GUILDERLAND — The school board here has new leaders, elected in split votes on July 5 at its annual reorganizational meeting.

Christine Hayes, a lawyer and Guilderland graduate, garnered one more vote than Gloria Towle-Hilt, a retired Farnsworth Middle School teacher. Both had previously served as vice president of the board.

Hayes was nominated for the post by Allan Simpson, the outgoing president, under whom she had served as vice president. His motion was seconded by Christopher McManus, who was then elected vice president.

In a similar 5-to-4 vote, McManus bested Catherine Barber, who had served as vice president under the long-since-retired Richard Weisz. McManus is an analyst for the state’s Division of Budget, married to an assistant principal at Guilderland High School. Barber is a musician and lawyer married to the town’s supervisor.

In both elections, according to a draft of meeting minutes, reporting on the paper ballots, Hayes, McManus, Simpson, Seema Rivera, and Barbara Fraterrigo voted for the winning ticket while Barber, Towle-Hilt, Judy Slack, and newly sworn-in board member Teresa Gitto voted for the Towle-Hilt-Barber ticket.

Asked about her goals for the upcoming year, Hayes told The Enterprise, “I want to be organized and fair and run the meetings efficiently.”

She went on, “I want to see that the board keeps the district’s mission and values in mind. I want to make sure we keep the best interests of children first and foremost.”

Similarly, in an election interview, she said her goal in running for the school board was to “maintain the same quality of education with diverse opportunities for students…We need to build the educational opportunities so the next generation can serve our community.”

Hayes is unperturbed by the close vote that elected her. “I think it’s exciting and shows how committed our board is,” she said. “I think it’s a good thing. It shows our strength.”

Hayes said that she and McManus had talked about running together in advance of the July 5 meeting. “We have lots of similar ideas and ways of thinking,” she said.

Hayes, who graduated from Guilderland in 1999, also student taught at Farnsworth Middle School. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from The College of Saint Rose and a certificate of advanced study in education, also from Saint Rose. She has also worked as a substitute teacher in Guilderland schools.

Hayes said when she first ran for school board in 2012, “You don’t have to have kids to care about the schools. I care about my community and want to give kids a voice. I won’t have allegiance to any one school or any grade level. I’ll speak for them all, from the littlest to the biggest.”

McManus, on the other hand, has cast himself as a voice for families with young children and two working parents.

“We have different strengths and perspectives and complement each other,” said Hayes.

Hayes holds a juris doctorate from New England School of Law and says her work as an associate counsel for Albany Medical Center, where she provides legal advice and services on health-care, educational, and corporate issues, has strengthened her as a board member, teaching her the value of teamwork, critical thinking, and problem solving.

Asked what will be the biggest challenges for the board in the year ahead, Hayes said, “It’s hard to predict…I want to be prepared so we can be proactive rather than reactive.

“We have a great district office team and a hardworking board,” she said, predicting a productive year ahead.

Hayes is 35 and this year was named to the Albany Business Review’s “40 Under 40” list of outstanding young local leaders.

Hayes is quoted by the Review on what the Capital District needs: “To invest more resources (both financial and human) in local K-12 public school districts, particularly those situated in underserved areas. There are several city school districts in the Capital Region with aging facilities and less than desirable graduation rates. I truly believe that this is something we have a moral obligation to address because no young person should be made to feel that their community does not support them.”

VP seeks “open communication”

McManus told The Enterprise that his primary goal for the upcoming year is to “open communication to get more stakeholders involved in the process; bring them in at the beginning rather than the end.”

He also said the board’s meetings can be “more concise.” He believes Hayes can accomplish that and says he has “great respect” for her abilities.

When McManus first ran for the school board in 2014 — now, he is starting the third and final year of his first term — he outlined three goals he wanted to accomplish.

First, he called Guilderland “stagnant in the rankings.” He said this week he still wants to increase the district’s standings, noting that the Albany Business Review had not ranked Guilderland at the top. Guilderland was ranked sixth in 2016, 2015, and 2013, and third in 2014 by the Review. The newspaper considers five categories: language and reading; social studies; science; math; and graduation rates and outcomes, calculating the percentage of graduates who plan to attend college and the percentage of students who graduated with advanced Regents diplomas.

“You don’t want to teach to the test,” McManus said, but still Guilderland scores should improve, especially in science and math, he said.

