West Genesee voters will have to choose from four candidates when they head to the high school auditorium lobby from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday May 17 for school board elections.
They will also vote on a $68.3 million spending plan for 2011-12, a decrease of $1.6 million from the current year’s plan, that assumes a 3.8 percent tax levy increase and includes 53 staff reductions.
The vote includes a proposition to authorize the district to purchase eight school buses for 2011-12 at a price not to exceed $864,610. The state reimburses the district 82 percent of the cost of each bus over a five-year period. The final position is to collect a tax totaling $288,000 in order to provide support for Maxwell, Fairmount and Onondaga libraries.
Here are this year’s school board candidates:
Vladimiro Hart-Zavoli
Vladimiro Hart-Zavoli, of 206 East Arbordale Road, Syracuse, is running for election to the Board of Education.
He is a graduate of Grover Cleveland High School in New York City and attended Baruch College with a major in computer science.
He and his wife Kathleen have two children: Jeremiah, a sixth grader at West Genesee Middle School, and Olivia, who is in fourth grade at Onondaga Road Elementary School.
“As a proud and concerned parent of two children working their way through our schools, I am consistently exploring alternative approaches that will foster their creativity and instill a sense of community,” Vladimiro said.
Vladimiro currently works for the Syracuse City School District in Computer Operations. Prior to that, he was the Technology Center Supervisor at Aurora of CNY, and a Rehabilitation Technology Specialist in Seattle, Washington.
Prior to moving to Camillus, Vladimiro had ties to the community as a member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church since 2004. He currently serves on the Vestry at St. Luke’s and is a member of the parish outreach committee. He has served as a delegate to Diocesan Convention and played a part in Sunday worship as a musician. He is a member of the Onondaga Road PTA and the West Genesee Special Education PTSA.
“On both a personal and civic level, I believe that there is no greater responsibility than securing a safe and nurturing environment for all children,” Vladimiro said. “In these especially difficult times, I hope to work with my peers to identify and implement innovative learning and service strategies that are both curriculum focused and confidence building.
“The education of our children must be a cooperative effort between educators, parents and the community at large.”
David Paczkowski
David Paczkowski has been a member of the West Genesee Board of Education for the last 24 years. During his tenure, he has served as board president, vice president, been a member of the District Shared Decision Making Committees, District Advisory Committee on Pre-K, Strategic Planning for Educational Improvement Committee and the Continuous Improvement Council, and has been a board representative on the initial District Strategic Planning Committee.
Dave is currently serving in his ninth year as the West Genesee representative on the Board of Education of the Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES. He was also honored by the Onondaga-Madison School Boards Association as the Outstanding School Board Member of the Year in 2005 with the presentation of the William Krentel Award.
“I take pride in being a member of a responsible board of education that must delicately balance the needs of the District with the ability of our taxpayers to provide the financial resources and support needed to provide outstanding educational opportunity for our students,” Dave said.
After working 31 years, he retired in 2002 from Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation/National Grid. He has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from SUNY at Buffalo and a master’s degree in business administration from Chapman University.
Dave is a member of Holy Family Church. For fifteen years, he was associated with the Western Onondaga Youth Soccer Association as a coach, referee, member of the board of directors, vice president and president. He has also been involved in the West Genesee Athletic Booster Club.
He and his wife, Monica, live at 106 Merriweather Drive. Their daughter, Lynn, a graduate of West Genesee and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, works for International Paper in Memphis, Tennessee. Their son, Christopher, is also a graduate of West Genesee and of the University of Rochester. He works for the Department of Defense Information Systems Agency and lives with his wife, Ellie, and two sons, Matthew and Austin, in Washington, D.C.
“I am committed to providing the best environment for learning for each of our students, while moving forward with a focus on continuous improvement,” he added. “I believe my years of service on the board provides a knowledge base which will support the growth of our district.
