Teacher Towle-Hilt comes in first
Guilderland voters pass school and library budgets by wide margins

GUILDERLAND — Voters here said "yes" on Tuesday to school and library budgets and they passed school propositions for buses, a land purchase, and a capital reserve fund.

In a five-way race for three school-board seats, voters also elected the two candidates who were backed by the teachers’ union. Retiring social-studies teacher Gloria Towle-Hilt received the most votes followed by her running mate, incumbent Colleen O’Connell, a mother and a lawyer.
Barbara Fraterrigo, who has been on the board for 10 years, came in third. She and her running mates, Carolyn Kelly, a mother and an auditor, and John Fraher, an accountant and father, were endorsed by Guilderland Parents Advocate which said, "This next election will be the pivotal point for progress."

The GPA, initially made up of parents whose children struggled to read and who challenged the district’s reading curriculum, has endorsed candidates since 2004; four of them, including Fraterrigo, now serve on the nine-member school board. If Kelly or Fraher had won, the GPA-endorsed candidates would have had a majority on the board.
After several parents complained to the school board this year that the district had failed to teach their children to read and some school board members demanded answers, the president of the teachers’ union, Chris Claus, told the board that response "sent a chilling message of distrust and has provoked fear in teachers and staff." Claus said the board seemed willing to substitute its judgment of an academic program for that of its professional staff.

The polls closed Tuesday at 9 p.m. and a score of people — school board members, candidates with their families and supporters, and school staff — waited in the hot Guilderland Elementary School gym for election results from the five polling places to be tallied. The air was heavy and the mood was tense as thunder boomed outside.
"This year, people are voting more on the board of election than the budget," commented Superintendent Gregory Aidala during the long wait.

Moments after the results were announced at 10:40, Aidala told The Enterprise, "I view the outcome of the election as support for the school district and programs we have — not only the board election but the successful passage of the budget."

The $82 million budget passed handily in all five elementary-school polling places. Overall, 64 percent — 2,011 to 1,136 — voted yes.
"We’re very pleased with the overwhelming support," said Aidala, noting it was the highest percentage passing vote during his six-year tenure as superintendent. He will be retiring in the fall.
"The projected tax increase of under two-and-a-half percent made it appealing," said Aidala. "And it provides for some good initiatives," he said, citing a program that will start foreign-language study in the elementary schools and the added emphasis on technology instruction. Both of those were school-board priorities this year.

Guilderland’s success in passing its budget was part of a statewide trend; 95.5 percent of the budgets passed on Tuesday, setting a record, according to the New York State School Boards Association. The average since 1969 is 82.5 percent. Last year, 88.8 percent were approved on the initial vote in the state’s 637 districts.

Propositions

The Guilderland proposition to spend $835,000 on 11 new school buses and a maintenance truck also passed easily at all five polling places with a total of 2,011 votes in favor and 1,093 opposed, meaning 65 percent supported the measure.

Voters also approved — 2,081 to 1,077 — a proposition to set up a $600,000 capital reserve fund for renovations to the district’s elementary schools. The measure passed by wide margins at all five schools, garnering support from 66 percent of the voters overall.

Finally, voters passed, by a slightly less favorable margin, a proposition to pay $175,000 for eight-tenths of an acre of land on Route 20 in front of Guilderland Elementary School.

Again, the measure passed at all five polling places, with 58 percent overall voting yes.

The land belongs to the YMCA, which built a recreational facility across Route 20 from the school and bought the land in order to re-configure the school driveway so it would line up with YMCA entrance road, a planning requirement so that only one traffic light would be needed. According to the town assessor’s office, the land, made up of two parcels, is assessed at $149,600.
"You don’t get many opportunities to purchase land contiguous to a school," said Aidala after the successful vote was announced. "It provides protection forever."

Money for both the land purchase and the capital reserve fund is to come from the district’s surplus fund balance.

School-board race
"Certainly it was a contentious election," Aidala said of the school-board race. Noting the many letters to the editor published in The Enterprise and the issues around endorsement and leafleting, Aidala said, "You couldn’t sit back and say there wasn’t a school-board election."

The Guilderland Teachers’ Association, for the first time this year, offered money to the candidates it backed. Towle-Hilt accepted the $500 while O’Connell turned it down. Each of the five candidates said they purchased 100 campaign signs, which cost $400 to $500. They also printed flyers.
Fraterrigo, Kelly, and Fraher planned to hand out flyers after school events but were stopped by Aidala who ended the practice. He said last week, "We have to maintain the appearance of not permitting partisan activities on school grounds."
Fraterrigo said last week that the practice was well established in Guilderland and had served the district well; the ban, she said, was "a total infringement of freedom of speech rights."

Candidates were allowed to hand out literature on election day as long as they were at least 100 feet from polling places.
"It has been divisive," Aidala said Tuesday night of the election. "Now that the results are in, they’ve got to get back on track with teamwork. We want to look to the future, not dwell on the past."
Asked if he thought the contentious campaign would be an impediment to board progress, Aidala said, "Time will tell. The selection of a new superintendent could unify the board."
School board member Hy Dubowsky said of the election, "The level of debate has changed."

School board election results

The results reported here are unofficial; they were announced Tuesday night by Assistant Superintendent for Business Neil Sanders, based on tallies from each of the five polling places.

Gloria Towle-Hilt received 23 percent of the votes, garnering 2,046 in all for her first-place win.

She came in first at Altamont, Lynnwood, and Pine Bush; second at Westmere; and fourth at Guilderland.

