Five Candidates Running for Two Seats on Hen Hud Board of Education

Five candidates are running for two available seats on the Hendrick Hudson Board of Education. The two seats are being vacated by board President Alexis Bernard and Trustee Jennifer Bakker.

On the May 21 ballot for the unpaid, three-year term positions are Cori Boudin, Christine Jacknick, Joseph Mintz, Devys Rivera, and Lauren Stanco.

Cori Boudin

Boudin has been a content producer for more than 20 years and has two children that attend Furnace Woods Elementary and Blue Mountain Middle schools. She serves on the Executive Board of the Blue Mountain PTA.

“With my background in project management, budgeting and close ties to the schools and teachers, many fellow parents came to me expressing their frustrations and misunderstandings with the budget, not being heard, and not being adequately represented,” she stated.

“I am a consensus builder, both personally and professionally. I respectfully speak the truth, and have earned the respect of my peers, regardless of whether we agree or disagree on particular issues. My approach prioritizes efficiency, professionalism and attention to detail. Given the financial challenges our district faces, my experience uniquely prepares me to be a true team leader during these challenging times.”

While she fully supports investing in strategic capital improvement projects, Boudin has concerns about “bundling them” into a $30 million bond that is being proposed. Instead, she said the district should focus on reaching a consensus on the Princeton Plan model for the elementary students.

“I fully support the current Princeton Plan grade-banding model which brings together children in each grade to matriculate within on school campus,” she stated. “Once in place, the benefits within our elementary school became apparent. Teachers immediately recognized it facilitated more efficient allocation of resources across the schools. It also eliminated requiring certain teachers to commute between multiple schools each and every day. Thirdly, it provided better overall educational opportunities for students across the district by improving teacher-student ratios.”

Christine Jacknick

Jacknick has been a professor of academic literacy and linguistics at the City University of New York for 15 years and has extensive volunteer experience in language and literacy.

“A combination of factors prompted me to run for the board this year. After securing a special education plan for one of my children this spring, I was struck by how difficult the process was, and I wondered how parents with fewer resources would even begin,” she stated.

“It made me realize that while I advocate for higher education as part of my profession, there is a need right here at home that I can help with. This is beyond just what my children need and more about how I can use my experience and expertise to improve my community for all students by promoting best practices in our schools.”

She said she supports investing in schools, especially the middle school, but is concerned the board has tried to present the $30 million bond as “tax neutral.” Jacknick also supports the Princeton Plan but doesn’t feel the board handled it appropriately.

“Our experience with the Princeton Plan has been wonderful for the short period of time the district has had it in place. Our kids have made friends with children from across the district, and we loved the idea that they would have these strong connections with each other through middle and high school,” she stated.

“There was never a plan to collect data as far as I can tell, and the board began discussing plans for another move within months of the first year in the plan. A lot of time and money was spent trying to justify a change instead of trying to make the current configuration work and assessing the impact of the restructuring before jumping to a new decision.”

Joseph Mintz

Mintz is a four-year resident and COO of a nationally recognized beverage company that he co-founded. He serves on the Town of Cortlandt’s Parks and Recreation Committee.

“I am running for the Board of Education because our district needs improvement,” he stated. “Our students deserve the highest quality education and infrastructure from K through 12. Our district is ranked lower than many of the neighboring school districts and that is unacceptable with our higher-than-average costs of living. Electing me will bring both fresh perspective as well as strong business acumen, coupled with my strong passion for our students, families, and faculty members to thrive for long-term community success.”

He fully supports the $30 million proposition and feels a bigger investment is needed to update all buildings and grounds. However, he has reservations about the Princeton Plan.

“While the Princeton Plan is supported heavily by teachers and does have its benefits, I do not believe those benefits outweigh a commuting toll that would require our youngest children to endure close to a one-hour bus ride each way on a daily basis,” he stated. “My family is proudly multicultural and multi-lingual and I greatly support a plan that keeps diversity, equity and community at the forefront of our priorities.”

Devys Rivera

Rivera is an IT director who chaired a PTA Mental Health Advocacy Group. One of her priorities would be finding ways to reach out to the Hispanic community in the district.

“I think with the closing of Indian Point and the resulting loss of revenue to the district necessitates a board member who understands the intricacies of a complex budget, working with vendors and contracts, as well as promoting fiscal responsibility,” she stated. “I also have experience promoting seamless operations across multiple departments, and consensus building.”

She supports the $30 million proposition because the schools “are in desperate needs of upgrades” and supports the way the board handled the Princeton Plan change.

“If I were a sitting member of the board at that time and had the opportunity to lend my voice to the discussion surrounding the Princeton Plan, I would have made the decision based on the facts that we had at the time and decided in the best interest of the students, staff and taxpayers,” she stated.

Lauren Stanco

Stanco, a Hendrick Hudson High School graduate, owns an Event Planning business and is the mother of four children who in September will be attending kindergarten, third grade, sixth grade and ninth grade.

“I’m running as a way to give back. My desire to serve on the school board stems from a sincere commitment to making a positive impact on our district by working tirelessly to realize the goal of student success, teacher support and community engagement,” Stanco stated. “I want to bridge the gap of distrust, despair and anguish among parents, community members, Board of Education members and teachers. The goal should be the best interest of the kids. Teachers, parents and children have had a rough few years. We need to work as one.”

She supports the $30 million proposition and feels the board handled the Princton Plan issue fairly.

“I support a plan that is the best academically for the children. The current Princeton Plan has children changing buildings every two years,” Stanco stated. “It has been stated by educational experts brought in to consult on the Princeton Plan that less changes and consistency are key for children to learn to the best of their ability. It is hard for a child to feel comfortable in a school and around staff when they to have to change every two years.”