Schalmont has four people seeking two, three-year seats. Incumbents Greg Campoli and Bert Falcone are being challenged by Gerard Parisi and Teri Gallucci.
While I'd like to vote against all incumbents, I guess maybe I'll just be casting one vote in this election, for Ms. Gallucci. I won't vote for Parisi.
ROTTERDAM School money woes topic of race BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
Maintaining school programs in a difficult fiscal climate is the top issue for the four candidates seeking two seats on the Schalmont Board of Education. Incumbents Greg Campoli and Bert Falcone are being challenged by Gerard Parisi and Teri Gallucci. Campoli, 49, said he is running for another term to continue the work the board has done to maintain programs while being cognizant of the fi scal environment. The district has looked at shared services and even merger with other school districts. So far, it has been able to maintain programs the community wants, according to Campoli. “I think we’ve done a great job as a community, as a school, to reduce expenses across the board,” he said. He pointed to the district’s ranking in the top 12 of the Capital District Business Review as a good school district. Campoli also said his engineering background is an asset to the board. He believes he can be unbiased. “You have to look at the entire community, the schools, the impact on children across the board,” he said. Falcone, 50, said he is seeking his third term because he wants to continue the work that the board has been doing to offer an excellent education with advanced courses and programs like the Project Lead the Way engineering curriculum while keeping taxes low. “It’s tough economic times. I really feel the need to continue to work hand in hand with our board members and administration to continue to offer our kids the very best we can,” he said. Falcone said the district must maintain the special subjects like music. “It’s a proven fact that kids that are offered music do far better in math and science,” he said. As the owner of the Mars Group, which works with contractors to obtain building materials, he said he adds a different perspective to the board. Gallucci, 46, said she has many years of leadership experience through her involvement in PTO activities, anti-bullying initiatives in the schools and Junior Achievement. Gallucci said her experience working at General Electric has given her the ability to evaluate processes and quickly improve them. “I think I have the ability to look at something across the board strategically,” she said. She said she particularly wants to find ways to use technology to reduce cost, perhaps through offering courses through teleconferencing, and finding ways to reduce administrative duties for staff. “Help teachers so they’re spending less time on menial tasks and more time teaching kids,” she said. Parisi, 41, said he believes he can bring a different perspective to the board with his experience working in the Rotterdam town government — both as town attorney and as a Rotterdam Town Board member. “I’ll be readily familiar with how budgets work and how municipal government works,” he said. Parisi served as town attorney from 2005 to 2009. He was then appointed to the Town Board to fi ll an unexpired term. He declined to run for election to fill the rest of the term, instead unsuccessfully challenging Assemblyman George Amedore in a GOP primary. Parisi also touted his ability to work with others to reach consensus. ...........................>>>>.......................>>>>>.................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00904&AppName=1
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