NORWICH – A meet and greet of school board candidates was hosted by the Norwich Educators Organization on Tuesday, giving voting residents a chance to ask questions pertinent to their concerns over the direction of Norwich city schools.
There are two seats open on the NCSD Board this year, each carrying a three-year term. Residents will vote for board members, as well as the district’s $41 million 2016-2017 proposed spending plan, on May 17.
Tuesday’s informal gathering gave all four candidates who are vying for a seat on the board an opportunity to share their background and weigh-in on the progress and current challenges of the district.
Howard Sullivan
Howard Sullivan, who is currently finishing his first term on the board, is up for re-election. An avid volunteer of multiple youth oriented organizations, including Little League, Big Brother Big Sister, the Christian Neighborhood Center, and the Norwich Family YMCA, Sullivan said his focus has always been on kids.
“My underlying theme is to give back to the community, and my focus has always been on youth,” he said. “I try to keep my pulse on the things that interest young people. That’s what interests me about being on the board.”
Sullivan is retired from a long and successful career in law, having served as Norwich City Court Judge, Chenango County Judge, and as an active Supreme Court Judge.
As to the primary role of the school board, Sullivan said its responsibility is to pass a year-to-year budget and negotiate a contract with the district superintendent.
John Klockowski
Also up for re-election this year is current Board President John Klockowski. Klockowski, a father of two in the Norwich schools, said he petitioned three years ago because he was “dissatisfied with what was happening in our schools.”
Now, Klockowski said the district needs to focus more on kids who are struggling, and it’s up to the board to encourage more parent and teacher involvement.
“There’s about 20 percent of our kids who need additional attention,” he said, adding that the board’s responsibility should transcend traditional obligations of budget and policy.
“What they teach you in school board academy is that we’re supposed to oversee finance and we’re supposed to oversee policy. I say that’s a bunch of bunk because we need to do more,” Klockowski said. “We need to be involved with the community, our teachers, our support staff. There’s a lot of integration that goes on to make a student successful in our district, and we need to be more heavily involved.”
Klockowski has a background in biochemistry and currently volunteers for two soup kitchens in Oxford and Norwich.
Katie Emerson Root
Norwich resident Katie Emerson Root said her decision to petition was also influenced by her kids’ involvement in the Norwich City School District. As a mother of four, Root praises the efforts of the district to offer all students a wide range of academic and extra curricular programming.
“I’ve been so happy with he Norwich City Schools,” she said. “I realize there are some obvious areas of concern, but I think that Norwich approaches things as solution-based and that we have definite, caring staff members here.”
Root encourages more open lines of communication and transparency between the board and district residents – something she said could enhance opportunities between both community and adminstration.
“More often than not, I think people have very good solutions that they can present,” Root said. “Norwich gives students a lot of opportunities. I want to be part of the board because I want to part of the movement. I feel like we’re in a very challenging time with the population and also with the Common Core. I have only the best interest of our city schools in mind, from administrators, to teachers, to support staff, and especially to students.”
Michael Girgenti
Michael Girgenti, a former employee of the Norwich City School District, said his motive to run for school board is simply to push education as the key to success.
“Let’s face it, without education, you don’t make as much as money and you don’t get what everyone wants,” said Girgenti.
Girgenti, a father of nine, worked as a network specialist for Norwich for 15 years, six of which he was also the union president.
“When working for the school, I got to see both sides,” he said. “As a union president, I got to work with management. As a network specialist, I got to see classrooms and how teachers directed students.”
According to Girgenti, the district’s biggest flaw today is its lack of transparency.
“I have to say, we don’t have transparency here,” he added. “I want to see more transparency and I want to push education.”