Hy Dubowsky, campaigning door to door, spoke to a Prescott Woods resident who said that he annually pays $30,000 in property taxes — more than his parents paid to buy their Guilderland home in 1972.
"He was very upset," said Dubowsky. "My whole push in public service is just to make it better."

Dubowsky, who holds five academic degrees, works for the state’s Department of Labor as the economic development director.

He and his wife, Carol Kaelin, a partner in a news service, have three children — Meg and Ryan, Guilderland High School students, and Eric, a Guilderland graduate who works as a bond trader in New York City.

As a school-board member, Dubowsky said his first priority would be to serve the district’s residents.
"I’ve talked with a lot of people campaigning," he said. "It’s an elected position. You’re elected by voters, by the taxpayers. That’s who you have to serve."
He added, "Obviously, I love the kids and I’m all for education."
On the campaign trail, Dubowsky said, he tells people with complaints about taxes the truth: "Change is incremental," he said.
You can’t devastate the school district with a sudden slashing, he said. "You have to make smart budget choices...I promise them that, at the very least, I will bring their needs and concerns to the board and the administrators."
He concluded, on the role of a school-board member, "You represent the people."
He said of this year’s budget-making process, "I absolutely applaud their efforts to change the culture...It’s the first time in many years we made a smart consumer decision. We shopped health care."
Dubowsky went on, referring to the district’s superintendent, Gregory Aidala, "I think Greg, the board, and the budget folks made a tremendous effort to put together a balanced budget that starts to reflect the angst the public has. There is a lot of angst."
If the budget were to be voted down on May 16, Dubowsky would recommend putting it up for another vote. "It would be silly to recommend the cap, which is higher," he said.

One item he would have liked to have seen included in the budget, which was not, is teaching Spanish at the elementary schools.
"We’re entering into an era of free trade with our neighbors to the south," said Dubowsky who is conversant in Spanish and plans to study Chinese.
"It shows respect for an individual and it makes communication a lot freer," he said of learning other languages.
On teaching language at a young age, he said, "It enables our kids when they’re sponges to learn holistically."
He concluded of the budget, "Baby steps were taken and I think bigger steps will be taken next year."
On school security, Dubowsky said, "We live in a problematic world. I don’t think one size fits all the schools."
Westmere Elementary School, he said, giving an example, is near Crossgates Mall, "a high-crime area for Guilderland," said Dubowsky. Altamont Elementary School, on the other hand, he said, "is more secluded in more of a country-esque setting."

He suggested security decisions might be made individually though the cabinets at each school to suit each school and its community.
On teaching to the test, Dubowsky said, "Guilderland isn’t Scarsdale; we can’t just ignore the required standards."
He went on, "There’s a need to have some measurement of basic educational achievement. The problem with the testing is it limits creativity in the classroom. It pushes the competitive need to play the numbers game....
"What is important," Dubowsky said, "is enabling children to learn and succeed. Testing is an after-the-fact measurement...We would be better served by ongoing overall assessment that goes beyond spatial skills."

To address the question about testing for special-needs students, Dubowsky referred to a conference for entrepreneurs he recently attended where he listened to Paul Orfalea, the founder of Kinko’s, a nation-wide chain of copying stores.

Orfalea has attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder, reads on a third-grade level, and was advised in high school that he might be able to get a job laying carpet, Dubowsky said.
"He said, ‘Hyperactivity is creativity.’ He squiggled out of choices made for him. Now he’s a gazillionaire," said Dubowsky.
While he conceded this might be a rarity, Dubowsky said, about special-needs students in general, "We’re condemning any kid who doesn’t get it to a life of mediocrity if we continue to press them into cookie-cutter molds."

Dubowsky chaired the district’s committee on alternative resources which is expected to submit a report to the school board this spring.

He says he favors using alternative revenues for funding ancillary programs or one-shot expenditures.
"We’re unlikely to bring in enough money to offset the need for recurring tax revenues," he said. He cautioned against using outside funds for core programs. "If the funding dries up," said Dubowsky, "you then have to fund the program through taxes or cut it."
He said of the projects that would be suitable to fund with outside sources, "You get to do the enhancements."
Dubowsky went on, "I would move towards a foundation...It gets your alumni involved."

He also supports sponsorships allowed within the law and said, for example, that revenues from vending machines in the schools could be maximized.
On health insurance, Dubowsky said, "I absolutely applaud and support the district’s efforts to seek the most cost-effective way to provide insurance for our staff. It’s a win-win."
He went on, "The real tragedy of this is the health-care crisis is not the board of education’s responsibility....People are very angry. The problem is people look at the benefits offered [by the school district] and compare it to what they can afford in the private sector. They scratch their heads and say, ‘Why do they get it"’
"The benefits are the result of collective bargaining. I think there are more efficient ways to decide on health insurance than what we have on the table today...You have to dig very, very deep and look at that expense."
He concluded of the board’s focus on health-insurance this year, "It was a real culture change for this board...It was only when the public outcry became so loud that they found ways to save $500,000. Health care needs to be decided more smartly."
On lengthening the school day for kindergartners and elementary students, Dubowsky said, "Both relate to questions of contract...We could talk all we want, but it’s contractually driven."
Pressed for what he’d recommend, if he were on the board and deciding on what to negotiate in contracts, Dubowsky said, "Efficiency is great in transportation, but that wouldn’t be my driving force in deciding on the length of the day. It would be education. When you expend tax dollars, you better have the program outcome at the end of it."
He went on, "By lengthening the school day, I’d want to make sure learning takes place." He said the district would have to explore whether more instructional time would be useful."

He also referred to research that shows high-school students do better if they sleep longer and start the day later.
About kindergarten, Dubowsky said, "I would endorse full-day kindergarten if the outcome is educational. If we’re talking about extending day care, I think we could put the money somewhere else."
He concluded, "It has to move towards our mission and vision — empowering all students to succeed in the 21st Century."