Journal News Questionnaire

By Jeffrey Mester

I strongly believe that the strength of a community is a function of the involvement of the members of that community. We all have an obligation to contribute to the community in a manner that best matches our abilities with the needs of the community. I believe I can make my greatest impact by serving on the Board of Education. I believe that my life and professional experience combined with my interest in creating long-term educational opportunity and advantages for the children of Chappaqua make me qualified to be an ideal member of the Board of Education.

I have chosen to run for four fundamental reasons. I am passionate about education and its importance to our future. I believe in the obligation to serve or contribute to your community. I believe my life experience, professional experience, and education give me a unique but fundamentally important viewpoint needed on the Board. Most important, I want to give a voice to the silent majority; to those who are not part of the 1,200 in Chappaqua who typically vote for the Board.

The decision to run for a seat on the Board of Education came after much consideration over the course of several years. I initially considered running for the Board in 2001 when the decision on how to populate the two middle schools was being considered. I felt strongly about the importance of that decision and its affect on the children of the community.

I chose not to run at that time because I realized that I was primarily a one issue candidate. I would have been beholden to a constituency that would have elected me based on my stance on that one issue. I was concerned that should I get elected and determine that the proper course of action was contrary to the platform on which I ran, I would then have to, as a fiduciary, vote for a different policy than the one on which I won.

I am now prepared to spend whatever time is necessary to fulfill my fiduciary duties to the community and Board should I be elected. I have spent the ensuing years learning more about the schools and the community. I have waited for a time when I am able to balance family and professional obligations with the requirements of serving effectively on the Board of Education.

I am not a one issue candidate. I choose to run now because I can run without an agenda other than serving the entire community's needs. I share the entire community's agenda of giving the best opportunity to learn, to grow and to mature to our children.

I recognize the significant burden of being responsible for a community's desire to have a local educational infrastructure that not only seeks to educate academically, but also to instill in our children a sense of civic responsibility, to act ethically, to accept differences in others, to guide social development, and to foster critical thinking and a love for learning. I also respect the need for fiscal efficiency and the balanced allocation of scarce resources.

I recognize the need for accountability. The Board of Education is accountable to the community. The Board must set policy and plan for the long-run. It must create an atmosphere that encourages learning as well as responsibility. In setting policy, the Board must ensure a culture of openness. The education process must be a partnership among the administrators, educators, parents and students. Communication is critical.

Policy making, budgeting, and allocating resources consume a majority of the time spent as a Board member. The job requires a person with broad business and Board experience. It requires a person with vision. It requires a person who can make practical, logical and reasoned decisions. The job requires a person who has extensive experience with budgeting; a person who has had bottom line fiscal responsibility. A Board member must work well with others. I have been on Boards of Directors and been the CEO of two organizations. I have had and have the P&L responsibility. I have demonstrated leadership and working successfully with others. I have a successful track record of being able to lead effectively while maintaining fiscal restraint. I have a track record of consensus building and working to include as many voices as possible. The Board does not need a divisive, non-inclusive, limited issue member at this point. It needs a person who can lead through inclusion.

I enter this race with the goal of ensuring that all the community's opinions are heard and considered prior to decision making. I would seek out the community's advice and counsel. I welcome its input.

I share the belief as stated in the preamble to the Educational Philosophy of the Chappaqua Central School District that "the education of its young is the most demanding and the most rewarding."

2. What do you see as the top three challenges facing your school district?

The major issue facing the district is ensuring the quality of the education remains at a superior level while maintaining fiscal responsibility, while developing a program that teaches our children civic and social responsibility, while making certain there is leadership at the school level, and while requiring that the principals and teachers maintain an open and continuous dialogue with the parents, students and administration. As important, the Board of Education must maintain open lines of communication with the community; it must actively seek input from those in the community who do not pro-actively provide it. Also, we must maintain our facilities and allocate resources toward technology.

Chappaqua is consistently ranked among the top school districts in the country. We must not rest on our laurels. It requires as much work, if not more, to maintain a superior level of education. It requires innovation, introspection and a willingness to make difficult long-term decisions. The Board must fight complacency at all levels. It must motivate the administrators and teachers. It must create a culture of innovation, striving, and the pursuit of excellence. Maintaining the status quo is tantamount to creating an atmosphere of failure.

Besides the academic challenges, our students are also under enormous social pressure. We as a Board are responsible to the community to find a curriculum that can give to our students the intellectual and institution tools necessary to make reasoned, informed social decisions without succumbing to undue peer pressure. We must create a school culture that teaches responsibility for one's actions as well as a civic responsibility to the community.

Within the last month, the Board has hired two new elementary school principals. Together with the recent hire of a principal for 7 Bridges, the Board must demand leadership and accountability. The principal is the person who sets the tone for a school's staff. We must hold all the district's principals accountable for their schools. The principals must demonstrate effective leadership. They must foster an environment conducive to learning. The principals must communicate with the staff, the students, the parents and the Superintendent.

Our community deserves an open educational process. It deserves to be informed of what is going on in the schools. It deserves a say in what goes on in the schools. Openness starts with the principals, moves to the superintendent, and ultimate accountability resides with the Board of Education. The Board of Education must maintain open lines of communication with the community; it must actively seek input from those in the community who do not pro-actively provide it.

3. With respect to school finances, are there any specific initiatives you would pursue to save money or reduce costs?

I recognize that Chappaqua's taxes are some of the highest taxes in the county, state and country. The community deserves a return on its investment. It deserves to know that the money going to the schools is being used effectively. Any Board policy other than fiscal restraint and efficiency is reprehensible. However, funds must be expended in order to maintain the quality of education and to maintain our district's facilities. The Board must be capable of balancing long-term goals with short-term spending constraints.

It would be irresponsible of me to recommend specific initiatives to take in order to cut costs without the same information to which the board is privy. It is easy to make "campaign type" promises to reduce personnel costs or spending on facilities. It would be easy for me to suggest that we should cut spending across the board. But, to do so would be ignorant at best and irresponsible and reprehensible at worst without complete information.

What I can pledge is to take a long hard look at the entire budget. My experience demonstrates that I have successfully found redundancies and savings in seemingly bare bones budgets. I have found ways to ensure continuity of process while maintaining fiscal restraint. I have found the tradeoffs that create efficiencies. I have the discipline necessary to limit discretionary spending.

4. What changes would you make on the academic front?

The federal and state governments have recently been imposing unfunded mandated testing of students to ensure schools are meeting minimum teaching requirements and "no child is left behind". My major concern is that too much emphasis is being placed on the results of these tests. A significant amount of classroom time is being used to "teach to the test". That time is better spent teaching grade appropriate material. Chappaqua's basic curriculum should be sufficient in itself for our students to meet the mandated minimal requirements.

Academically, the district does a conscientious job of addressing the needs of the gifted students and the special needs students. While there is certainly room for improvement, overall those two groups' needs are adequately met. A concern I have is that the average student's needs are not being met. Often, these students are not being challenged to maximize their potential. There is complacency around the average student. It is imperative that these students are challenged. We must find a way to motivate them to not just get by, but to thrive.

Again, it would be irresponsible to recommend specific initiatives without the same complete information to which the Board is privy. In general, my focus will be on addressing the needs of all of the students, on a curriculum that is heavy on the fundamentals, and on reallocating class time away from the mandated testing and back to appropriate grade level teaching.