Next week, residents of the Baldwinsville Central School District will decide on the district’s 2018-19 budget (see graphic below). They’ll also choose three members of the board of education. Learn more about the candidates below. Other propositions include a bus proposition for roughly $1 million and a $4.31 million safety and security capital project referendum. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, May 15, and all voting will take place at C.W. Baker High School, 29 E. Oneida St., Baldwinsville.

Christy Pavetto Bond (incumbent)

Biographical info:

I am the mother of two boys, Stephen and Jonathan.  Stephen graduated from Ithaca College’s Park School of Communications and works as a producer in Los Angeles. Jonathan is a senior at Baker and will be attending Le Moyne College in the fall. 

I am also a board-certified healthcare administrator and the director of population health and quality improvement at Crouse Health. My educational degrees are in business administration and education. This enables me to understand both the core work of education excellence and the business of leading a school district from a strategic and policy level. 

I have lived in the Baldwinsville area all of my life. 

Why are you running for office?

Educational excellence is my passion.  I feel I can give back to my community by using my background in business and education to support quality public education. 

Why are you the best candidate?

• I have an educational background and experience in both education and business, which enables me to understand the core work of educational excellence and the business of leading a school district in a fiscally sound way. 
• I have firsthand experience with both general education and special education programming and can understand the need to support all students to reach their full potential. 
• I have professional experience working at the strategic level, which will be needed as we continue with the implementation of the school district’s strategic plan and begin to develop a facilities strategic plan.
• As a healthcare administrator, I understand the ways we need to support students’ mental health.
• I have a track record of listening carefully to all points of view and maintaining productive relationships with all constituents, including my fellow board members, specifically the incumbents who are running for re-election.  We have worked very effectively together to accomplish a great deal over the past three years.   

What are the major issues facing the district, and what will you do to address them?

1. Continue to offer an excellent educational experience that allows all students to develop to their full potential. 

• The educational literature is really clear that the single most important contributor to quality education is putting excellent teachers in the classroom and providing them with the tools they need.  As a member of our board of education, I have supported the implementation of the Learning Coach program that provides continuing teacher development opportunities at the local level, when and where teachers want it. 

• As a member of the Technology Committee, I have supported providing students and teachers with resources they need to excel in today’s world, whether in preparation for college or career. 

• Both of my children were identified with learning differences — and both graduated from high school successfully and went onto college.  I am a strong advocate for special education and providing all students with the support and opportunities they need to be the best they can be.  Both of my sons also had strengths that needed to be challenged, so I understand that part as well.  We need to offer opportunities for students to challenge themselves when they have an aptitude in a particular area. 

• As a member of the Strategic Planning Committee, I have supported the development of a plan for Baldwinsville that emphasizes growth opportunities for all students and a creative environment that supports teachers in creating those opportunities. 

• If re-elected, I would continue to support these key initiatives. 

2. Enable students to feel safe and secure while at school.

• While on the board of education, I have supported a balanced approach to school safety that includes hardening our schools and offering mental health support.  I have also supported the School Resource Officer program and training for students and staff along with improving access to mental health services by partnering with a mental health provider to offer clinical services in our schools. 

• If re-elected, I would continue to support these key initiatives.

3. Ensure our facilities infrastructure can support excellence in educational programming.

• As a member of the board of education I have visited the schools in our district to witness, firsthand, the facilities and infrastructure needs we must plan for in order to accommodate our students and maintain educational excellence.  I hope to be able to use that knowledge to continue to participate in the strategic planning for our future infrastructure needs. 

4. Continue to communicate with and listen to the community.

• I have served on the board’s Communications Committee and participated in ongoing efforts to improve school-community communication using a variety of modalities.

• If re-elected, I would continue to work to prioritize community-school communication.

Sally Dayger (incumbent)

Biographical info

A resident of Baldwinsville since 1965, Sally holds a B.S. in elementary education from SUNY Oswego and has certification in mathematics as well as administration and supervision. She taught at Van Buren Elementary School, then math at Durgee Junior High School and Ray Middle School for a total of 35 years of teaching. She has served the district in administration capacities as assistant principal at Ray Middle School and Baker High School and was summer school principal for 13 years. After retirement, she continued teaching as a substitute teacher and taught math at SUNY Oswego where she also supervised student teachers.

Sally has served the Baldwinsville community in diverse ways: as coordinator of the Baldwinsville Community Food Pantry for many years; as a member of the PAC-B Board of Directors; as a trustee for her church; as trustee and board member of McHarrie’s Legacy; and as president of the Women’s Garden Club. She has also acted as a costume designer for Baker High School productions and for local theatre companies. In addition, Sally has reached beyond the Baldwinsville community to serve on the Board of Directors at Folks Home in Herkimer.

