AFTON – Senator Tom Libous probably expected his Wednesday visit to Afton Elementary School to be a breeze. But instead, he found himself answering a series of tough questions, posed by fourth and fifth grade students involved with the district’s after-school enrichment program.
The session started with Libous telling the students about his role in Albany and the counties and constituents which make up the 52nd Senatorial District, which he has represented for the last 22 years.
But then the students launched into a series of questions worthy of veteran reporters.
“What are you going to do about the sugar tax?” was the first one posed, this by a young woman named Amelia. This was followed by a number of others focusing on everything from the senator’s stance on the Farm Workers Fair Labor Practices Act and state park closures to questions about why he has chosen to serve 11 terms in the Senate and what he’s done during that time to create jobs. Would minimum wage need to be reduced to help with job creation, they asked. And did the senator support a piece of hand gun legislation being proposed by his Assembly colleague, Clifford Crouch?
Libous was not the first state legislator to face the fourth and fifth graders’ barrage of questions. Both Crouch and Assemblyman Pete Lopez have also been interviewed as part of the special project they are working on which focuses on politics, state government and citizenship.
The project is a cooperation between Afton educator Diana Torta and Peggy Sines, the fourth grade teacher who oversees the enrichment program which meets after school once a week.
Torta said she received a $500 grant through the Catskill Regional Teacher Center to fund the special program. Originally, the students were slated to travel to Albany to meet with Libous, but were unable to do so due to a bussing problem, Torta explained. That’s when the senator offered to come to them.
The students were well prepared for the visit, having spent time researching current state issues and visiting Libous’ website.
“They developed the questions themselves based on their research,” Torta said.
After meeting with the enrichment students, Libous visited two other fourth and fifth grade classrooms, where he again spoke about his job in Albany and the 300,000 people he represents in Chenango, Broome and Tioga counties. Then the senator had some questions to ask of his own, spending several minutes quizzing the kids on their knowledge of things like the state animal, flower and tree.
Libous also took the opportunity to share information about his BOOKS program, a reading reward program he runs in conjunction with Morrisville State College.
“If you have a disability you can overcome it,” the senator said, sharing his own challenges learning how to read as a child with a learning disability. Stressing the importance of literacy, Libous encouraged each of the children to sign up for the program, which strives to make reading fun by providing incentives for the amount of time spent reading. Information is available at www.booksprogram.com.