To the Editor:

At the Berne-Knox-Westerlo schools, bullying starts at the top. The day my letter to the editor [May 10, 2018: “You can’t hide from your votes and actions”] came out in The Altamont Enterprise, I was being publicly bullied by the school board president, Matthew Tedeschi.

In the year that has passed, many others have shared their experiences with Mr. Tedeschi’s autocratic bullying and explosive anger in public and in private.

I am an 82-year-old, retired, New York State Thruway bridge supervisor II. I’ve supervised approximately 12 employees. A member of any government organization knows that constructive teamwork and respectful dealing with shareholders is essential, especially in a leader.

Looking to the future, a major improvement would be for the school board members to cooperate to create better teamwork on the school board for the benefits of the students. I would anticipate fostering serious discussions concerning declining enrollment and any required restructuring.

This will achieve two major goals: excellent educational/vocational opportunities and tax cost containment.

It is important for the BKW Board of Education members to always deal with their emotions in a positive way. Uncontrolled anger is a form of bullying.

Therefore, I am requesting that all future BKW board presidents be required to have appropriate educational backgrounds in anger management and sensitivity training.

Based upon the educational/vocational needs of all students and their career development, I am endorsing for the BKW School Board: Robin Becker and Mackenzie Hempstead.

Philip Stevens

Berne