She described an epiphany in the voting booth.
"I got up, went to church, then went to vote," she said of her morning. "I got in the booth and there’s my name. I never thought about that. I stood there, looking at my name and realized this is what I had been teaching about all these years," said the long-time Farnsworth Middle School social-studies teacher. "I thought, ‘This is what it’s all about — ordinary people, doing something for your community.’"
She went on about her first run for school board, "I feel so humbled that so many people did so much for me."
Asked what she thought of the teachers’ union-supported candidates besting the GPA-supported candidates, Towle-Hilt said, "What it shows is there is a good solid relationship between the teachers, the school board, and the community. The attempt to label me ‘the teacher’," she said of references that she would have a conflict of interest serving on the board, "people were trying to make that an issue, that I would have preconceived notions. That was very unfair."
She went on, "The Guilderland Teachers’ Association and the district have worked hard to build community...I have always felt a strong relationship between parents and teachers. People can disagree and work together. I’m teaching right now how our Constitution is a matter of compromise."

Colleen O’Connell got 22 percent of the votes, receiving 1,987 votes to come in second.

She came in first at Westmere; second at Altamont, Pine Bush, and Lynnwood; and fifth at Guilderland.
"I think the election results show you can take the high road and still win an election," said O’Connell, who will now serve a second three-year term.
She went on, "Gloria and I emphasized and asked our supporters to highlight our qualities and experiences. We refused to engage in a negative campaign, denigrating our opponents."
Asked about assertions that she had showed blind trust in the administration while the GPA said it was endorsing candidates who listened to the community, O’Connell said, "I’ve listened to the GPA for the last three years and we’ve implemented some of their requests like early screening in kindergarten."
She continued, "I think some people define listening as doing exactly what they want. I did listen patiently and reflect on the information and then decide on a course of action."
Asked what her goals are for the upcoming term, O’Connell said, "Concentrating on getting the best superintendent possible and, frankly, trying to repair some of the damage that has been done....
"Three school-board members campaigned against me," she said, referring to Fraterrigo, Dubowsky, and Peter Golden. "Those are relationships that need to be worked on."
She concluded, "Related to rebuilding, I’d like to try to conduct ourselves in a civil manner."

Barbara Fraterrigo got 19 percent of the votes, garnering 1,716 to come in third.

She came in first at Guilderland, third at Altamont and Lynnwood, and fourth Pine Bush and Westmere.
"I’m just delighted I was re-elected," said Fraterrigo on election night. "I appreciate people giving me another opportunity to serve."
During the campaign, Fraterrigo said, "I think the board really does have a role in responding to parents’ complaints"Over the years, I’ve been identified as a listener"I’ve heard from so many people, particularly in special ed. areas, to look at the reading program."
Asked Tuesday night if she was disappointed that her running mates had lost, Fraterrigo said, "Certainly you like to see people with the same philosophy as yourself" in office. She went on about Kelly, "Carolyn will be a strong candidate in the future."
Asked if she thought the campaign had caused divisiveness, Fraterrigo said, "I hope not...We’re capable of working together for the good of the kids."

She suggested The Enterprise take a picture of all three winning candidates together.

Carolyn Kelly received 18 percent of the vote, getting 1,605 in all, to come in fourth.

She came in third at Guilderland and Pine Bush, fourth at Altamont and Lynnwood, and fifth at Westmere.

Kelly, making her first run for the board, had done a wide range of volunteer work for children and said she wanted to put that and her experience as an auditor to work for the school district.
"I think the reading program still needs to be addressed," Kelly said during her campaign. "I don’t think the teachers should have been overly upset with the board asking for more information."
Kelly said yesterday, "I was absolutely thrilled 1,605 people voted for me and supported me"And I’m thrilled that Barbara Fraterrigo will be on the board again. She’s a wonderful advocate for our kids."
Kelly, who had filled out and returned a candidate’s questionnaire for the Guilderland Teachers’ Association but was not endorsed by the union, said, "It’s unfortunate postcards went out from the GTA on Saturday, supporting their chosen candidates. That’s a huge expense; it obviously worked."
When asked if she would run again, Kelly said, "We’ll have to see what next year brings. This was a lot of work on my part"I don’t know if any parent can work past that type of machine," she said, referring to the teachers’ union.
She concluded, "I’ll continue to volunteer as I always have."

John Fraher got 17 percent of the vote, totaling 1,549 votes, to finish last.

He came in second at Guilderland; third at Westmere; and fifth at Altamont, Lynnwood, and Pine Bush.
Fraher, a certified public accountant, said he decided to run after hearing a lot of talk in his Westmere neighborhood "about the rising cost of the budget and if we are spending our money prudently."

Fraher did not return a call on Wednesday for comment on the election.
Referring to the school board, Fraher said during his campaign, "I believe a board of directors should be allowed to review anything...I have a concern when management doesn’t allow a board to look at information. Then who really has the governing role, who really has the authority to make changes""

Library

The Guilderland Public Library’s $2.6 million budget passed, 1,912 to 1,053.

The tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value is estimated at 90 cents, up 4 cents from this year.

Two incumbent trustees were on the ballot to fill three seats on the 11-member library board. Carroll Valachovic received 1,792 votes and Douglas Morrissey garnered 1,783 votes.

Valachovic came in third in a four-way race last year, and so earned a one-year spot on the board. A certified public accountant who works at a local accounting firm, Valachovic is a Guilderland native.

Morrissey was appointed to the board several months ago when a trustee resigned. The director of school counseling at Canajoharie High School, he has lived in Guilderland for three years.

Nancy Streeter launched a write-in campaign to secure the third seat with 83 votes. Robert Ruth garnered 10 write-in votes and seven others got one or two write-in votes apiece.
Streeter, a retired teacher and school administrator, enjoys using the Guilderland Public Library. "I’ve been an educator all my life," Streeter said on election night as she waited for votes to be tallied. "I love libraries and thought I could use my experience to give back to the community."