record of service as the current BOE president and his dedication as a trustee demonstrates a thoughtful and transparent approach to providing what is best for the students of NPCSD while balancing his responsibility to the taxpayers of our community. Michael understands that there are institutional inequities within every public school district which must be examined. He maintains a strong desire to learn more about how to incorporate restorative justice work into the district’s vision and mission, and we look forward to this being a continued priority. Michael is a committed member of our board, and we are confident that he will continue to push back on unfair, unfunded state mandates that continue to subject our teachers and students to corporate policymaker’s reform measures which put quantitative achievement results before authentic learning.
It is not often that a teachers union has the opportunity to endorse a fellow public school teacher, and we are proud to stand behind Glenn LaPolt, an active and dedicated educator who is willing to step into the realm of holding public office. Glenn’s connections are deeply rooted in our community, and his experience will be an asset the board will find invaluable. As a local public school teacher, coach and mentor for our youth, Mr. LaPolt spoke candidly about the need for unity in our community and believes strongly that a balanced budget should never include a reduction in student programming. Glenn’s ultimate focus should he become a trustee is to always consider that the board does what is best for the children in our community.
Diana Armstead would enrich our Board of Education with her extensive experience and expertise working with at-risk students. Diana is a founding member of Concerned Parents of New Paltz, a proud member of the Sisters of Sojourner’s Truth, a parent and grandmother of New Paltz students. Diana has been working for decades to shed light on inequitable practices in schools as well as to identify crisis intervention approaches which are effective and safe for students and teachers. She will continue to work toward a shared goal of racial equity in our district and contribute her expertise to safeguard the physical and emotional safety of all children. Diana is ready to share her wide range, proactive approaches to student wellbeing, community engagement and student safety.
As it is each year, endorsements are made carefully and by examining many factors. It was very difficult for us not to formally endorse Brian Cournoyer, who is currently our longest serving trustee and who has been an indefatigable public servant. We applaud his work, particularly with the Capital Project and the racial equity initiative, and we believe that the many projects he helped launched would be supported and carried on by the three candidates we endorse today. Brian has always been an advocate for students in the school community by supporting the Opt Out movement, attending community events and traveling through the state with teachers and parents to confront Governor Cuomo and march for an end to the harmful tests and invalid NYS VAM teacher evaluation model.
We would like to thank Joey Garcia for taking time to meet with our executive team to share his ideas and perspectives, and we wish him well as he heads toward the election.
Arielle Chiger
on behalf of the New Paltz United Teachers
Executive Committee
Why Glenn LaPolt, Meghan Goodnow and Joey Garcia need our support for BOE
For the past several years, the current New Paltz Board of Education has desired to change our school start times, based on data from reputable sources. It is indeed an admirable endeavor, however, every plan (and there have been many), shown to the public and the board, has been a disaster. By moving the New Paltz school start times to anytime later, many opportunities for our students, student-athletes and those who participate in extracurricular activities, will either be eliminated or diminished. This simply cannot happen. New Paltz High School is one of the top-ranked schools in our region. We should be striving to enhance opportunities for students, not eliminate them.
At a recent Board of Education meeting, they proclaimed that school start times will not change for the 2018-2019 school year. This is not enough. Over the years, we have seen this initiative come forth endlessly, much to the detriment of parents, student-athletes and those participating in extracurricular activities. How are we to know this issue won’t just resurface again in September, or after this election is over? We don’t know. The current Board of Education has this issue on its agenda year after year. It will resurface and that is not an appealing idea for those it affects.
My family, friends and associates have taken an active role in relaying this message to our Board of Education. In October, I joined many members of our district (parents, coaches, teachers, etc.) and we addressed the board to inform them that we are not in favor of a later school start time for students at the middle and high schools. We already have one of the latest school start times in the state of New York. The Board of Education does not listen to these concerns, instead, they keep moving forward with this agenda, year after year. I believe we have wasted enough time, energy and resources on this matter and it’s time to find alternative, workable solutions.