“Today’s economic times are creating a climate of uncertainty in our schools that we have never seen before. I am proud to be a member of a community where our staff members came forward and agreed to take a pay freeze in order to help West Genesee retain positions and lessen the tax increase needed to fund our programs. We need to achieve more with less. We must all work together to explore all alternatives to improve our practices and minimize spending so that our students and community will continue to realize their high expectations.”
Deborah Simon
Deborah Simon, of 210 Weathervane Way, Syracuse, is Operations Manager for Continuum Professional Services, a national medical transcription service.
She is a graduate of the Mandl School for Medical Assistants and Secretaries on Long Island. She attended Onondaga Community College.
Deborah currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Onondaga Madison School Board Association. She was president of the Stonehedge PTA and past president of the West Genesee District Council. She also served as an associate director for the Central District PTA. She has received the NYSSBA Master of Boardmanship Award. In addition, she was the recipient of the Honorary Life Membership and Distinguished Service Award from the New York State PTA. She has been a Boy Scout den leader and a religious education instructor at Holy Family Church.
Mrs. Simon’s husband, Stan, works at Cooper Crouse-Hinds. They have two sons, Matthew and Kevin, both of whom are graduates of West Genesee.
Mrs. Simon is concluding her third three-year term. Currently she is president and served as vice president from 2007 to 2009. She said her reasons for seeking another term are simple – she enjoys volunteering and wants to continue helping the district succeed in its academic growth.
“For the last nine years I have been watching, listening, and learning what really goes on behind the scenes in order to make our District outstanding. These past two years have been the most challenging due to the financial constraints facing not only our District, but all school districts, as well as our county, state, and federal governments. Developing the budget has been a difficult process because of the impact it is taking on programs and staff. Our goal here at West Genesee is to ensure that every child, when they enter Kindergarten, is given every opportunity to enjoy a successful academic environment and are able to embark on what lies ahead for them when they graduate from West Genesee.
“What has inspired me the most to continue to sit on the Board, is the collaboration and communication that our administrators, faculty, and staff have demonstrated these past few years. I am so proud of each and every one of them. Everyone is looking out for the good of the student and of each other. There is no ‘I’ in West Genesee; there is a ‘We’, and together we will continue to succeed and to be a nationally ranked school here in the USA.”
Neil Widrick
Neil Widrick resides at 108 Munro Drive, Camillus. He has been employed by St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center for 21 years and is currently the Manager of the Sleep Laboratory.
He is responsible for overseeing employees including the development and implementation of an annual budget program. He is also responsible for hiring and training new employees and the policy and procedure manual. While at St. Joseph’s Hospital he has held a variety of roles including: Coordinator of Respiratory Care, In-service Education, and the Coordinator of the Pulmonary Rehabilitation program. Neil is also an adjunct faculty member of the Respiratory Care Education Program at SUNY Upstate Medical University.
His community involvement includes being a member of the John Pepper/ Wildcat Lacrosse committee, pit dad for Marching Band, as well as chairperson of the bottle drive for the marching band, chairperson of Security for the Tournament of the Bands, WOYSA Board of Directors serving as Registrar/Division Director/Coach, and as a coach for CYBA.
Neil and his wife, Arisa, have two children. Their son Benjamin is a sophomore at West Genesee High School, and their daughter Katherine is an eighth grader at Camillus Middle School, where Arisa is the president of the CMS PTO.
He is a graduate of Lowville Central High School and has a bachelor’s degree in advanced cardio respiratory care from SUNY Upstate Medical Center. He is a Registered Polysomnographic Technologist, a Registered Respiratory Therapist, and a Registered Pulmonary Function Technologist.
Neil has lived in Camillus for the past 16 years.
“I have spent the last year at every Board meeting to be aware of the board programs and to insure my commitment to this district. In addition, in high school, I had the privilege of being a student representative for my local BOE, and consequently, I have always maintained the desire to actively serve my community as a board member, specifically, when my children are enrolled within the district.
“West Genesee School District has an outstanding academic, athletic and fine arts program that my children have had the privilege of experiencing first hand. I wish to assist in any way I can to maintain this excellent program, especially with the financial, social, and academic challenges we face in our future.”