His second goal in running for the board was to open the budget process, which he feels is underway. “We opened up the process” by soliciting online budget priorities, he said. “We got an award for that and I understand why.”

At the July 5 board meeting, superintendent Marie Wiles announced that Aubree Kammler, Guilderland’s public relations specialist from BOCES, won a Golden Award, Guilderland’s first, from the National School Public Relations Association for the interactive website project.

“Not everyone will come to a meeting,” said McManu,s but the public can be involved online.

McManus said progress has been made on his third goal, “to discuss issues out in the open, not always behind closed doors.”

“I never asked questions behind closed doors or in phone calls,” he said. “I ask in public.”

McManus sees his background in economics as an asset to the board. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from the State University of New York College at Potsdam and a master’s degree in business administration from Clarkson University. He earned them in a five-year program, combining undergraduate and graduate courses. “It saved time and money,” he said.

McManus, 40, said, “When I joined the board, there were no parents that had elementary-age children.” His son Jack is 8 and his son Nicholas is 5. He said he speaks up for families with young children and two working parents, for example, in advocating for a school calendar that wouldn’t require an extra day of day care. “I do get emails and phone calls thanking me,” he said.

On the close vote, he had a similar response to Hayes. “We’re fortunate to have talented individuals on the board,” said McManus. Asked about differences between the two slates, he said, “It’s good to have people willing to step up to a leadership position. We have a very active board.”

Asked what challenges he anticipates in the upcoming year, McManus said inclusion “will definitely be a challenge.” Having classes made up of students with a range of skills, including special-needs students, McManus said, “is a great value.” The board discussed inclusion the day after the reorganizational meeting at its July 6 session to define goals, he said.

“The board needs to work closely with stakeholders so everyone understands what’s ahead,” said McManus. “I think we did a great job with the task force bringing the community together,” he said, referring to a task force charged with finding new uses for empty classrooms — ultimately the board decided to fill six vacant classrooms with a private preschool program, starting this September.

“I would like to put together other task forces,” said McManus.

Some parents at Pine Bush Elementary School, slated for two classes of the private pre-kindergarten, petitioned last month for a change in plans. The district then held a session at Pine Bush.

“Dr. Wiles did a great job. She stood up there and answered questions,” said McManus. “She was able to address the major concern,” he said, indicating that, if another kindergarten class is added to the school, it will be grouped with the other kindergarten classes.

Other business

In other business at its July 5 meeting, the board:

— Received three annual plans for review, on school safety, professional development, and aid for struggling students;

— Heard from Assistant Superintendent for Business Neil Sanders that the district has 35 cell phones — 21 for maintenance staff, eight for technical personnel, and six for administrators. The average monthly cost for all of them is $826.65, up 40 cents from last year;

— Learned from Sanders that the district had accepted an offer of $22,500 for 6.6 acres it owns in Hadley, New York. The property, unused for years, had once been a site for science field trips. The revenue will go into the general fund, he said;

— Heard from Wiles that Guilderland students will attend a BOCES regional summer school at Mohonasen from July 6 to Aug. 16, and that an extended program for Guilderland students with disabilities will be run from Altamont Elementary School this summer;

— Heard from Wiles that “a robust report” on exit poll data, taken after the May budget election, is posted on the district’s website;

— Learned from Wiles that she got “a call out of the blue” from the office of Senator George Amedore, “wanting to know if we have any unmet needs.” She was told, “I need to know today,” and recommended new choral risers. Guilderland was allotted $22,500 for the risers; and

— Discussed hosting a delegation from a Chinese primary school near Shanghai in mid-September. “It seems a lot for September,” said Wiles. She said she was also “a little reluctant” as Guilderland already has a sister school in China. “It will be an effort,” she said.

“It’s such an opportunity for kids,” said Towle-Hilt, who thought, since Guilderland wouldn’t have to provide housing or transportation, it wouldn’t be a “tremendous burden.”

Board member Barbara Fraterrigo said she supported “any time kids can see students from another part of the world and share a few moments.”

“The work might be a lot but it is a learning experience and that’s what we’re here for,” said Simpson.

“OK, committee,” said Wiles with a smile, indicating the board members might shoulder the work of planning. Wiles said she’d do some “homework” on the matter to find out more.

“Whatever you decide, we’ll back,” said Towle-Hilt.