The seven candidates running for Liverpool school board provided The Review with answers to several questions. The election will be held from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday May 15 at the Liverpool Public Library, Liverpool High School, Chestnut Hill Middle School, Nate Perry Elementary School and the Soule Road complex.
Pam Isgro
Biographical information:
Husband, Nick; children, Angelo and Jennifer. I work as an office manager for a local ophthalmologist. I have lived in Liverpool all of my life. I have been a school board member for the past three years.
Why are you running for school board?
I am running for another term for the same reason I ran originally, to bring balanced representation to the board.
What challenges does the district face and how will you address them as a board member?
The challenges we are facing are too numerous to detail here. Suffice to say that I will continue to do my best to research issues in order to make an informed decision when I vote.
What will you do as a board member to ensure that the services and education received by Liverpool students continues to improve while maintaining a fiscally responsible budget?
We have a financial responsibility to the community to minimize the tax impact and at the same time, deliver the best education possible for the children of our community. We have an excellent business manager in Katie Phillips, who does an outstanding job in a very trying fiscal climate.
Is there anything else you would like to mention, either about your candidacy or the district itself?
It has been an honor to serve the community as a school board member for the past three years. If re-elected, I will continue to strive to do what is best for the children of our district.
Richard Pento
Biographical information:
Secondary Science Teacher, John C Birdlebough High School, Phoenix Central School District
Amy — Wife, Spanish teacher, Liverpool High School
Julie — Age 9, Grade four, Morgan Road
Jack — Age 5, entering Kindergarten Fall ’07
Why are you running for school board?
I have experience in many different facets of the educational field. I have been in the classroom for 13 years, 3 as a substitute teacher at Liverpool, and the last 10 as a secondary science teacher. I currently serve as a union executive board member for my district and last year, I completed my administrative program and served as an administrative intern. I am a current member of the Liverpool Code of Conduct committee. I have been involved as a coach and an official in youth athletics for children age 4 to age 21. I believe this diversity of experience provides me a broad perspective that will be an asset to the board and community.
What challenges does the district face and how will you address them as a board member?
I believe the district is facing a public perception issue. The programs and education provided by the LCSD are as strong as ever and should be lauded. Unfortunately, many of the issues that seem to be the focus of discussion are negative and disruptive in nature and are interfering with the primary focus of the district. I hope to provide opportunity for clarification and communication between the district and the community so that we can refocus and recommit our energies to the important tasks of the district.
What will you do as a board member to ensure that the services and education received by Liverpool students continues to improve while maintaining a fiscally responsible budget?
The most important part of any educational program is at the classroom level between the teacher and the student. The district needs to ensure that the money being spent on its programs will provide a benefit to that interaction which is the basis for the students’ educational experience. The district then needs to provide for the enriching experiences that cultivate the spirit as well as the mind. Programs and/or expenditures that do not focus on student development need to be evaluated to see if they justify the expense.
Is there anything else you would like to mention, either about your candidacy or the district itself?
No.
Michael Murphy
Biographical information:
Michael W. Murphy and his wife Deborah, who reside on Colony Park Drive, have lived in Liverpool since 1976. Murphy has served three terms on the board of education, having been first elected in 1998. The Murphys have two daughters who are the products of Liverpool schools. Lauren, a 2000 aerospace engineering graduate of the University of Notre Dame, is a lieutenant in the US Navy, currently serving as an instructor pilot stationed at Whiting Field in Milton, Florida. Leah is 2003 graduate of Boston College and received her Master’s degree from SUNY Oswego in 2005. Leah is a School Counselor in an elementary school for Baltimore County schools. Murphy is a corporate attorney with National Grid USA Service Company Inc. and received his BA from LeMoyne College and his JD from Albany Law School.
Why are you running for school board?
Murphy is running for BOE election because he regards education as a positive difference maker and a game-changer in people’s lives. Education should be a key tool and ingredient in helping our youth realize their potential, pursue their dreams and become good citizens.
What challenges does the district face and how will you address them as a board member?
The biggest challenge being faced is to manage the change, i.e. discerning the various changes in things such as population, demographics, curriculum, technology and public opinion and calibrating the district’s programs and budget to address those changes so as to deliver value to the local taxpayer and accomplish our task of graduating students equipped to be lifelong learners and citizens of this great country.
What will you do as a board member to ensure that the services and education received by Liverpool students continues to improve while maintaining a fiscally responsible budget?
This is a constant balancing act that starts with the evaluation of what you are doing presently, identifying what you no longer need to do or need to do differently and what you want to do in the future. From among the alternatives identified, you need to prioritize and schedule what you are going to tackle after having assessed the cost and benefits of the various alternatives. Then you need to implement your decisions and evaluate whether your desired benefits were attained at the projected cost.
Is there anything else you would like to mention, either about your candidacy or the district itself?
Murphy has three types of experience relative to his BOE candidacy. First, he has nine years of experience as a BOE member, for half of which he was in a BOE leadership capacity as either president or vice president. Second, as an attorney and counselor, he is used to dealing with the complexity and nuances of many of the issues that come before the BOE. Third, he has volunteer leadership and management experience from several other organizations, past and present, he has served.
Donna Marsh O’Connor
Biographical information:
Realtor associated with Prudential 1st Properties, North office, married to Robert T. O’Connor (English Professor, SUNY Oswego), mother of Vanessa Langer, James and Jackson O’Connor, Liverpool resident for 22 years.
Why are you running for school board?
For 20-plus years I taught writing and rhetoric at Syracuse University. I also visited high schools throughout our area and the downstate region for Syracuse’s Project Advance program. Over the course of my career I became acutely aware of how important it is for communities to support and be supported by their school systems. I also spent a great deal of time working with a multitude of issues relating to how we prepare students for higher learning, who should be held accountable, and what national trends affect our local educational methods. I gained a great deal of insight into the value of professional development opportunities for teachers as well as how important it is to value each and every student learner and to demonstrate that valuing by offering programs that meet the needs of differing learning styles. We can meet state and federal standards without standardizing people. I want to join the school board to make a difference, to pay back to my community.
