School board hopefuls outline their priorities
Four candidates will be on the ballot, and a fifth person is mounting a write-in campaign, in the race for four seats on the Kingston Board of Education.
The top three vote-getters in the May 21 election will serve three-year terms. The fourth-place finisher will serve the final two years of an unfinished term.
On the ballot will be incumbent Suzanne Jordan, of 231 Old Route 209, Hurley; incumbent James Michael, of 74 Stahlman Place, town of Ulster; appointed incumbent Steven Spicer, of 203 Clay Road, Ulster Park; and Herbert Lamb, of 73 Linderman Avenue, Kingston.
The write-in candidate is retired teacher Donn Avallone, of 28 Highland Road, Ulster Park.
Suzanne Jordan
Jordan, 67, is a retired teacher who is seeking a second term on the board.
“Right now, we have a great need for our (English language learners) population,” Jordan said. “They are our largest growing demographic, and I think it’s important that we look carefully at we currently have and make sure that we’re making best use of them regarding those needs and the needs of the students in general.”
Jordan said she also would like to stay on top of facility repairs in a district that has a considerable amount of aging infrastructure.
“We have to constantly keep up on repairing and maximizing our facilities,” she said.
Jordan said state standardized testing is done “in an inappropriate, invalid fashion” and creates a problem for students with disabilities and those who are still learning English.
“You are testing kids at grade level rather than at functioning level, and you’re putting certain kids in double jeopardy, and I think that is really unfair,” she said.
Jordan is a member of the Mental Health Association in Ulster County..
She earned a bachelor’s degree in special education and elementary education from Buffalo State College in 1973.
Jordan has lived in the district for 19 years.
Herbert Lamb
Lamb, 58, is a retired coral music teacher for the Kingston and Newburgh school districts.
“One of [the priorities] is making sure that students are meeting the requirements for graduation,” Lamb said. “One of our problems is attendance. You need to have 95 percent attendance in order to be eligible for the tests and be eligible to pass, and there are ways to get students to school.”
Lamb said attendance could be improved by providing transportation for more students.
“I’m a firm believer that we’re not doing ourselves favors by having kids walk to the high school from a mile and a half away because, when it snows, when it’s cold, when it rains, when I’m driving my daughter ... other kids [are] not coming,” he said. “The attendance is down. It’s very apparent we need to do something.”
Lamb would also like to see improvements to school athletic fields.
“My push would be we need to build our own facility, much like Middletown did,” he said. “It will improve our athletic program. It will improve our status within the community and within the state. It will help our kids train.”
Lamb earned a bachelors degree in music from Ithaca College in 1982 and a master’s degree in nursery-tosixth-grade education from SUNY New Paltz in 1991.
He is a volunteer with the United Methodist Church for mission projects.
Lamb has lived in the district for 31 years.
James Michael
Michael, 62, is a customer service representative for Lowe’s. He won a full term on the board in 2012, a oneyear term in 2015, and a full term in 2016.
“My biggest issue is the graduation rate, where this year we expect it to be between 80 and 83 percent,” Michael said.
“We have already begun doing stuff with the Spanish language and the pre-K at Meagher [school],” Michael said. “That’s something we were talking about five or six years ago, so that’s why we had the push for the bilingual classes at the preK, so we’re starting quite early. The earlier you start, the more successful you’re going to be.”
Michael graduated from Larnaca Technical School in Cyprus Island in 1972
and served in the Greek army from 1973 to 1976.
He has lived in the district since 1977.
Steven Spicer
Spicer, 57, is a retired elementary school principal. He was appointed to the school board in February to fill a vacancy.
Of the district’s priorities, Spicer said: “One is our growing English-as-asecond-language population,” he said.
“As the population continues to grow, we need to come up with solutions on how to serve this population immediately,” he said. “We need to continue to search for our teacher and support staff to serve this population and continue the training of our current teachers in how to serve this population, because they are only growing.”
Spicer is an Eagle Scout and member of the Lions Club.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in speech communications in from SUNY New Paltz in 1985 and a master’s degree in special education from New Paltz in 1987.
Spicer has lived in the district for 29 years.
Donn Avallone
Avallone, 77, is a retired Kingston High School history teacher.
Avallone earned a bachelor’s degree in American history from SUNY New Paltz in 1963 and a master’s degree in 1968.
“I believe that students and teachers are [of] the most primary importance in the district, and anything that can be done on the teachers’ side to lessen the paperwork ... that would be a benefit,” he said. “Other than that. [the priorities are] to look for programs and encourage programs that really empower students.”
Avallone is a volunteer instructor with Lifespring adult education and is on the Esopus Zoning Board of Appeals.
He is a lifelong resident of the school district.
••• The May 21 election will be held from 3 to 9 p.m. at Kingston High School, J. Watson Bailey Middle School and M. Clifford Miller Middle School. Besides picking board members, voters will weigh in on a proposed $180.1 million proposed district budget for 2019-20.