During her tenure on the Board of Education, Sally has served on the Strategic Planning, Policy, Insurance, Wellness, and Mental Health committees. Additionally, with her enthusiastic support, the auditorium has been renovated, the stadium has been enhanced, and a new transportation complex is underway. Sally’s goal is to provide a safe, nurturing environment for students to learn and teachers to teach and to keep our school district the best in Central New York. To learn more about Sally, visit fb.me/BvilleBOE2018 or “Like” Bville BOE Candidates 2018 on Facebook. 

Why are you running for office?

I am running for the board of education to:

• continue my support for a strong, diverse educational program.
• continue my strong commitment to providing a safe, nurturing environment for students to learn and teachers to teach.
• continue my support for a full, wide ranging athletic program.
• continue my support for a full and diverse music program.
• continue my support for other beneficial extra-curricular activities.

With a diverse educational program, students can move forward to their fullest potential.

Why are you the best candidate?

The three incumbents are the best candidates. Christy Bond, Sally Dayger and Jim Goulet have experience, have vision for the future and are involved in looking out for what is best for your students.

Our track record speaks for itself:

We support and encourage ideas the superintendent and others in the district have initiated for outstanding academic excellence, safety, mental health, drug awareness and other programs.

Under our tenure, renovations to Baker Auditorium and Pelcher/Arcaro Stadium have taken place.

With the support of Christy Bond, Sally Dayger and Jim Goulet a new modern transportation facility is under construction helping to reduce traffic in the village.

Of major importance are the safety renovations, modifications and improvements to existing buildings.

Christy Bond, Sally Dayger and Jim Goulet with their varied experiences, bring a unique perspective to the board of education!

What are the major issues facing the district, and what will you do to address them?

• Educational space: Address the need for additional classroom and building space and consider possible solutions.
• Safety: Continue to monitor our buildings to keep the safety feature “state of the art.”
• Mental health: Provide programs to teach strategies for students and families to face today’s world
• Fiscal responsibility: While considering the above programs, a board member must have fiscal responsibility to keep spending at or below the 2018 budget limitations. As a taxpayer in the district myself, I understand fiscal responsibility.

Louis Goeckel (challenger)

Biographical Information

I am a Buffalo native and moved to Baldwinsville in 1999. My wife, Shelly, and I have two children, Catherine and Jack (John), who attend Van Buren Elementary. As a family we enjoy the outdoors, cooking together and spending family vacations in North Carolina and Rhode Island.  Shelly and I chose to raise our children in Baldwinsville, in large part, because of our belief that the Baldwinsville Central School District will provide our children with an excellent education, leaving them well prepared for their future career goals. 

I earned a bachelor of arts degree in economics from Buffalo State College, State University of New York. I am currently employed as a senior financial advisor for Key Investment Services, LLC, an affiliate of KeyBank National Association and have worked there since 1998. I have been a CFP board-certified financial planner professional since 2012 and am a current member of the Financial Planning Association.

I am committed to volunteering in the community to help kids of all ages reach their potential. I serve as treasurer for the Upstate New York National Football League Alumni Association. The NFL Alumni Association advocates for former players and facilitates players giving back to their communities by raising funds for youth charities. I have also been a volunteer assistant coach in the Baldwinsville Little League since my son started playing baseball in 2013. 

I am very excited about the possibility of serving the Baldwinsville community as a member of the board of education.

Why are you running for office?

I am running for office for three main reasons:

Baldwinsville accelerates approximately 60 to 65 percent of eighth-graders but shows no evidence that this is good for all of those students. There is no criteria to stay in the acceleration program and any parent can simply opt their child in, regardless of academic readiness. Worse yet, teachers are not allowed to be proactive in contacting parents who have kids in the program who shouldn’t be. Our best students are bored while many are not ready to take two years of math and science in one. So no one wins. It’s the high school teachers that see the negative results of such policies. I’ll push the district to review education policies such as this and show data to back up their decisions. If they can’t then it is time to change course.

New York state has been lowering standards since they started requiring a Regents diploma for graduation approximately 15 years ago. They gutted the Regents exams and then grade on a very large curve to make it easier for students to pass. For example, on the 2017 Algebra I Regents exam a 65 percent was actually a 31 percent and an 80 a 59. I am worried Baldwinsville is doing the same thing with policies such as not having a true acceleration or an honors program. Baldwinsville doesn’t even allow teachers to count Regents exams towards a student’s final grade. Lowering our standards leaves our students less prepared than they could be for their future.

