Katonah Lewisboro Election Coverage: Q & A With Janet Harckham

We continue our series about the upcoming school board election and budget vote on May 17. Check back with Patch tomorrow to read a candidate Q & A with Charles Day, and on Friday to hear from Mark Dembo. We'll post our voter's guide on Monday, summarizing the issues, the candidates and how and when to vote.

Janet Harckham is 47 and has lived in Katonah for 16 years with her husband Peter, and her two girls; one is in 7th grade at John Jay Middle School and her older daughter attends 10th grade at John Jay High School. Harckham is finishing up her first term on the school board and is involved in several other civic endeavors. She serves on the Bedford Energy Advisory Panel and as the Schools Task Force Liason for Bedford 2020. She's also an ad hoc member of the Lewisboro Sustainability Committee, co-founder of the KL Foundation, and on the board of trustees of the Clarence E Heller Charitable Foundation. 

Patch: Why are you seeking re-election?

Harckham: The Katonah Lewisboro School District is at the precipice of making significant positive changes to how we educate children for the 21st century and I want to be part of that effort. I believe that it is our responsibility to educate our children for the future that they will inherit. We need to make education more relevant.  I want to bring the Long Range Plan to fruition. I have also demonstrated that I know how save the taxpayers money while moving education forward.

Patch: How important is continuity on the board?

Harckham: Continuity is important and so is equal representation.  We need both mothers and fathers on the school board.  Currently I am one of two women on the board.  Eve Hundt is not running for re-election.  That leaves me as the only woman and mother on the Board.  This should not be undervalued.  As mothers we know what is going on with our children, in the classrooms and in the schools.  We tend to have a more direct connection with the schools. We need a voice at the table.

Also, the learning curve on the Board of Education is very steep. Many state laws affect public schools and impact our actions as a school board—from how we interacts to how we budget. I believe I would be most effective in my second term.

Patch: What accomplishments have you made as a board member that you are most proud of? 
 
Harckham: The most important contribution I have made is the change in the culture of our school system towards sustainability. From the campus to curriculum to community, we are thoughtful about the actions we take individually and collectively that affect the health of the people, the planet and the community—and we save money while we are doing it.

By identifying that we cared about a healthy school system, we were able to work together to save significant money by being awarded a grant for $500,000 worth of solar panels, creating a projected annual savings of $40,000 in electric costs. Simultaneously we are able to use the photo voltaics as a teaching tool.  We installed a monitoring system that shows real time data and energy use that can be applied in many courses.

Patch: What are the top issues facing the board during the 2011-12 school year?

Harckham: The top challenge facing our board will be providing top-notch education with escalating financial pressures. The second is communication.  We need to establish more clearly the intent of the board to work with the community to move children and education forward together with a unified effort.
 
Patch: Given the controversial hiring of Paul Kreutzer as the next superintendent of the district are there specific measures you would take to improve board relations with the community?

Harckham: We need to be thoughtful about how we include our community in our processes and be clear with the community as to where we are in a given process. Creating additional, less formal communications may help as well.   Town forums, teas, breakfasts, whatever might foster direct communication could be useful to improve relations with our communities.

We also need a better website to further enhance communication.  It is hard to find material or information. Our website should be the portal to the best communication, with the District.  It is not.

Patch: Given the talk of a proposed annual cap on property tax increases, in relation to state mandates such as employee pension contributions, would you be willing to go with a cap that does not address the mandates, or do you believe tackling both at once are needed?

Harckham: I cannot see any advantage to a cap without mandate relief. In order for a tax cap to work, MANDATE RELIEF is essential.  I grew up in California when Property 13, (a tax cap) was passed.  Prop 13 was the beginning of the end of decent public school education in California.  We do NOT want to cripple the NY public schools system.   

Patch: Do you support repealing the Triborough Amendment that keeps terms of expired union contracts in place until new agreements are reached? Would you support changing the state's pension systems for teachers and other public employees? If so, what type of changes would you want to see?

Harckham: The Triborough Amendment stacks the deck against school boards. Union security is enormous.  However, in return, Board of Educations get the security of knowing the teachers cannot strike.  Class will be held no matter what. 

We need the state to provide long-range projections for the Teachers State Pension Fund. The pension funds have fiscal projections showing many different scenarios on what percentage increases they will need in order to be solvent. This information should be shared with schools and municipalities. It would allow us to PLAN for future multi-year increases in a more deliberate way. 

Patch: What is your position on the current "last in, first out" system in place that gives priority to retaining teachers with more seniority, in situations of job cuts?

Harckham: Personally, I don’t like last in first out.  I think unions are there for the benefit of all teachers.  The power of one is nothing in comparison to the power of many.  The younger teachers, many of whom are excellent teachers, should not be penalized for being new to the profession.  However, the teachers that have been there a long time should not be targeted because they have reached a level of pay that is a fair wage for skills and experience. I would prefer having a process that involved establishing fairness and excellence in teaching at its core.

Patch: Is there anything we haven’t asked that you would like the public to know about you or your candidacy?

Harckham: I have more ideas on how to save significantly more money for the District, I have much more energy to give to the district and our children, and I am committed to building bridges where they are needed.  We all care about kids, let’s keep our kids our top priority!