GUILDERLAND — The school board bid a fond farewell last Tuesday to two of its long-time leaders — William Brinkman and David Picker — while learning there will be a contest for new leadership.

For the first time in nine years, there will be a race for board president. At the board’s July 5 reorganizational meeting, new board members will be sworn in and the board will elect a president and vice president for the year ahead.

Both Linda Bakst and the current vice president, Gene Danese, plan to run for president.

Board member Thomas Nachod, who was asked to survey the members, said he had talked to each of them, and Danese and Bakst both said they wanted to run for president. Each will give a presentation on July 5 before the board votes, Nachod said.

Several board members want to be vice president, Nachod said, depending on the results of the presidential election. Nine unpaid members serve on the board; each has a three-year term.

Both Danese and Bakst have served eight years on the board. Danese was elected to a third three-year term as board member in 2003, coming in 52 votes behind Bakst, the top vote-getter, also elected for a third three-year term.

Danese, 58, works for the State Education Department, certifying teachers and administrators.

Bakst, 45, worked for the Anti-Defamation League until it closed its Albany office; she is now doing consulting work in multi-cultural awareness. She has two children — a daughter who just graduated from Guilderland High School, and a son who will be a junior there.

While there has been no contest in recent years for the president’s post, Bakst and Danese did run against each other in 2003 for the vice president’s slot.

Danese was elected in a 6-to-3 vote.

Also in recent years, the board’s vice presidents have later become presidents.

Why run"

Bakst told The Enterprise this week that she wants to run because she has skills that are useful for the board.
"I’m a creative thinker and a problem-solver," she said. "And I think there’s some benefit to having a woman as president...I’m not making this a feminist issue, but it’s important women step forward into leadership positions."

She stressed that this was not a criticism of the board’s former male leadership.
Bakst went on, "I’m good on my feet and I’m a logical thinker. I respect the board’s processes and I’m still a team player."

Bakst said that other board members may hesitate to elect her because she has not been shy about expressing her opinions.
"The most important role a board president plays is as a facilitator....I won’t forfeit my opinions or vote but I will be more circumspect. I think I have the strength to do the job," she said.
Danese wants to be president because, he said, "Being president makes a better board member." He went on, "I’m in favor of the board’s unwritten policy of limiting it to two terms." Each term is one year.
Being board president, he said "gives you insight and makes you more sensitive to issues."
Danese said of his own qualifications for the job, "I bring fairness and I have the ability to listen. Everybody will have their say."

Issues and roles

One of the issues over which Danese and Bakst have consistently disagreed for years is alternative funding for schools, such as through advertising or pouring rights. Danese has favored looking into the matter, and Bakst has steadfastly maintained that public schools should be financed with public funds.

But, unlike in the last contested presidential election nine years ago, where there was a clear-cut difference in philosophy — pro-budget versus anti-budget — and in constituencies — faculty versus taxpayers — the difference between Danese and Bakst appears to be more about leadership style.
"The main job of a board president isn’t to accomplish his own goals," said Danese. "The president is to make sure there is communication and he assists the superintendent in long-range planning."
Danese did say that, as president, he would want the board "to investigate things like alternative funding." He emphasized the word investigate, indicating he wasn’t already committed to one path or another.

Besides alternative funding, Danese said that another matter to be looked at is changing the state retirement system for teachers; he noted that Guilderland has just set up a committee, including teachers, to discuss the matter.
"I’ve always said that we should maintain our program and keep it in line with costs to property owners," said Danese.
Danese concluded of the board president’s role, "Number one, you’ve got to be the representative of the board to the superintendent."
Second, he said, "You assist in planning what the school year will be like," which includes the budget. Guilderland’s budget for the next school year is $76 million.
Third, he said, "You must run meetings well, and listen to understand what the board wants."
Contrasting the current race with the last contested race nine years ago, Danese said, "Two people want to serve. I think that’s good....Either one of us could serve effectively. Any board member on the board today could serve effectively....
"Everybody on the board now basically shares the same goals...No one is radically different. There may be a difference in methods or slight differences in perception, but we all have supported the budget every year and we all have the same goal...preservation of the program at a reasonable rate for taxpayers."

