The Community Speaks Out on the Bedford Board of Education Candidates

Boucher’s Expertise, Community Service Would Be Valuable to District

I am writing this letter to support John Boucher who is running for the Bedford Central School District Board of Education on Tuesday, May 21.

As a CPA and partner with 35 years of accounting, auditing and IT consulting experience at one of the world’s leading public accounting firms, John’s background would make him an ideal addition to the Board of Education. For the past 35 years, he has advised major corporations and institutions in many fields (including education) on optimizing operational efficiency and financial accountability – skills invaluable to the Bedford School District in these times of having to do more with limited resources.

Boucher has lived in the school district and been a trusted friend for 20 years. He and his wife, Ilene, have raised two Fox Lane graduates and have a third who is currently a Fox Lane High School junior. Their prowess as parents is reflected in their children all growing into dutiful, respectful and exemplary young adults.

Despite his demanding job, Boucher managed to coach at least one youth baseball, soccer or flag football team in each and every one of his 20 years living in the district. In fact, even with his youngest son now a junior in high school, he is still coaching Little League!

We need John Boucher on the Bedford Central School District Board of Education. Please vote Tuesday, May 21 at your local elementary school.

Sincerely,

Edward Witz

Mount Kisco

 

Commitment to Children Would Make Cambareri Outstanding Addition

Vote for Jessica Cambareri for a balance in the Bedford Central School District.

The balance of providing quality educational opportunities for our students while maintaining fiscal responsibility is the desire of all parents and taxpayers in our community.

As an active member of our community, I am afforded the opportunity to work alongside local leaders and community advocates. To fulfill the need for balance on the Bedford school board, an experienced leader, parent and taxpayer would help create positive change.

Jessica brings her passion as a loving parent and an active participant in our community educational programs. She has actively volunteered with the West Patent Elementary School Association and Fox Lane Middle School Association. Her vision for the children in our community should be shared, highlighting the importance of balance, including the availability of high-quality academics, team sports and access to the arts and other fundamental programs. She has supported many district initiatives and has worked as an advocate for our students while understanding the importance of being financially responsible to our taxpayer.

As a longtime friend, Jessica has been an advocate for her children and those of the community by stressing the importance of quality academics. She has been a Girl Scout leader and actively participates in her congregation volunteering for many needed roles. I would strongly urge you to vote for Jessica Cambareri to join the Bedford Board of Education. She would fairly represent our entire community.

Sincerely,

Gina DiLeo

Mount Kisco

 

Boucher Has All the Attributes to Serve on Bedford Board of Ed

As a lifelong Mount Kisco resident and a mother of four boys in the district, I want to express my full and complete support for John Boucher in his candidacy for a Board of Education seat with the Bedford Central School District.

John possesses a deep knowledge of current district policies and knows how to listen, a critically important quality for a leadership position. He’s approachable, engaged and genuinely committed for all of the right reasons. Our district desperately needs board members with these attributes.

I have known John for many years and he has played an integral role in our community. I’ve watched first-hand as John has volunteered countless hours of his time coaching kids in Mount Kisco Little League and in flag football. He has been selfless in his service and an unwavering champion of our youth. John’s thorough understanding of our district – its strengths and its challenges – will be an enormous asset to the entire community. His hands-on, persistent and determined approach to the public good will profoundly benefit our district and, by extension, our children. He is an exemplary leader and would make a truly great addition to the Board of Education.

Please join me by casting your vote for John Boucher on Tuesday, May 21. We need him and our kids need him!

Sincerely,

Sharon Luppino

Mount Kisco

 

Brooks, Malichio Best Choices for Bedford Board of Ed

I found the League of Women Voters candidates’ forum for the Bedford Board of Education candidates to be sad. I had hoped that the move to at-large seats would stop the targeting of candidates. The most effective and substantive incumbent, Michelle Brooks, however shy, is a rock star in achieving improvements in student and family life.

The other sitting board member seeking re-election, Beth Staropoli (the former athletic director and wife of Deb Dormady, current director of special education), shirks her voting responsibility on a regular basis by way of vote recusals, essentially abandoning our special education students. She bristled when this conflict of interest was rightly raised at the forum last Monday night. Special education lawsuits cost the district dearly. The number one priority of any board is oversight. While she talks a big game about “students first,” Staropoli regularly puts the wants of staff over the needs of the students.

Joe Malichio, with whom I often disagree, always puts the needs of students and taxpayers front and center.  He does not speak for just one town; he does not own multifamily dwellings, which place a financial burden on the backs of students and teachers, and he doesn’t receive healthcare or a pension from the district. If you don’t like what he says, tell him. He is the kind of man who takes criticism and grows from it.

From experience, the absence of observable hyperbolic discourse doesn’t make a great trustee. Just look at our past. Some of those who waxed eloquently ran the district into the ground.

Regards,
Brian Sheerin

 

Malichio’s Support of Bedford’s Students Makes Him Right Fit for Board

I think Joe Malichio is an outgoing and trustworthy man who truly cares about those around him and tells it like it is. Joe has always been there for me when I needed advice, and he has a long record of supporting Bedford Central School District students. Please support Joe Malichio for school board on May 21.

