To the Editor:
On May 20, city residents will have the opportunity to vote for two school board candidates out of a field of four.
Two candidates are current school board members. Two candidates have never served on the school board.
Do I want a continuation of past school fiscal policies? No.
Am I satisfied with current fiscal policies? No.
Do I want a fresh look at school policies and expenditures by new faces on the school board? Yes.
Of the two choices I may make on that Tuesday, Mr. “Gus” Kazolias stands out as being my first choice. I know Mr. Kazolias will strive to make the school board more open, relevant and reactive to the concerns of the entire taxpaying community. It is evident to me that the administration, teachers, parents and students already have strong advocates on the school board. It is time that taxpayers without professional or personal affiliations with school districts have a voice on the school board. Mr. Kazolias can provide that independent voice.
Mr. Kazolias will work to ensure that the children in our community get the best education that our tax dollars can provide. The key words are “our tax dollars.”
Not school administration tax dollars, not school staff tax dollars, not schoolteacher tax dollars – but business owners, homeowners, parents and student tax dollars.
The entire community supports the school district with “our tax dollars” and that community deserves to have the independent voice of Mr. Kazolias represent them on the school board.
To bring balance and common sense to our school board, I will be voting for “Gus” Kazolias on May 20, and I urge all city residents to do the same.
John T. Lawrence
Poughkeepsie
To the Editor:
I am a senior at Poughkeepsie High School. One of the assignments for my participation in government class mandates we attend four government meetings. I attended the recent Planning Board meeting held in March.
During one of the public hearings held at the meeting, a man brought a proposal to the board. He wishes to “split an existing parcel … containing a single-family dwelling into two lots of record, one with a single-family dwelling … and one vacant lot.” A future hearing was scheduled where the man would return with blueprints. They also discussed the possibility of informing the neighborhood about this man’s plans.
I believe informing the public about such a decision is very important. The neighbors should consent to proceeding with the building plans since they will be directly affected by various factors including noise levels during construction and traffic diversions that might occur due to the construction process.
Erick Salazar
Poughkeepsie High School
To the Editor:
On March 26, I attended a Board of Education meeting at the Poughkeepsie City School District Administration Building. I was impressed to see the high turnout of faculty members, students and members of the community.
I witnessed the discussion of the seven proposals of career academies. To the best of my knowledge, they included health and human services, design, art and media, math, science and technology, business and government, tourism and culinary, public service and global citizenship. Although these areas of study do include a significant amount of variety and balance, I still have to wonder where all of the students who are unsure of their future plans will study.
High school is a time of exploration and growth, one in which students should learn as much as they can in various areas of study, so that they can make an educated decision about what they would like to pursue later in life. Maybe in addition to the proposals already submitted, there should be a “humanities” or liberal arts academy.
I don’t think that forcing students to choose a path for their future career at such an early age will be effective for all students. This may benefit some students substantially; however, I am afraid that many others will be left behind.
Olivia Garrity
Poughkeepsie High School
To the Editor:
I am a student at Poughkeepsie High School and I recently attended a county Legislature meeting at the County Office Building. I really was for one of the presentations that was about using solar-powered panels to generate electricity for schools, businesses and homes. I felt very strongly about the idea and would one day hope to see this happen. Recently, Arlington High School just planned to have them put on their school with the help of donations and support from students, local citizens and faculty. I feel that would be a positive move that will benefit the whole world. I would like for PHS to try to make something like this happen in the near future.
Rashad Miller
Poughkeepsie High School
To the Editor:
I recently attended the meeting for the Poughkeepsie City School District Board of Education. At this meeting, the main discussion topic was the new budget for the 2008 fiscal year. However, there was another major topic that caught my attention.
This was the new career academy being developed for next year’s sophomores at PHS. One thing caught me by surprise, though. Out of the seven proposals being submitted for the courses by the superintendent, he didn’t read or review any of them. I found this odd. If you give an outline for seven courses, you should review the material so that when the members of the board review it and ask questions, you can answer them not by a guess but by some supporting evidence from the proposals.
This may not entirely have been the superintendent’s fault, though. It may not have been up to him to read this information. I just think that the information being submitted should have been done so in a more orderly fashion. Overall, my experience of the meeting was a good one. I’m looking forward to seeing how the turnout for this new program at PHS is.
Andrew Irkliewskij
Poughkeepsie High School