Bakst expressed some of the same views as Danese on the race. She told The Enterprise, "I think it is about leadership styles." She said "in no way" does her running for president indicate a lack of "respect for Mr. Danese." She added, of the differences between them, "It’s not a horrible schism."
Asked about her goals if she were elected president, Bakst said, "I don’t have any kind of agenda."
About alternative funding, Bakst said, "It may come to pass I’m in the minority now. If that’s a decision the board makes, I’ll try to see it happens in a way that serves the community best."
Bakst also said, "For the first time in a long while, there’s a real change in the board...Two new members will bring new ideas. And we’ll be facing a number of challenges. My main concern is we continue to keep front and center the philosophy that has guided Guilderland."
She described this philosophy as being "an individualized, child-centered approach, not teaching to the test." She concluded, "I’m hoping we keep our eyes on the prize."

History

The last contested race for president was in 1996, when Nachod, a banker, was elected with a 5-to-4 vote, supported by budget-backers on the board, including Brinkman and Picker.

Nachod, who will now be the board’s longest-serving member, had been elected to the board in tumultuous times. He won his first run, in 1995, the year after candidates supported by an anti-tax group trounced their budget-backing opponents.

After a budget defeat in 1994 and a budget approved by just four votes in 1996 — the year Picker was elected to the board — the district has enjoyed solid margins of budget approval.

When Nachod stepped down as president in 2000, Picker picked up the reins.

At the same time, Brinkman was elected vice president. Both men ran unopposed, and were unchallenged in subsequent years.

During their three years in office together, they only disagreed vehemently once in a public meeting. That was over the use of champagne glasses as prom favors. Brinkman brought in a glass that belonged to his son and said it was used as a vase and did not encourage underage drinking; Picker said that, if some in the community felt such favors encouraged drinking, they should not be allowed.

By and large, the two men oversaw smoothly-run meetings.

In 2003, Brinkman was unanimously elected board president. He had recently retired from a 23-year career with the State Education Department. He was uncontested for president again the following year, and, at the close of his term, announced he was retiring from the board to have more time for his consulting business.

Brinkman, Picker, and Nachod all were elected when they had children who were students in the school district; their children are now all grown, with Picker’s younger child graduating from the high school this week.

Farewell

June 21 was the last school board meeting for Brinkman and Picker.

Brinkman served for 15 years, the last two as president, and before that as vice president to Picker.

Picker, a lawyer who works for the state, served on the board for nine years, three of them as president.
Danese presented both of the men with plaques which said, "By word and deed, your presence has enriched the lives of students."

Board member Colleen O’Connell then read a letter from Beth Miller, president of the Guilderland PTA Council.
She thanked the pair for "tireless efforts, honesty, and fairness in making the Guilderland School District the best it can be and always keeping our kids your first priority."
Miller also wrote, "Your encouragement to parents to get involved and giving us the forum to do so was appreciated."
Bakst read a resolution thanking Picker, which said "his actions and leadership were always guided by high moral standards and principles" and said that "he always conducted himself with dignity and integrity, and expressed his views in a straightforward and articulate manner, resulting in his opinions being respected and considered."
The proclamation concluded, "All members of the community will miss his vision, counsel, humanity, and concern for the children of Guilderland."
Nachod read a resolution honoring Brinkman, which lauded him for his way of strongly emphasizing a reasoned point of view "along with an ability to understand and appreciate differing opinions."
The resolution also said, "He devoted many hours of his personal time to visit schools and classrooms so that he could learn firsthand about the district’s instructional programs" and "he consistently expressed his support and appreciation for those who worked to assure that each child succeeds."
"His fellow board members, administrators, and teachers sought his opinions and the guidance they contained," the resolution said, and, "He took stands which strongly supported public education and carried out all of the duties of his position with honor."
"These two gentlemen have been the greatest mentors for me," said board member Barbara Fraterrigo after the resolutions were read and applauded. "You guys are great."
Board member Richard Weisz said that the pair had been "the heart of our board the last decade" and that thousands of families had depended upon them.

Finally, he said, Brinkman and Picker set the tone for a collegial and child-centered approach.

Brinkman had the last word at the close of the meeting.
"I have really enjoyed every single day I’ve been on the board," he said. "It’s a great staff....People have no idea how good our staff is...It’s made my job that much easier...I just want to thank everyone."