Hilltown Archives — The Altamont Enterprise, April 19, 2012
Two vie for one seat on BKW School Board
By Zach Simeone
BERNE — As Berne-Knox-Westerlo School Board member Carolyn Anderson comes to the end of her first three-year term on the board, two candidates handed in their petitions by Monday’s deadline to vie for her seat.
District residents will vote for a board candidate on May 15, at the same time they decide on the proposed $20.3 million budget.
Gerald Larghe, a 51-year-old United States Marine Reserve officer, is running for his third year in a row. Having seen his daughter attend schools in Texas, Hawaii, and overseas in England, and looking back on his experience with military-training budgets, he thinks he has the perspective that BKW needs in this economy.
“What is the purpose of a school? To allow people to move forward into society and allow them to become prosperous taxpaying citizens that go on with their lives,” Larghe told The Enterprise before the election last year. “It’s not a babysitting service; it’s not a delinquency holding pen. It’s a school. Educate and prepare. With that said, the supported element is the students; everyone else is in the supporting role.”
Also in the running is Matthew Tedeschi. With a wife who works in the elementary school office, and a daughter finishing her junior year at the high school, Tedeschi has deep roots in the district.
He spoke out at the 2010 budget forum, stating that he would rather pay more in taxes than see programs get cut.
“They’re not giving us the opportunity to speak out and say, ‘Yes, we want to pay more for our children; we want to give our kids more,”’ Tedeschi said to his fellow taxpayers. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not looking to pay more taxes, but, if it’s what I have to do as a parent and as a citizen in this community, it’s what I have to do.”