By RYAN HUTCHINS
Contributing Writer
May 13, 2008 04:00 am
—
ELLENBURG DEPOT -- Three candidates are in the running to fill one seat on the Northern Adirondack Central School Board.
Beverly Canning, who currently fills the position, is not running for re-election.
The candidates are Michael Carter of Altona, Richard Harriman of Churubusco and Jeremy Brunton of Ellenburg Center.
Here are their answers to questions posed by the Press-Republican:
If elected to the School Board, what would you most like to accomplish?
Carter: "Basically the School Board today -- got a lot of challenges. Fiscal responsibility is real important. Money is getting very tight. Everybody knows gas prices are rising daily.
"Money going into the schools has to be responsibly managed so we can do as much as we can for the children with as little as we can. Trying to help restore some of the taxpayers' money is very important.
"We want to make sure we are offering our students there a quality education. Preparing them to go out into the world or the workforce -- higher education and all -- and giving them the best education we can so that they are prepared for that."
Harriman: "To be able to give our children the best education possible.
"I want to work for the kids. I want the process to be there as much as possible. They need the board behind them."
Brunton: "That would be trying to instate a school recess for elementary school. I believe that a recess is needed after lunch to get some of their energy out. All it has to be is 15 to 20 minutes. I want to see if that's feasible."
How will you balance the fiscal concerns of taxpayers with the education needs of students?
Carter: "Basically we've got to be open for all opportunities -- thinking outside the box -- as we can to try and do as much as we can with what we have to work with."
Harriman: "Use monies -- both state and the windmill money -- to give them the tools to upgrade the school with the extra money to make it a top-notch school.
"I was told by someone who has been working with these windmills for years that every place it's been where they have gone in, the schools have gone from mediocre to top-notch because they've got the extra money."
Brunton: "I believe that you can do this by making sure that the taxpayers' money is put to good use by eliminating projects that aren't of high importance to the educational benefits of the students.
"You can also do this by making sure that our students are getting the right tools -- like computers and the right textbooks -- that ensure they will succeed as adults."
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