Braille Diaz

Mount Kisco

 

Malichio Should Have Seat on Board for Doing What’s Right, Not Popular

PayPal Founder Peter Thiel says “Courage is in far shorter supply than genius.” I recently watched the entire Bedford Board of Education candidates’ forum and I’d urge everyone to do the same. In his closing remarks, Joe Malichio said: “It’s not easy to stick your neck out. It’s not easy to speak up, do what you think is right. And a lot of times doing what’s right isn’t what’s popular, and I have found that out the hard way here, as has my family.”

I participated in countless Budget Advisory Committee meetings with Joe. He consistently conducted himself as he did in the forum: respectfully, professionally and intelligently, even with those everyone knew he was diametrically opposed to. He saw the budgetary crisis in the making long before most people and sounded the alarms. Also, unlike most people, he publicly connected dots, such as how the popular multiculturalism and identity politics movements are such predictable causes of the divisiveness and lack of unity that ironically were such a theme in the forum. In contrast, Joe knows we are united by virtue of sharing the same creator, and in sharing the same Constitution.

He emphasized that “we need diversity of thought.” I completely agree. And we need diversity of representation from all the towns. Indeed, what we’re potentially facing is a perfect demonstration of why the electoral college exists.

I admire Joe’s courage, and I know the whole person, not the persona that his detractors have fabricated from so many random, context-free sound bites. Should Joe watch his tactics more closely? We all should. But we should also prefer sound policy over sound bites, and for all of the above reasons, voters throughout the district should vote for him on Tuesday.

Dean Zarras

Pound Ridge

 

A Servant for Us All, Malichio Willing to Speak Uncomfortable Truths

We’ve lived in Mount Kisco 22 years, raising four children, all attending Bedford schools. On May 21, we will be voting for Joe Malichio for school board.

Not long ago our district was in a downward spiral with failed leadership. Malichio pushed for district-wide changes, producing important results for students, parents and residents with fresh ideas concerning fiscal trajectory, personnel, contracting and curriculum.

Joe stood up for special education parents – publicly. As the Dual Language Bilingual Education program was launching, he was the only person outside of Mount Kisco who defended parents supporting a traditional classroom setting and the only person asking the hard questions about great Mount Kisco Elementary School teachers who would be displaced by this same program. He’s had the courage to discuss similar issues we face in our village, relating to district funding. We want a board member who is bold, telling uncomfortable truths and sticking their neck out for us.

We find the coordinated slander of Joe’s character by some to be shameful. He was accused of having “disdain for the residents of Mount Kisco. How does expressing concern about the fairness in tax allocation between towns or the declining academic trajectory of Mount Kisco Elementary School represent contempt? We and many who live in Mount Kisco share these exact concerns. Others have accused him of lacking “equity, inclusion and diversity.” However, these same folks appear to have no issue with the almost complete displacement of middle and working class families, primarily African Americans, from Mount Kisco. Mount Kisco Elementary School by any impartial measure would be deemed a poor segregated school but is now called “diverse.” Please read “Bedford By the Numbers.”

Speaking honestly appears to be Joe’s crime. His primary goals are to preserve and improve the academic and fiscal condition of our district, but with a sense of fairness to all constituents. He is a good person. We share his goals.

Anne & Colin Redhead

Mount Kisco

 

Bedford Board of Ed Needs Malichio’s Fresh Perspective for its Schools

As a fellow member of the Bedford Central School District’s Budget Advisory Committee (BAC), I believe Joe Malichio cares about the quality of our schools, and unlike most, gets involved. Joe has a direct and sharp style of expression, but if one listens, it is clear that his desire to serve comes from recognition that in a district with crippling unfunded mandates, we must be laser-focused on managing budgets and personnel to ensure that our students are receiving an outstanding education.

As mentioned during the League of Women Voters candidates’ forum, an appreciation for diversity is required to live in our school district and for those who volunteer to help manage it. In my two decades in Bedford, the Board of Education has often been hamstrung by a single-minded approach, supporting only candidates who, while usually well-meaning, end up in lockstep with school administration, rarely challenging the status quo and keeping progress at a glacial pace.

This myopic mindset, despite warnings from BAC members and the occasional trustee, led us off a cliff several years ago. As catastrophic as that episode was, we are in jeopardy of reaching the same self-perpetuating, insular management of the organization that stewards the education of our children and its $138-plus million budget. Mr. Malichio will bring a fresh perspective, which Bedford desperately needs.

Finally, I hope that Mr. Malichio’s opponents will refrain from maligning a fellow community member. We can set a better example for our children by not resorting to allegations and innuendo as a replacement for meaningful discussion of ideas. To ensure its bright future, our diverse district needs diversity of thought in its management.

Respectfully submitted,

Marie Scanlan

Bedford Village

 

Malichio’s Commitment to District Would Be Asset on Board of Ed

Please consider Joe Malichio as one of your choices for the three open Bedford Board of Education seats up this Tuesday. I have known Joe for many years and have admired and respected his longstanding commitment to the financial well-being of the district together with its central mission of promoting academic excellence for our children. I’m confident Joe’s voice at the Board of Education table would prompt more vigorous discussion of the issues and lead to greater diversity of thought, which ultimately serves the interest of all stakeholders.

David Dow

Pound Ridge