BERNE — , a Berne resident, has been the president of the Parent-Teacher Association for four years. She works at the Colonie Diner as a waitress. With flexible hours at the diner, Fusco said, she is able to be at her home when her children leave for school and when they come home. Fusco has a son is in the third grade, and a daughter in the 10th grade. Her daughter takes college-level Advanced Placement courses, and her son has taken extra classes, she said.
"I have one that’s gifted and one who struggles a little bit," she said.
Fusco said she supports the budget proposal for next year. "I feel it is one of the best budgets educationally that I have seen in the past few years. I think the board really focused on the importance of offering more diverse classes for the entire school body, from foreign language in the elementary school to more Advanced Placement courses in the high school," she said.

The school board, she said, did an excellent job of using its limited funds toward this end, and has kept the tax burden minimal for district residents.
"I cannot imagine why this particular budget would be voted down, especially since it is only $50,000 above the contingency cap," Fusco said. If voted down, Fusco said, she would like to see it put up for a second vote. "I do not see one line item that I would be willing to cut," she said.
Fusco said she would like to see Spanish taught in the elementary school. "I feel it would be the most useful to the students in the outside world. With America’s growing Spanish population, I think that this is a language that would most certainly be used by the students in the future," she said.
Fusco said she works with Spanish-speaking people from different Latino countries and has taken continuing-education courses to communicate better with her co-workers. "It would go without saying, however, that a firm grasp of our own English language would be first and foremost in the education of our kids," she said.
"We have had great experiences through the years here with teachers and staff that really go the extra mile for our kids," she said. However, speaking from her experience with her children in the school, she would like to see more special-education services and "much more offered to gifted and talented students at the elementary level."
"While we do have a small program for those children that I believe they can utilize in the fifth grade, I don’t feel that we or most any public school offer enough programs to challenge these students. Certainly at the high school level we have some amazing Advanced Placement opportunities, as well as the New Visions program, but I feel these students would be even better served by challenging them at the youngest age possible," she said.

She also would like to pursue improving the district’s special education services. BKW, she said, was instrumental in identifying her child’s needs early and gave him the best possible chance of success.
"However, there is a shortage of teachers and time for him to receive all of the services he was identified as needing. His own teacher has been fabulous in taking extra time to work with him, and has been a great advocate for him throughout the year, and"he has made tremendous progress," she said.
"Still, we have employed our own tutor to help with the areas he has been unable to receive enough services in. I do feel very strongly, though, that the help he has been receiving has been absolutely outstanding, and I think we, as a district, have been lucky to employ some truly wonderful educators," she said.
Fusco said she is "very interested" in seeing a study about the district’s high number of special-education students and out-of-district placements. Two years ago, she said, the district created a classroom to keep students within the district.
"I felt then and feel now that, not only by keeping students in their own school, we are exercising the most fiscally responsible course of action, but limiting added burden and stress on the students and parents. Certainly, I would think it would be easier for parents to be involved in the education of their children if they were kept in their own district school, limiting unnecessary travel for the parents and kids to an outside placement location. It also encourages community involvement. While all PTA events and programs are open to the district’s residents, including home-schooled children, I wonder how many families don’t take advantage of those opportunities either because of lack of notification, or a feeling of not belonging. And, of course, the monetary burden on the district to send students to other schools is huge," she said.

Fusco favors keeping three-year terms for school board members.
"I think a shorter term does encourage more people to run. I am not sure I would have chosen to run if the commitment was five years," she said.
"There is always the opportunity to run again," she said. A three year term "gives the community a chance to decide whether they believe the board member has done a competent job." It also allows board members to decide whether they wish to pursue being on the board longer, she said. "I think that board members will be as effective as they choose to be, and re-election would allow them to continue if the community agreed they had been effective," Fusco said.