BERNE — Three candidates vying for two school board seats had a cordial exchange on Tuesday as all three of them said their top priority for the rural district with declining enrollment is a sustainable spending plan.

Next Tuesday, Berne-Knox-Westerlo voters will decide on a $22.6 million budget — with a tax-levy increase of 0.5 percent — as well as on a $358,932 proposition for four school buses. The school-board posts are unpaid and carry three-year terms.

Joan Adriance served on the school board from 2003 to 2008 and then was elected again three years ago. The current board president, she said with such turnover in BKW administrators in recent years that stability is important on the board, which she can provide. A graduate of Houghton College, she has a master’s degree in secondary education and currently works in information technology for the Capital District Physicians Health Plan.

Matthew Tedeschi was elected in February to fill out a vacated term. He graduated from BKW in 1990 and, after college, returned to Westerlo. He said his two daughters got a good education at BKW but he’d like to restore some of the programs that were cut in recent years. He said his experience working in the insurance industry would benefit the district.

Susan Kendall Schanz is making her first run for the board. A 1971 alumna of Berne-Knox, she is a United States Army veteran with an associate’s degree from Hudson Valley Community College who currently works for the state’s tax department. “I got a good education here,” she said, “and I want to make sure my grandchildren do too.”

More than half of the dozen people attending Tuesday’s PTA-sponsored forum were district employees or board members. Before the February election, a similar forum drew a crowd of 40. That election featured a five-way race for two vacated seats.

On Tuesday, moderator Kate Forti, a 2011 BKW alumna, asked the candidates a series of seven questions, which they had seen ahead of time.

All of them agreed a survey of graduates, staff, and community members, with results publicly shared, is a good idea.

“Maybe that would change the way some things are done here,” said Schanz.

“We’ve done surveys in the past,” said Adriance, adding that this year there was a community forum on the direction the district should take. Also, she said, the budget was presented at six different Hilltown locations.

“Feedback is crucial,” said Tedeschi, noting that “exit interviews” with high school seniors would be useful.

Asked to name two major district priorities for the coming year, Adriance said, “Fiscal sustainability is our priority every year…This year, we are developing a five-year strategic plan.”

Adriance said that programs are being added for gifted students and that opportunities are being provided at every level of achievement.

In addition to sustainability, Tedeschi said his priority was to “make sure every child has a chance to study what interests them.”

Schanz said that, with declining enrollment, sustainability is crucial. Schanz also said that improving communication is important and there should be more district newsletters.

“A lot of people don’t have the Internet; a lot of people don’t get The Enterprise; a lot of people don’t drive by the sign,” said Schanz, referring to a sign in front of the school campus that posts events.

Asked about experience with public education, Tedeschi cited his own education and also said, “Running an insurance agency, I negotiate employee benefits.” He said the budget has an increase of over $400,000 for health insurance, and said a different funding mechanism could deliver the same coverage.

“I grew up on a farm,” said Schanz. “I married a farmer. I’m used to hard work and frugal budgets.” She said she had kept books for 30 years for the farm, and also at various times for a greenhouse, a sap house, and a restaurant. “You try to make the most using the least,” she said.

Adriance said she taught high school business at BKW as she worked on her master’s degree; she also noted that her daughter, in the audience, was a 2010 BKW alumna.

Board members were then asked if they saw themselves as representatives of the community or of the school system.

“Currently, the community,” said Schanz. She said that, as she gathered signatures on a petition to run for the board, she listened to different concerns including increasing costs and lack of notification on things going on. If elected to the board, Schanz said, “I’d represent both.”

“The school system is the heart of the community,” said Adriance. “I don’t think they’re separate entities.”

“How do I top that?” asked Tedeschi to laughter.

He went on, “A lot of bad stuff comes out in The Altamont Enterprise on what’s wrong in Berne….We have to make sure community needs are met. It is intertwined and all one.”

Asked what the district has done well in the past five years and what it has done poorly that should be changed, Adriance said, “The turnover in the administration caused a lot of conflict and discord.” But she also said, “That brought us to where we are today.”

Adriance went on to say that the new superintendent and business manager “are really smart and bring a lot to the table.” She also lauded the programs BKW is introducing such as “bringing back agriculture.”

Tedeschi said he agreed 100 percent.

“The school district lost a lot of its luster in the community. I think that’s a sin,” said Tedeschi, recalling how as a kid he had looked forward to “a huge carnival” at the school each year.

He said that, when his younger daughter was a senior at BKW, she “only came half a day” as there was nothing more for her to do at school. “We’ve addressed that without extra staff,” he said, as learning labs will replace study halls.