Our new Athletic Director Gregory Warren is proposing a Health & Wellness Center be added to the New Paltz High School. By renovating the smaller gym there, we can easily and cost-effectively create a space where both students and staff can use weights, treadmills and elliptical bikes and can learn yoga, meditation and other wellness disciplines. The possibilities are endless. The benefits of exercise are also endless — stress and anxiety reduction, reduction of the rates of depression, disease and illness reduction, etc. The cost of creating this space is $300,000, and the money is and will be available. This is an exciting, progressive idea and will begin a lifetime of good health for our students.
Three candidates for this year’s Board of Education wholeheartedly support these ideals that I have shared: Glenn LaPolt, Meghan Goodnow and Joey Garcia. They do not support the changing of our school start times and they do support the idea of a Health and Wellness Center.
All three of these candidates I know well. I’ve worked with Meghan at many community events and district endeavors. Her knowledge and dedication is admirable. I know she will fight for all of our students and their needs. Joey and his wife Danielle are involved parents and have always supported the students of the New Paltz Central School District. When tragedy occurs, Danielle, a mental health counselor, is always the first on hand here in our district to help those who need it. Glenn LaPolt, a teacher in a neighboring school district, has become beloved in the New Paltz community, both as a swim coach, mentor and friend to so many.
I am certain that Glenn, Meghan and Joey are the right fit for our Board of Education. They will work hard for us, listen to the concerns of many, conduct policy of inclusion aside from personal agendas, and I am happy to support them.
Please join me and my family in voting for Glenn LaPolt, Meghan Goodnow and Joey Garcia on May 15.
Steven Takacs
New Paltz
Cournoyer, O’Donnell and Armstead for School Board
We have a choice among many qualified candidates for the New Paltz Central School District School Board. The three most qualified are Brian Cournoyer, Michael O’Donnell and Diana Armstead.
Two weeks ago, letters from Brian, Michael and Diana appeared in this newspaper. Go back and read these statements, which lay out impressive accomplishments and a wide-ranging awareness of local and national issues. Brian has served two terms on the board and is willing to commit to a third; Michael is willing to commit to a second term. Having already grappled with issues of the deepest concern to local citizens, both men bring knowledge and experience to the knotty process of providing an education that resonates with the real world within the constraints of a school budget that respects the value of every dollar spent.
In Michael’s words, Brian Cournoyer brings “an unparalleled level of experience and passion” to his work on the school board, along with the “ability to remain laser-focused on the big picture.” In Brian’s words, Michael O’Donnell possesses extraordinary analytical abilities that “have been a great asset in the Board’s commitment to making student-centered, data-driven choices.” The latter statement conforms to my own experience, looking at materials Michael has prepared for community-wide distribution.
I was not familiar with Diana Armstead. Reading her letter, I learned that she has served on the New Paltz Police Commission, the New Paltz Youth Commission, and the Sisters of Sojourner’s Truth, a group dedicated to addressing racial discrimination. This is only a piece of the picture. Diana is obviously a woman to be reckoned with, someone who has served with passion, conviction and dedication for the common good. She will make an outstanding member of the school board.
These are individuals with proven track records, as well as demonstrated skills in working collaboratively. I urge you to vote for Brian Cournoyer, Michael O’Donnell and Diana Armstead for school board on Tuesday, May 15. Polls are open 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
William Weinstein
New Paltz
We need Meghan Goodnow for BOE
We need Meghan Goodnow on the New Paltz Board of Education! I have worked with Meghan for several years now on many boards that she has presided over, including the New Paltz High School PTSA, the New Paltz Middle School PTA and the New Paltz Athletic Association. Meghan is always the first person to volunteer, donate, assist and lead, if necessary. When others won’t “step up” to take a position, Meghan will do it, and will do it with dedication and grace. Why? Because she will not disappoint the students here. She will not disappoint them.
Both Meghan and her husband Matthew have built their lives around community service. Meghan in the schools and Matthew in and around the New Paltz area. Both are committed to ensuring that this community and its members succeed. Meghan will ensure that our kids succeed, that our district succeeds. She does not take no for an answer and will not waver from what she believes and will not do things that she feels are sub-par.
