Gary Hubert, often wearing khakis and a striped button-down shirt, has been a soft-spoken observer at school board meetings in recent years. He started attending board meetings five years ago, he said, because of budget concerns.

Both of his children graduated from Voorheesville. Hubert celebrated his 59th birthday on Easter Sunday in his Salem Hills home, where he has lived for 25 years with his wife, Portia.

Hubert doesn’t have enough information to say whether or not he would have reacted the same way as the sitting board did to the comptroller’s findings, he said. He can’t say if the board made the proper moves or not, but he pledges to be more open to the public.
"I’m interested in more effective communication with the public," he said.

Hubert thinks, when residents called for a public forum, that would have been a better avenue to discuss the allegations and the board’s actions rather than just at the beginning of the school board’s regularly -scheduled meeting.

A separate meeting widely advertised dedicated to open discussion would have been in order, Hubert said.

In general, he would like to get the public more actively involved in meetings, although he hasn’t yet figured out how to accomplish that, he says.
Over the years, Hubert said, he has had mixed feelings on the board’s response to public input. Sometimes he found the board to be very responsive and other times it was clear members had "made their decision and that’s the bottom line," Hubert said.

Hubert has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and worked as a student teacher in special education. He has about 30 credits towards a master’s degree in public administration and he worked for 15-and-a-half years with developmentally disabled adults at the Schenectady Association for Retarded Citizens. He now works printing high-speed digital images for Brigar Inc., a direct-marketing company. So, Hubert said, he has experience in both human services and computer technology.

This year’s budget proposal is fairly reasonable, Hubert said. He believes the district is funding the education program adequately. His concern for the future is curriculum development; special needs have been an interest his whole life, he said.

The two board subcommittees he is most interested in serving on are the curriculum committee and the group that negotiates contracts.
"The board is the oversight committee of the entire district," Hubert said. Board members have to be aware of what’s going on in each area, including contracts with administrators, he said. Based on the problems the board has had, Hubert said, it appears that board members were "not as in touch with the operations of the district as much as they should have been."

He has participated in employment contract negotiations from both sides of the table, as an employee and as a manager, Hubert said.

Hubert’s wife is a teaching assistant for the district and also the advisor for the high-school theater club the Dionsians. Hubert said he will abstain from any votes that directly affect his wife or any of the programs with which she is involved. In terms of negotiating contracts, it would limit his role, he said, but he does not see a conflict in his negotiating the administrators’ contracts, for example.

Hubert has always been a strong supporter of the arts and theater, and finds them very valuable in forming well-rounded students, he said. He would like to see the theater-arts program expand, and he likes the direction the district is moving with the newly-created middle-school-level drama club.
As for ancillary services, he said, "We can’t pour money in and not get anything back."

From what the assistant superintendent for business has said, it seems that BOCES is making money for the district at this point, so it is not a concern for Hubert until the building runs out of space, he said. He’s not sure if he’d be willing to expand the building to keep hosting BOCES classes in Voorheesville. Additionally, an analysis of the cost to the district would have to be done, he said.

With adult education, the district should not be losing money, Hubert said. The adult education should be self-sufficient program; he’s in favor of raising the fees to break even, he said.

For the building project, the board has to rely on professionals, architectural firms, and construction companies. Hubert said he is eager to correct the problems at the elementary school. Of particular concern is the temperature difference between the third and first floors on hot summery June days. Last year’s temperature readings in some rooms reached over 90 degrees.

This type of major building project is the perfect example of the need for community forums to inform the public of what is going to be happening, Hubert said.

While the quality of food in the lunch program has received rave reviews from students and staff — he has beard the praise — Hubert said, it's a program that needs to break even. It is important to provide a quality lunch program though, Hubert said.
"We live in a wealthy district," he said but Voorheesville also has people with limited incomes. "A quality nutritional lunch should be provided to all," he said. Perhaps, Hubert said Chef Tim Mulligan will have to substitute some of the more expensive items.
"Controlling energy cost"gosh," Hubert said on a day when he just spent $2.97 per gallon for his car’s gas. Keeping this cost down is tough one, he said.

The first step for the school is identifying where the costs are being accrued. While he thinks the new energy-education program has been implemented well, everyone has to try a little harder to reduce consumption — breaking habits, he said.
"Above all, I think I’m an above-average listener," Hubert said. He will strive to listen to all sides, consider facts and figures, and he believes he has a talent for comprehending the feelings of groups of people.