Schools taxes are a part of life and I am happy to pay them. However, I do not feel that all students are getting the proper education for the money that the residents of Baldwinsville pay.  Taxes are not going away but I will do my very best to make sure our money is spent wisely.

Why are you the best candidate?

The board of education needs meaningful change. I’ll be that change. I will work to increase standards, hold the District Office accountable for their education policies, and focus on measuring student achievement.

What are the major issues facing the district, and what will you do to address them?

There is a growing student body so facilities will need to be addressed. There is no space in some of our elementary schools. There is a lot that goes into educating the kids in our community — transportation, facilities, food service and so much more. These create a list of challenges that can be long, and ranking their importance difficult. In my opinion, the biggest issue facing our district is the loss of focus on student achievement. Great facilities and new busses are nice but if we’re honest, they are ancillary to the true purpose of any school district — education. We need the proper policies in place to maximize the learning potential for all students. I will push the district to focus on student achievement and to review the policies that affect it.

James Goulet (incumbent)

Biographical Info:

Jim is a lifetime resident of Baldwinsville and 1968 graduate of Baker High School. In 1972, he graduated from SUNY-ESF with dual diplomas from ESF and Syracuse University majoring in resources management.  Jim then obtained his teaching certificate through SUNY-Oswego and went on to teach science for 32 years in the Baldwinsville Central School District. Jim also successfully coached girls cross country, indoor track and spring track for 97 seasons before retirement in 2005. He also served as the head women’s track and field coach for the Central Region of the Empire State Games for 27 years. Following retirement, Jim coached the ESF cross country team for three years and has assisted as a volunteer track coach, mostly at the modified level, for 12 years.

Jim has been very involved in aquatics, having taught swimming lessons and lifesaving courses in Baldwinsville for many years for both the village and the Community Council. He also worked as a lifeguard for the village and for Onondaga County Parks for 10 years.  Jim has also served on the Friends of Beaver Lake Board of Directors, the Village Zoning Board of Appeals, the SUNY-ESF Alumni Board of Directors and the OCC Arena and Athletics Center Task Force

Jim and Jean, who recently celebrated their 45th anniversary, are the parents of two sons, both also graduates of Baker High School. Dan and Lisa reside in Broome, NW Australia, and Eric lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Heidi, and grandsons, Alec and Chan. Jim and Jean live in Jim’s family home on West Genesee Street where they enjoy canoeing, kayaking, gardening and all the experiences life on the river offers.

Jim is now serving his third term on the board of education, having actively participated on the Insurance, Facilities Planning, Wellness and Policy committees.

Why are you running for office?

Jim is running for office to continue promoting the many important initiatives of the district’s leadership, teachers, staff and the board of education. The issues of academic excellence, curriculum development, safety, mental health, drug and alcohol prevention, responsible budgeting, respectful relationships among all stakeholders, essential maintenance of buildings and grounds, construction of the new transportation facility and special education are all of utmost importance.  Jim wants to continue working with administration to advance a safe, healthy, congenial and challenging learning environment to prepare Baldwinsville’s youth for the future, no matter what path they may choose to pursue.

Why are you the best candidate?

Three outstanding and very experienced incumbent candidates are running for reelection. Christy Bond, Sally Dayger and Jim Goulet are certainly worthy of your consideration. Their track record speaks for itself. Under their tenures, and with their support and encouragement, Superintendent McDonald and others in the district have initiated outstanding academic, mental health, safety, drug awareness and other programs. The auditorium renovation has awed those who have seen it, and the improvements to Pelcher/Arcaro Stadium are first rate. Additionally, with the support of Christy, Sally and Jim, construction is underway for the modern transportation facility, which will reduce bus traffic in the village.  Probably the most important renovations include safety modifications to the existing buildings and other needed building improvements (roofs, boilers, elimination of lead contamination, etc.) to continue providing an attractive, inviting, inspirational and safe environment for all students.

What are the major issues facing the district, and what will you do to address them?

Many issues exist that the Board of Education and administration are facing. Responsible budgeting is always an issue, and the district, at the direction of the board, annually proposes a budget that is at or below the New York state tax cap. Many financial factors exist that are out of our control, but, working closely with administration, the board will continue to stay below the cap. Academic excellence is, of course, our most important objective. We will continue to support initiatives that give our students the best opportunities for learning as well as the many extracurricular activities that the students enjoy. School safety is also a major concern. Teacher training, student education, mental health counseling, additional safety officers in the buildings and safety modifications to the buildings will go a long way toward protecting our students and giving them a sense of security. Continued maintenance of our buildings is always a concern. It is important to stay on top of needed maintenance and repairs. Not doing so is much more expensive in the long run. The district will be rolling our a new initiative, Funding the Future, to evaluate the future needs of the district and explore and recommend solutions to issues such as overcrowding and the advanced age of some of our buildings. If re-elected, we will play an active part in Funding the Future to provide the best learning opportunity possible for all of our students.