What challenges does the district face and how will you address them as a board member?
There is a discrepancy between our mission as a school district and the controversies that unfold in the media. I’m not sure whether this is a communication problem or whether it is a series of problems that need remediation. I do know that I want to hear from all members of the Liverpool community (students, teachers, staff, administrators and taxpayers) about their goals as well as their concerns for the future of our district. I also think we need to pay attention to the configuration of the middle schools. But the larger issue that challenges our district is one that challenges our state and our nation–we increase the number of standardized tests without full consciousness of the social and economic costs of these tests. Districts must meet the challenges of these tests as they manage to achieve high standards for critical thinking and civic engagement.
What will you do as a board member to ensure that the services and education received by Liverpool students continues to improve while maintaining a fiscally responsible budget?
We have a mission statement in this district. The Liverpool Central School District will be a leader in public education by providing the best opportunities for students to achieve academic and personal excellence. We need to be sure that all expenses allocated have some connection to that mission statement and/or its guiding principles. We need fiscal oversight to be sure that this is effectively achieved without making that oversight excessively burdensome.
Is there anything else you would like to mention, either about your candidacy or the district itself?
I raised three children in this district and each of them is a dramatically different person. Their educational needs and their personal goals differed. Their abilities varied. For each one Liverpool Central Schools was a wonderful fit, offering them the programs they needed to thrive and prosper. I know that they would not have had the same opportunities in other districts. I am proud of this.
Jim Southard
Biographical information:
Occupation: Assistant director of fiscal services, Syracuse City School District
Family: wife Elena
Years in Liverpool: All except college, two years in Russia, and two years in Syracuse.
Months on School Board: 7 Months
Other Public Service: Liverpool CSD representative on the Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES Board since December 2006.
Why are you running for school board?
I have three years experience in the education finance field with Syracuse CSD and a lifelong passion for my alma mater (LHS Class of ’90). I believe that my work on the board combines these two passions and allows me to bring a unique perspective.
What challenges does the district face and how will you address them as a board member?
I appreciate the work of our parents, teachers, staff, and administrators that do the “heavy lifting” that consistently improves our school system. One priority if I win election to the board will be to encourage more open communication between the board, administrators, staff, and community. This process had a good start with the community budget meetings but needs to be continued and expanded.
What will you do as a board member to ensure that the services and education received by Liverpool students continues to improve while maintaining a fiscally responsible budget?
While students and their education are the primary focus of the Liverpool Central School District, the parents and taxpayers that provide about half of the annual revenue must be considered when developing a budget. With a projected 3.61 percent tax increase, I believe the administration and board have done a good job in this essential balancing act. As we move further into the process of school-age population decline, there will be more opportunities for savings.
Is there anything else you would like to mention, either about your candidacy or the district itself?
With an M.B.A. from SUNY Empire State College and my Summer 2007 enrollment in SUNY Cortland’s Educational Leadership program, I have demonstrated a commitment to keeping my knowledge fresh so that I can work towards the successful education of the 8000-plus students in Liverpool.
Stan Shubsda
Biographical information:
912 4th Street
Software Engineer
Over 20 years in Liverpool
Liverpool High School Class of 1988
Attended Morgan Road Elementary and Soule Road Middle
BA Computer Science SUNY Potsdam
Family: Married to Amy
Children: Thomas (10), Molly (8), Jennifer (7), and Adam (5), who are currently enrolled at Liverpool Elementary in LEEP, 1st grade, 3rd grade, and 5th grade.
I am involved in my children’s activities that include Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Music, Soccer, and Basketball
Why are you running for school board?
I have benefited from a quality education from public schools like Liverpool High School and SUNY Potsdam, and I want to give back to my community. The board of education needs volunteers and new ideas to help create the best opportunities for our children. I can offer the perspective of an alumnus, a father and a taxpayer who has no formal background in education and no family members working for the district. This gives me a fresh perspective from the outside, with questions that can only be answered from within the board of education.
What challenges does the district face and how will you address them as a board member?
In 1985, I was a freshman at Liverpool High School when LHS was recognized by the US Department of Education as being one of the top schools in the nation, a model school. In 2005, LHS was cited as a School Requiring Academic Progress under the No Child Left Behind Act. As the district considers changes to improve our district, I would like to participate in the process. I don’t have any answers, but I have lots of questions. I do have a clear goal. Liverpool should be striving to be on top again. I want my kids to go to a school that is recognized as being a model school, like I did.
What will you do as a board member to ensure that the services and education received by Liverpool students continues to improve while maintaining a fiscally responsible budget?
We must talk honestly about our finances. We need to pay teachers in the classroom, not administrators on leave or at conferences. The board has a responsibility to try to resolve conflicts in a way that avoids unnecessary litigation. Our cost per pupil increases more than 8 percent under this year’s budget. Are we spending that money in the most efficient way possible?
Is there anything else you would like to mention, either about your candidacy or the district itself?
“We are all in this together.” Tom Minardi used to say these words over and over as he directed plays and musicals at Liverpool High School. Even the smallest part contributes to the whole. For my children to receive the best opportunities, Liverpool must have the best schools. We are all in this together.
F. Joseph Unangst
Biographical information:
Joe is President of Galson Laboratories, a successful, growing 72-person laboratory in East Syracuse, NY. He joined the company in 1986 and purchased the laboratory in 1996. Joe has a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Chemistry from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. He studied in the graduate program in Environmental Engineering at Syracuse University before taking a position directing an ac