“The changeover in administrators was a problem,” Schanz agreed. “Now we have people from the country, more rural people who understand what the school is,” she said. “Everything is becoming more positive.”

Asked about the roles of the school board and the superintendent, Tedeschi said, “We ultimately are his boss.” The school board holds the superintendent “accountable for the goals we’ve set, he set,” said Tedeschi.

The frequent turnovers caused animosity, he said with “community members coming directly to them before going through the channels at school.”

Schanz said, “The board approves curriculum and gets views from the community if they don’t go up the chain of command.”

“The superintendent is the CEO,” said Adriance, “and we hire him.”

She went on, “It’s also our job to make sure the superintendent is fiscally responsible…to really put eyes on that budget…Ultimately, all of us as taxpayers win if our tax dollars provide well for the kids.”

Asked whom to consult for advice, Schanz said, “Former board members; we have a wealth of knowledge there. And community members.”

“Everybody and anybody,” said Adriance. “It may be resources outside of the district.”

“Leave no stone unturned,” said Tedeschi. “I would try to talk to people who have a different perspective than me.”

On-the-spot questions

After the scripted questions had been answered, several people in the audience raised questions as well.

Ed Ackroyd of Knox, a former school board member, was concerned about the effect of increased taxes on senior citizens.

Adriance responded that, while there was a 0.5-percent increase this year and another 0.5-percent planned for next year, the previous three years had no increase in the tax levy.

“We’re decreasing our dependence on our reserves,” she said of the plan for next year, “which is how we had zero percent. That money will only last so long,” she said of the district’s fund balance or rainy-day account.

Tedeschi pointed out that the tax levy projected for next year is 49 percent of all the revenues for the first time in five or six years.  “We’re under 50 percent to fund the budget,” said Tedeschi, “and we’re also using less resources.”

“I am still concerned about our decreasing students and increasing staff,” said Schanz. “Once we have the staff, salaries and benefits increase every year.”

Helen Lounsbury, another former board member as well as a retired BKW teacher, expressed disappointment that the current board knew so little of the work of previous boards.

She also said that, during her 15 years on the board, only one administrator “made the  choice to leave.” Many were new at their jobs and made mistakes as they learned, she said. She went on, “Oftentimes, people are just not a good fit.” Lounsbury recommended, “Develop a more precise hiring program.”

She also said she could think of “disturbing” examples of “not following the chain of command.”

The most glaring example of this in recent years was in 2013 when the school board dismissed the popular varsity boys’ basketball coach, Andy Wright. The athletic director at the time, Thomas Galvin, resigned; he hadn’t been consulted as part of the chain of command.

“Why not pay attention to what happened before?” Lounsbury asked.

Tedeschi responded that there were four budget presentations by four different superintendents in the last four years. “It’s like a start-over pattern,” he said. He also said he’d like to re-activate the international exchange program that was set up during Lounsbury’s tenure on the board.

“When?” asked Lounsbury.

“We need to sit down with you and brainstorm,” Tedeschi answered.

“This is all new stuff to me,” said Schanz. “I’d have to check with former board members.” Schanz said she’d like to learn about the international program from Lounsbury.

Adriance said the changeover on the board, with most members serving just one term, led to a “loss of tribal knowledge.”

“I’m running for the board again for consistency,” said Adriance. She also said she would support a return to the former five-year term instead of the current three years.

“I’m a staunch supporter of a five-year term…to bring things to fruition,” said Adriance.

School board member Lillian Sisson-Chrysler said she’d heard a lot in the community about the misuse of cellphones by students as well as faculty and asked what would be done to enforce the district’s policy on cellphone use.

Tedeschi termed it “a sensitive subject” with cellphones being “integral to our society.”

“If there’s rule and the rule makes sense, it needs to be enforced,” he said.

“The handbook has a policy: No cellphones except for specific times or…a terrible emergency,” said Schanz.

She said she had worked, as an adult, in jobs where cellphone use was prohibited and that, if parents needed to get a message to a child, they could call the school office.

“Students are here to learn; teachers are here to teach,” she said.

Adriance said, “The board has talked about the tech department blocking access to certain sites.”

She also said it is important to hold people accountable.  “Choices have consequences,” she said.

While there may be reasons in a classroom to use a cellphone, it needs to be managed, said Adriance, concluding, “We have to hold faculty, students, and staff accountable.”

A new teacher spoke up from the back of the room to tell about the “many different apps” that allow cellphones to be used for learning. She said there are free webinars where teachers could learn to use the apps in their classrooms.

“Make the cell phone a positive thing,” she urged.