Meghan is the real deal — a smart, strong woman, a loving mother and engaged community member. She will be an advocate for those students that need her most and is comfortable speaking to things many of us may not be aware of — special education plans, students with special needs or health-related issues and those students most at risk. She wants to be and will be their support. We need more people like Meghan in our district, fighting for our children and their needs.
Please join me in voting for Meghan Goodnow on May 15.
Jill Burke
New Paltz
Brian Cournoyer, Michael O’Donnell and Diana Armstead are right for the job
In this era of divisive politics, both nationally and locally, Brian Cournoyer, Michael O’Donnell and Diana Armstead work to find viable options that can benefit all of us. Their financial and administrative skills, research methods and dedication to community service — for all of us — is unparalleled.
Therese Sibon
New Paltz
Re-elect Michael O’Donnell to the New Paltz School Board
I am writing to ask my friends and neighbors in our communities to join me in voting to re-elect Michael O’Donnell to the New Paltz School Board. I do not do this because Mr. O’Donnell is a close personal friend. He is not. I do not do so because we work closely together. Though he wrote a fine essay for The Benjamin Center on the deep problems of using state assessments to predict college readiness, he and I did not even meet face-to-face while I edited his work. And I do not do this because I always agree with Mr. O’Donnell’s thinking or his votes on policy matters before the board. In fact, I sometimes do not.
I am voting for Michael O’Donnell, and I think you should too, because he is a good, smart principled man, devoted to our communities and dedicated to working collaboratively with others, thinking hard before acting, and deciding important matters on the evidence he has before him. That is, he cares about democracy and he cares about facts. Sadly, people like Michael O’Donnell — people who care about democracy and care about facts — are in shorter and shorter supply in America today. Whenever we can convince them, we need to help the ones we have into leadership roles.
Now and then I teach about representation. I tell my students that there are a lot of ways we can think about this American invention. Pick people with our world view. Or people who share our views on issues. Or who look like us. But I also tell them that one important thing to consider is character and judgment: choosing a person you will trust to be in the room to decide on things that will come up that you can’t even think of now, that you can’t even imagine, but that will be very important. I am going to vote for Michael O’Donnell because of character and judgement, because I want him to be in the room.
I just checked. Claudie and I paid $6,588.77 in school taxes this year. More than some; less than others. My family has been paying school taxes now for 44 years, not counting when we lived in an apartment in town and paid through our landlord. I estimate that we’ve provided at least $176,000 in support of the New Paltz School District over the years. Probably more.
I am like most other people; I am not a tax lover. But the New Paltz schools provided us with value. They educated our three kids, and they’re all doing well. I have no children in school now, but there were lots of taxpayers back then when mine were being educated here who’s kids were long since graduated and out in the world. Now it’s our turn. So we pay — looking both backward and forward — with conviction that it’s the right thing to do for the community, and for us.
But I don’t want that money wasted. I want the people who are deciding to use it efficiently and effectively to assure the very high quality of the education we offer, and the facilities in which we offer it, and responsiveness to and inclusion of our increasingly diverse community. Michael O’Donnell is a person I know will do this, because he has already done it.
Join me in voting for Michael on May 15 at the high school between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.. I hope I run into you there.
Jerry Benjamin
New Paltz
On May 15 we will be voting for Brian Cournoyer, Michael O’Donnell and Diana Armstead
This fall, our youngest son will enter kindergarten and all three of our children will be enrolled within the New Paltz Central School District. We place a great deal of importance on the upcoming school board election as the leadership we elect will be setting the standards for our children’s education. On May 15 we are happily voting for Brian Cournoyer, Michael O’Donnell and Diana Armstead. We have seen the impact of Brian and Michael’s tireless efforts on the board, and we know that their experience will be crucial in completing the many current school districts projects on time and on budget.
