Members select Dorothy Bradley
as president for 2002-03 year
By:Krzysztof Scibiorski
Dorothy Bradley, who held on to her school board seat by a five-vote margin in the recent school elections, won another squeaker on April 29, when five of the nine board members elected her president.
Board members Jeanne Golden, Lisa Galasso, Janice Mathewson and Ken Lessing joined Ms. Bradley to support her bid for president, with previous president Frank Jurewicz, Mary Lou Cebula, Lou Petzinger and newcomer Michael Impellizeri voting against.
Mr. Petzinger’s candidacy for board president was unsuccessful with the board splitting the same way to deny him the president’s gavel.
Mr. Lessing was elected to be the board’s vice president with the votes splitting exactly as before.
"The position of board president is that of a facilitator of meetings, board actions and communication," Ms. Bradley said. "As president, I will not act outside of the board’s desires."
Ms. Bradley said that she did not believe the split voting would affect the workings of the board.
"We are a united board, the majority’s vote is what we go with. Whether it’s a unanimous vote or not, all of us should stand behind the majority’s decisions," the newly elected board president said. "I’m not concerned by the split, this is the democratic process at work and every vote counts."
Mr. Lessing also said that the board will be able to work well this term.
"We’ll all still work together. (The split votes) should not interfere with that whatsoever," he said. "We will focus on getting a new superintendent, filling open teaching positions and sitting down with the mayor and council on the budget."
Ms. Bradley said she believes that finding a new superintendent, strengthening the curriculum and containing costs will be the primary areas for the board to focus on.
"We need to be more accountable for the budget. I believe that we need to be trying to get the biggest ‘bang for the buck’ and stick to the budgets we set up," Ms. Bradley said.
Ms. Bradley also announced her committee appointments for the board members.
"In the past, the board president sat in on every committee. I have made it that either the president or another board member can sit in on a committee meeting if they have a particular interest in a matter or want to learn more about some process," Ms. Bradley said.
Mr. Lessing will take over Ms. Bradley’s duties as the chair of the finance and facilities committee, Ms. Golden will lead the personnel committee, Ms. Mathewson the Curriculum and Instruction Committee, Ms. Bradley the Negotiations Committee and Ms. Galasso leads the Policy Committee.