Kimberly Sullivan-Dec (challenger)

Biographical info:

I moved to Baldwinsville in 1999 with my husband Tim. We have two children attending school in the district; Max is a junior at Baker High and Margie is a freshman at Durgee.  Both Tim and I are lifelong residents of Central New York, growing up in nearby Auburn. 

In 1992, I earned my B.S. in sociology and business administration from SUNY Albany and my master’s in public health (M.P.H.) from the University of Rochester in 1996. For the past 22 years, I have dedicated my professional life to healthcare and human services administration. Currently, I am the director of Upstate Community Medical at Upstate University Hospital.

Why are you running for office?

Running for a position on the board is something that I’ve carefully considered over the past few years. During the 2015-2016 school year, the district made a major curriculum change without adequately evaluating the potential impact of those changes. At that time, I became actively involved and frequently spoke out about my concerns during public forums. I knew then that I aspired to find a way to become more involved in our community and help promote student achievement.

Over the years, I have been an active volunteer with both of my children’s sports programs and am currently serving on two boards. I realize that this is the right time to run and make a meaningful contribution to the school district that has done so much for my family. 

It was exciting to learn that Baldwinsville was ranked No. 10 in New York state for athletics, but I endeavor for Baldwinsville to be equally recognized for our academic excellence. I continue to have concerns about the current “acceleration” program we have in place at our middle school level and would like to focus my efforts on researching the efficacy of acceleration and how this may impact our children’s overall academic performance when they are in high school. By recommending that nearly 85 percent of students be accelerated, I question whether our teachers are in a position to offer the varying levels of instruction our students need to be successful.

Additionally, the Baldwinsville district is quite diverse socioeconomically. The importance of the school system for families who need additional support cannot be underestimated. I am confident that I will be able to draw upon my professional experience and provide a positive impact to help meet the districts goal to reduce barriers while providing all students with equal access to a quality education.

Why are you the best candidate?

I believe I am the best candidate for the school board because I am a passionate student advocate, who is committed to advancing the academic standing (or standard) of the Baldwinsville school district. As I have proven in the past, I am not afraid to ask the difficult questions, nor hear difficult answers. Having different perspectives and engaging in constructive dialogue is critical to the success of any school board. As a dedicated team player, I will commit to researching the issues we face and respectfully listening to the perspectives of all parties in order to make the most informed policy decisions that affect our schools. 

As a member of the board, I will be able to draw on my professional skills in management and leadership. It will provide another the exciting opportunity to confront difficult challenges and work collegially to solve them.

What are the major issues facing the district, and what will you do to address them?

I’d like to see Baldwinsville improve and move up the ranks for academic excellence. We need to continue to evaluate our curriculum so that we are providing a solid educational foundation for students at every level of learning. We offer a variety of advanced placement and college level courses for students, but we also need to ensure that we’re offering appropriate alternatives for students that might not want to attend college after graduation.   

While I believe the technology support team in our district is exceptional, we may be trailing other districts in the rollout of 1:1 technology for our students. Every student should have a digital device for daily use in the classroom and at home. I want to ensure that we move forward with these programs quickly as this integration of technology has the potential to help students at all grade levels.   

The safety and security of our school buildings is of critical importance. This year’s budget proposal includes some safety improvements, but our aging infrastructure must also be addressed. Many of our buildings are more than 50 years old and need significant renovation or repair.  Couple that with increasing enrollment at the elementary school level where our classrooms are at capacity. The school board will need to maintain a balance between addressing immediate needs and creating a strong long-range capital plan while paying close attention to our finances to maintain the ongoing fiscal health of the district.

Schools and parents share a collective responsibility, not only to respond to a student’s mental health need, but to include the promotion of positive mental health and prevention of illness in our school communities. The demand for accessible mental health and substance abuse services continues to grow. While the school setting is an ideal location for many of these services, the district cannot bear the sole expense. We should continue to partner with community organizations to provide services both within the school and in community settings. I have been impressed with the positive steps spearheaded by our superintendent to focus attention on these important issues and will support these initiatives to ensure the health and well-being of our student population.

Balancing the need for resources with the reality of budget limitations may be difficult, but as a board member I am committed to listening first, to leading thoughtfully and respectfully, and to building strong partnerships with the school board, district staff, and constituents to find the best solutions for our students and community. I look forward to the opportunity to serve you.