We are also very excited by Diana’s candidacy. Her experience shows a commitment towards fostering a safe and equitable environment for all, and she is particularly focused on the social well-being and health of our children. We are thrilled to have three passionate candidates that are focused on continuously improving the district for all of our children, please join us in voting for Brian, Michael and Diana on May 15.
Dennis & Jessica Young
New Paltz
I believe Diana, Michael and Brian are best suited to be on the school board
I am writing in support of Brian Cournoyer and Diana Armstead for Trustees of the New Paltz Central School District Board of Education. I restate my gratitude for all six candidates who are generously running to serve the district. Having written previously to endorse Michael O’Donnell, it is my pleasure to share why I enthusiastically advocate for Brian and Diana to the BOE, as well.
Having served alongside Brian as a fellow trustee for the past two years, I have seen firsthand how Brian models respectful leadership and collegial civility. A disciplined listener and a deep thinker, Brian honors and understands organizational protocols and the need to build consensus, enabling the BOE to move effectively, collaboratively and properly in its decision-making. Brian provides vital institutional memory; as long-time chair of the BOE’s Policy Committee, he helps to ensure that our district policies — a dynamic document numbering over 500 pages — are current, relevant and mission-aligned. His tenure also uniquely includes the beginning of the District’s Capital Project — a $52.9 million dollar taxpayer investment — that is coming to a close, successfully on time and under budget.
Brian’s long-held advocacy for public education informs a demonstrated record of protecting all children, with a nuanced knowledge of how historic and systemic discrimination continues to marginalize specific subgroups of children and their families. It is this compassionate insight that has helped to build trust and integrity towards the newly formed Racial Equity Advisory Committee. This core district work around equity, and specifically race, is challenging and uncomfortable; Brian has met this initiative with moral courage, conviction and service.
While Diana is running for the BOE for the first time, she is hardly new to the district. She has raised two generations of students in New Paltz schools (one child and now a grandchild) over the course of three superintendents. Diana has not waited for an official role to demonstrate her commitment to equity and to keep the district accountable to its mission— she planted the seeds of what is now the District’s Racial Equity Initiative as a co-founder of the Concerned Parents of New Paltz a generation ago. As both a parent and grandparent, Diana continues to advocate and organize out loud for children, showing up diligently to BOE meetings throughout the year, whether racial equity is on the agenda or not. She offers a unique perspective — historical, personal, and professional — of the often invisible obstacles children of color, and by extension other marginalized group’s face in the district. She understands the urgency of this work — how to see beyond isolated incidents of bias to confront systemic patterns and hopefully make the real, lasting change we want for all children. As a community, if we truly support and are committed to equity, we must recognize there is no one among the field of candidates that can help bring us, guide us more effectively on that journey than Diana Armstead.
Diana brings an impeccable professional law enforcement background, with crucial insight into how implicit bias can sabotage the safety we seek to provide all children. She has fought to save the Town of New Paltz police and worked directly with youth. She is a local educator on preventing opioid abuse and offering crisis intervention. She has led diversity training and participated in thoughtful hiring practices. She has engaged with the community in these areas often on a volunteer basis. Diana’s potential and unique contributions to the BOE cannot be overstated.
Diana Armstead can build on the courageous and diligent momentum that Michael O’Connell and Brian Cournoyer have established. Ultimately, my endorsement of them is based on what their public actions and experience demonstrate, having known each of them primarily through my work as a trustee. All children and families should be served by the BOE equitably, regardless of their social standing, connections or time in this community, of which we are all a part. Together, I believe Diana, Michael and Brian are best suited to do so, as they offer an inspiring, inclusive and affirmative vision for the district — rooted in values, not limited by single issues. Please join me in casting votes for Diana Armstead, Michael O’Donnell and Brian Cournoyer for the New Paltz BOE.
This letter expresses my personal opinions and not that of the Board of Education.
