School Board forum revisited

(Editor’s note: The Express is republishing this story today because it is important and because there are 2 seats open, not 3. Also, Lawrence Blaber and Jockelyn Pryor are independent candidates for school board. Peter Murray and Duane Gaczewski are endorsed by the Niagara Falls Teachers Association. Russell Petrozzi and Clara Dunn are incumbents running for reelection.)

Six candidates for Niagara Falls School Board vying for 2 open seats answered questions before about 60 people in the Niagara Falls Library auditorium.

The candidates are running for 3 voluntary seats. The board oversees a massive school district filled with more good, and more bad, than any in Western New York.

The candidates were given opening and closing statements with 10 scripted questions and 2 submitted by the public.

All seemed prepared for the event hosted by the Niagara Community Information Group. The Express was the only media outlet present. Property taxes fund 15% of the district’s budget. The entire forum can be watched online on Youtube via the Our Schools Channel.

Darryl Gaines Sr. moderated the event.

Candidates present included:

Lawrence Blaber Jr. who works in real estate, got involved because of his special needs children and has been actively campaigning, hosting community meetings and knocking doors.

Peter Murray, who owns Swimming with the Fishes Heating and Cooling and said he moved here from New Jersey 20 years ago. “New ideas never hurt. If we want our community to be good we need our schools to be good.”

Russ Petrozzi, current school board president and member of the board for many years.

Jockelyn Pryor, lifelong resident and community activist and volunteer who wants everyone to know “we need to stop believing all kids are bad. No kids are bad.”

Duane Gaczewski, a Niagara Falls Firefighter running because he had a hard time getting services for his son.

The first question, about what programs are having a positive impact was answered by Petrozzi whom immediately cited programs within the district focused on students investing in and learning the trades.

“It’s important we train them when they get out of high school, to get a job” he said.

Blaber cited the Stanford Digital Pathway program as making headway in helping students advance to real jobs with needed skills.

Murray also cited trades programs.

“These kids need to know a skill,” he said. “These kids need to learn punctuality and customer service.” He also mentioned Pre-K.

Gaczewski mentioned the robotics program at Gaskill and LaSalle producing not just kids learning tech but champions who shine in competition.

Pryor mentioned the “Around the World” cultural program that exposes students and the community to a wide range of international experiences available in our community.

The next question was about how candidates will be welcoming community input.

Blaber answered first. “Trust is earned by doing the world, day-after-day, meeting after meeting,” he said.

Murray said the important thing is to let people ask questions.

Gaczewski mentioned being involved in the community both through the Firefighters’ Toy Drive and his kids sports.

Pryor discussed the importance of getting out in the community more. She mentioned Crossroads of Niagara, a group she founded to unite common community causes.

Petrozzi mentioned community events, using technology and being available. His office is in the front of Capitol Cleaners and he is there most days.

9-of-11 schools in the district have under-performed so severely they are targeted for support and improvement. The candidates were asked for preferred remedies.

Murray suggested proper staffing and making sure students come first.

Gaczewski mentioned a need for a cap on classroom sizes as well as the struggles of poverty and chronic absenteeism. Too often students are in fight-or-flight mode, in reality not ready to learn because sometimes they go home on Friday and don’t eat again until school on Monday.

Petrozzi said methodology used to measure targeted schools is flawed because one sub-group can be substandard and the whole school gets tagged even though other groups are succeeding.

Blaber called for an end to excuses and using benchmarks and outside expertise to address shortcomings.

Cuts to mental health services

Pryor said while cuts are difficult to endure, we have entered a time when labels are quickly applied and hard to recover. It leads parents to be hesitant to seek help.

Petrozzi said last week the district endured a $1 million cut from federal aid it will be addressing with the use of state funds while seeking additional assistance. When we partner with the local community, we help the whole community and the whole family.

Blaber said the issue is social and emotional learning in a school setting starts with being able to read and the district is doing a poor job teaching literacy.

Murray suggested the key is proper staffing, not rehiring retired teachers at exorbitant salaries.

Residence, recruiting and retirements

The district is facing dueling problems: A wave of impending retirement and the difficulty of recruiting new staff in the face of of residency requirement.

Pryor suggested incentivizing some retirees heading for the doors to stay on a bit longer.

Petrozzi said a department of labor grant could help with recruiting but he remains steadfastly in favor of the residency requirement. He admitted its a hot button issue that may need to be modified to help the district.

Blaber portrayed the issue as a crisis where he knows of circumstances like a special ed teacher with a husband and child quitting rather than moving from Cambria.

Murray suggested schools need full staffing.

“Schools need full staffing,” he said, “why put shackles on ourselves when we have teachers saying ‘I don’t want to live here.’ If we want to be the best we need to find the best. ”

Gaczewski mentioned how rare a residency requirement is for school districts. He is more concerned about what we need to do to fix the city.

How will the Superintendent search work?

Superintendent Mark Laurrie is closing in on the end of his career in the school district. The new board will hire his replacement.

Pryor suggested finding a new leader willing to engage with the community.

Petrozzi suggested the district needs another Mark Laurrie.

Blaber likened the district to the Bills and the community to the general manager. Finding the next Sean McDermott is the task. It should not be a matter of a who-you-know hire.

Murray suggested looking outside the district for a bright new face and fresh ideas.

How should the district embrace ‘Science of Reading’ as a curriculum?

Petrozzi suggested embracing teachers with a skills-based rather than program-based approach.

Blaber suggested board members first have to become iterate in understanding the curriculum rather than reinventing the wheel.

Murray suggested focusing on staffing levels with less emphasis on program more focus on professional development. The key is to make learning fun.

24% of students are special ed and have an IEP. How do we address it?

Murray said the key is programming and staff, proper training and full staffing.

Gaczewski said the problem is societal with poverty, poor prenatal care an nutrition playing important parts. For starters, he suggested a 12-to-1 student to staff ratio.

Pryor suggested better parent involvement by listening to what parents want and also reducing class sizes.

Petrozzi took a different tack, noting part of the issue is the district does such a good job it gets families moving here because they want to take advantage.

Blaber suggested it is better to compare Niagara to other smaller cities, not Buffalo and Rochester and to look at what has worked elsewhere. He suggested a properly crafted IEP for most students should last 3 or 4 years.

My notes started to trail off. 90 minutes of questions and answers are hard to follow. One final point did stick, however. Blaber pointed out the taxpayers could be fiscally liable for failing to address proactively the level of illiteracy in the district. Failing to fulfill that fiduciary obligation could result in the district being sued and found liable in court.

“The best interests of the child needs to be our North Star” he said.

Incumbent Clara Dunn did not participate in the forum. No explanation was offered.

Voting is 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 20.