GUILDERLAND — "I’m very proud of my attendance at school board and committee meetings, citizens’ budget sessions, and as a liaison to PTAs," said Colleen O’Connell, who is running for a second term on the school board.
"I believe that I am well prepared, that I ask fair but probing questions, and that I have made measured decisions in my voting."
The mother of three who worked as a trial attorney said, "I’m fortunate to have the time, the energy, and the passion for public education and this office. I’d be privileged to serve another term."
She also said, "I’m one of the few people on the school board who has younger children," which she said is an important perspective. Her children are in fifth, eighth, and ninth grades.
Students come first for her, said O’Connell when asked who she serves as a board member. "The students are primary," she said. "We pride ourselves in being a child-centered district."
O’Connell went on, "Advocacy for children is why I ran for the board of education. I view my role as advocating for all the children in the district."
Speaking to the example of the combined supervisors’ post, she said, "I wrestled with that question and stated I would prefer two. Then, listening to my colleagues who suggested trying it for a year and saving some money, I was persuaded."
She concluded about the role of a school-board member, "I do feel I can serve more than one master at the same time."
"I absolutely support the budget," said O’Connell. "I was very pleased we could keep the tax-rate increase to 2.48 percent....I thought what the school board guided the administration to do was really terrific."
She noted that the school board could have used the additional $400,000 in state aid to add programs or staff. "We didn’t," she said. "We kept the tax rate low."

O’Connell said she is happy that foreign language study will now be starting at the elementary level. And she added that she is pleased the school board’s goal for technology education is being met by having a sixth-grade technology class and by hiring an enrichment teacher for technology, science, and math at the middle school.
In her three years on the board, O’Connell said, Farnsworth Middle School parents "have repeatedly asked for more enrichment opportunities at budget input sessions."
She went on, "I love the fact that, if this position is funded, we can have non-competitive enrichment offerings for students at all levels, not just gifted and talented.
"I also support the Bridges program, offering those first- and second-graders who need it, reading help over the summer as well as transportation to the program."
For the new superintendent, O’Connell said, the qualities that are most important go "hand in hand" — being in touch with curriculum and having "a very good budget sense."
"We’ve been blessed with a superintendent in Dr. Aidala who brings both to the district," she said.
About the superintendent’s role, she said that he or she "has to be a leader into the future and not a steward...A true leader takes a school district forward and maybe into a direction we don’t even know right now."
About the teachers’ contract, O’Connell said, "Our staff contribute 20 percent of health-insurance premiums, which is fairly unique in the Capital District."
She went on, "We’ve seen that the cost of living [increase], except for gas, has not been that high. We’ll have to look at that and what other districts are doing.
"While I want to keep raises reasonable, I want to keep the best teachers. We need to be competitive."
O’Connell concluded, "I see teachers and staff as partners with the school board and community...I have every confidence we will find something our teachers can live with."
On the reading curriculum, O’Connell said, "When I describe the reading program to people, I call it a multi-faceted approach."
She went on, "As a parent who watched three children who all learn differently learn to read, I believe that is accurate. I’m always open to listening to new ideas....
"As a school board member, I have to trust the people we have hired who are educated in these areas. I don’t believe the reading program is static. I’ve seen it evolve and change."
O’Connell also said, "I’m a special-education parent. I have one child who does have an IEP [Individual Education Plan]. The district has done an excellent job addressing that child’s needs."
O’Connell concluded, "I don’t think there’s a silver bullet for reading curriculum. We need to be open to new ideas."
On the length of the school day, O’Connell said, "I do not have the eureka solution. If I had to set the priority, it would be to lengthen the elementary-school day."
She went on, "I didn’t realize until the committee report that the issue was so complicated. It’s like a child’s toy where, when you move one part, the other parts move, too."
One thing she learned from the committee’s report, O’Connell said, was that Guilderland’s reputation for having the shortest elementary-school day is "not really true" since other area schools include activities such as intramural sports, band, chorus, or recess as part of their school days.
"The words you use are very important," said O’Connell. "Not everyone is saying the same thing. I hope the district continues to look at the issue."
About kindergarten, O’Connell said of the current program, "They certainly pack a lot of learning and fun into a half day."
She went on, "I can support full-day in theory."
One of the items that needs to be examined, she said, is facilities. "Does that mean we’d have to lose some tenants"" she asked, citing, as an example, classrooms rented by the Board of Cooperative Educational Services for special-education students. "What kind of revenue would be lost""
"I would support a task force looking into it," she concluded of full-day kindergarten. "I suspect there would be community support for it."