Sophia Skiles
Gardiner
Michael O’Donnell, Brian Cournoyer and Diana Armstead for Board of Education
I write to support Michael O’Donnell, Brian Cournoyer and Diana Armstead for Board of Education. I’ve had the privilege of serving the last three years on the BOE with both Michael O’Donnell and Brian Cournoyer. Both of them bring different energies, talents and skills to the table. I still remember early in my term when I sat down with Rick Linden and Michael O’Donnell for a Q & A on budget finances and Michael brought 238 questions! 238! I know he made me a better board member with his inquisitiveness, research, as well as commitment to thoroughness of understanding a problem before he jumped in with a proposed solution. In these times of complex, always-changing education policy and tight fiscal budgets, our community needs people at the table who are both willing and skillfull in wading through the details. Michael O’Donnell is both.
Brian Cournoyer brings something completely different to the table — his ability to see the big picture. The role of a board member can be incredibly frustrating. You can enact policy change. You set the budget and control the purse strings. You do not control or manage any part of the day to day. It is easy to feel incredibly frustrated when you first begin. Brian Cournoyer has been the guidepost these last few years. He is the steady presence that brings both perspective and history as well as understanding on how to enact change within the narrow defines of the role. He is one of the brightest, most thoughtful and compassionate voices for the community.
While I do not know Diana Armstead personally, her efforts, presence and commitment to the racial equity work the district has started have greatly impressed me. While I believe our district provides an excellent education to most students, I also recognize that despite our best efforts, the education we provide to others falls short. We need people who recognize that. We need people with experience navigating complex systems in new ways to help our most vulnerable students. We need people like Diana Armstead on the board.
I hope you will join me in voting for Michael O’Donnell, Brian Cournoyer, and Diana Armstead for BOE on May 15.
Alison Easton
New Paltz
My support goes to Brian Cournoyer, Michael O’Donnell and Diana Armstead
I am writing in support of three candidates running for our school board: Brian Cournoyer, Michael O’Donnell and Diana Armstead. These three candidates have individually demonstrated their commitment to our community and each have done so excellently with poise, tenacity and collaborative spirits. Mr. Cournoyer is our senior-ranking school board member and his contributions during his tenure are vast, including steering, despite huge obstacles, the 2015 Capital Bond to passage, a project now on schedule and under budget. Throughout his service, he has helped to expand our educational offerings while overcoming growing financial burdens.
Mr. O’Donnell, the board’s current president, is all about how funds are spent wisely to benefit our students and taxpayers. He is committed to comprehensive protocols for addressing racial discrimination and sensible relief from excessive academic pressures that negatively impact our kids’ well-being.
Ms. Armstead has been serving our community for more than 20 years in various volunteer capacities. She worked closely with the director of our Youth Center and Town Board to improve programming while she was a member of the New Paltz Youth Commission. She currently lectures college students on the opioid epidemic and crisis prevention at SUNY New Paltz and Dutchess Community College. Ms. Armstead is keenly interested in programs that address the social, emotional and physical health of our students and effective initiatives that further academic excellence and build on the strengths of our diversity. Ultimately, each in their own way deeply care about our kids, our future.
These are just a few brief reasons why these candidates have my support. I ask you to do the same this coming election. Be sure to vote!
William Wheeler Murray
New Paltz
We enthusiastically endorse Brian Cournoyer and Michael O’Donnell
In less than a week we will go to the polls in New Paltz to vote for school board candidates. We enthusiastically endorse Brian Cournoyer and Michael O’Donnell, the two incumbents who are running for re-election. Serving on the school board is a demanding and complex volunteer job. To manage a budget of more than $60,000,000, school board members must be financially smart, fiscally savvy, analytical and prudent. In addition, they must deal with a myriad of issues, ranging from the mundane to the highly charged, to ensure that our children have the opportunity to get a stellar education. This requires supporting the teachers, administrators and staff who work with our kids every day. Our school board members must also be compassionate, open-minded, thoughtful, patient and determined. These skills take time to develop, and there is no better way to hone them than by serving on the school board. Through their experience managing school budgets and huge school construction projects, Brian and Michael have demonstrated they have sound fiscal management skills. They have also shown an unwavering commitment to providing a social environment that strengthens students’ mental and physical health. The wide range of issues that school board members are responsible for requires thoughtful people who take the time to do their homework and propose sound solutions based on data and facts. We support the two candidates with the proven experience to best serve our children, teachers and staff. Please join us in voting on May 15 for Brian Cournoyer and Michael O’Donnell.
