Meet the Candidate: Paine for Board of Ed

John Paine signs his email with a quotation that seems to reflect the work before him if he wins a seat on the Board of Education:

My view is that our job is to get the rock up and over the hill, and once you do, the rock rolls down the other side, and what do you see? You see another hill. The essence of life is really just pushing rocks.
__Maj. General John Borling USAF, retired, 6 years as POW - Hanoi Hilton

Paine, a parent of one kid in the system and one kid entering in a few years, regularly attends board meetings and said he's anxious to get involved more deeply than observer/commenter.

He's so interested in getting the position that he even printed out special "John Paine for Board of Ed" business cards, which he was last seen handing out at the YMCA Healthy Kids Day (where I snapped this photo of him). 

On a more personal note, he mentioned the link between the three new candidates and the civility of the race so far. "Carol Banino is a parent of a child in my daughter's third grade class, and Jennifer is affiliated with the Tarrytown Nursery School (where Temper went some years ago, and where Peregrin is headed this fall)," Paine said.

He said he enjoyed a friendly chat with both women at the ballot position drawing. "It was a nice change of pace from some of the less genteel politicking that seekers of higher office seem to be afflicted by these days," Paine said. "I anticipate a campaign that is marked by courtesy and the 'high road,' with a focus on issues and qualifications rather than acrimony."

Agreed. So onto the issues:

Here are Paine's answers to the same questions I'm asking each candidate. Have a question you'd like the candidates to address? Weigh in below.

Patch: What's your background? 

JP: I am a married parent of two, not quite 50 years old and have lived in our community for 11 years. I have a Bachelor's in Management from Fordham University (Class of 2008) and currently attend SUNY Empire State for my MBA program. Navy veteran - honorably served in submarines in the US Pacific Fleet. I now work for the state in economic development.

Patch: What made you decide to run? 

JP: A desire to not just observe and comment on board matters as I have for the last three years; but also bring my strengths and new perspectives to the board. I am a life-long student, and want to give everyone in the district the same advantages that a good public education has given me.

Patch: What do you bring to the table personally that would help complement the existing members?

JP: A broad array of experience in multiple careers, a deep insight into the needs of the community, a focus on the long-term development of the district, and an ability to achieve consensus in potentially divisive issues.

Patch: What are the issues most important to you you'd place as high priorities in your tenure? 

JP: 1. Fiscal discipline without sacrificing the needed programs that make the district great.

2. Advocacy at the state level to return rational and appropriate support for mandates.

3. Encouraging multi-lingual and multi-cultural literacy.

4. Increasing emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) across the student population.

Patch: How would you face the challenges of all the unfunded mandates vs. all the many ways we of course don't want to cut education for our kids - it seems the budget is necessarily ugly business these days and everyone, even a Superintendent, just sounds powerless in the face of it which can be very discouraging...

JP: Advocacy in coordination with as broad a number of stakeholders as possible will bring to the government's attention the one thing that can invariably attract it: votes. Without votes and voters, there is little incentive to alter its "business as usual" behavior. Informing stakeholders of the unintended consequences of the tax cap on schools will help in spurring more thought in how to correct or amend the existing laws in order to maintain downward pressure on taxes without painting schools into a corner.

Shorter term efforts will undoubtedly be much more difficult: the low-hanging fruit has been picked in the last two years, and there are harder choices to make ahead unless things change.  

Patch: Finally, a hot topic that’s come up lately on Patch – in light of a parent who addressed the Board with her concern of many nonresident kids getting away with attending our schools, do you see this as a problem that we might better address? If so, how would you enforce such a thing? 

JP: There is a great deal of concern about this issue, and although much of the evidence is anecdotal, there is a consistent level of concern. Dr. Smith has mentioned in board meetings that there are specific state rules that apply to the "how and when" of residency checks. The best way to address this appears to be regular checks of all students, as it does not appear to violate state regulations. Jennifer Green mentioned yesterday a good solution: have checks in the transitions between specific grades. I would extend it a bit further and have it apply to transitions between buildings, but is in essence very similar.

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