Andrea Russo
Michael Zierler
New Paltz
In support of Glenn LaPolt for School Board
I am writing in support of Glenn LaPolt for the New Paltz Board of Education. I have known Glenn for more than a decade, and am very impressed with him. His passion for teaching is genuine and praiseworthy, and he is also — and has been for a long time — very involved with the community. There is an open enthusiasm in Glenn that I find very refreshing, and I know he cares deeply for children and their education. I love talking with him and hearing his feelings about schools, our community and the bigger world; and his knowledge of history adds much to this. He also has a great sense of humor (which, I believe, we all need). I strongly believe that Glenn LaPolt will make an excellent member of the Board of Education. He’ll have my vote, and I hope he has yours, on May 15.
Mark Sherman
New Paltz
A vote for Brian, Mike and Diana is a vote for something that is long overdue
It is sad that much of this election has centered on sports uniforms and a false narrative of the current BOE’s commitment to adopting later start times at the expense of extracurriculars. No matter how many times it has been explained and proven that this is not the case, no matter how many times it has been reiterated that under the current BOE, funding for athletics has increased for the past several years and every single request by student athletes, parents and the athletic director has been granted, fake news persists.
A feared loss of power and agency on the part of the dominant culture often accompanies movements for equity and this clash of self-interests has been playing out across our country since Trump first announced his candidacy. It is hard to know if the sudden surge of athletic tribalism is a racial equity backlash, but it should give us all pause.
The fact is that when we address structures of racial inequality, we expose and address homophobia, transphobia, gender-bias and xenophobia of every kind. This is a matter of our embracing our humanity and electing candidates who will prioritize the many rather than the few and who will work to fight “color-blind” racism.
I have come to know Diana Armstead through her work with the New Paltz Racial Equity Coalition and have been privileged to learn from her 30 years of advocating for racial equity in this district. I share Diana’s training in crisis de-escalation and working with at-risk children and know that her unique perspective on supportive interventions has the potential to be transformative for this district. At the end of the day, the breadth and depth of Diana’s experience is unmatched by any other of the other candidates.
Over the years, Brian and Michael have navigated unfunded mandates, flawed and punitive teacher evaluation schemes, harmful high stakes testing, student data mining, the systematic defunding of public schools and an increased burden on taxpayers. They have fought these attacks on our children’s education, all while nursing our district back to fiscal health, overseeing the capital project and prioritizing a community-directed racial equity initiative.
There are families of color in this district who have waited decades to be heard, and who have experienced racism in our schools across generations. Think about that. It is 2018, and we are only just now addressing institutional racism as a school community. That is far, far, too long to wait. Much is at stake and to be clear, a vote for Brian, Mike and Diana is a vote for something that is long overdue.
Bianca Tanis
New Paltz
Stellar track records!
In athletics, it’s a combination of hard work, experience, endurance and teamwork that’s crucial for successful outcomes. So too in public education. The track records of three candidates running for the Board of Education stand out in these ways.
Brian Cournoyer, with six years of board experience and as board president in 2015, shepherded the passing of the Capital Bond to assure safe and livable schools for students and educators.
Michael O’Donnell, current board president, uses his unparalleled analytical skills to assure fiscally responsible and educationally-sound decisions.
Diana Armstead’s long history of advocacy for young people and membership in Concerned Parents of New Paltz enables her to be a voice for students, including those from marginalized backgrounds.
All three candidates have a strong commitment to the Racial Equity Initiative in the district.
These community leaders have the experience and endurance to work hard as a team to address all issues facing our schools and to create policies and support practices that are inclusive of all students and their families.
Nancy Schniedewind
New Paltz
