WGXC-90.7 FM
Cairo-Durham board candidates face off at forum
May 16, 2013 1:14 am
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Cairo-Durham Board of Education Candidate Forum at Cairo Library, Wed., May 15.[/caption]
Candidates for election to the Cairo-Durham Central School District School Board participated in a forum, Wed., May 15, in the community room at the Cairo Library. The event was co-sponsored by the Mid-Hudson chapter of the League of Women Voters and WGXC 90.7-FM, with a live FM broadcast. Dennis Burke, Peter Byrne, Beatrice Clappin (incumbent), Greg Koerner-Fox (incumbent), and Gary Warner gave opening and closing statements, and answered questions submitted from some of the 30-40 audience members for 90 minutes. Fawn Potash, from the League of Women Voters, hosted, and Heather Maasmaan kept time. There are three seats to win in this election, with Thomas Plank not seeking a return to the board. The discussion focused mostly on the Cairo-Durham elementary schools realignment, or what was once called the "Princeton Plan." Both incumbents said the plan, to keep both Cairo and Durham schools open, and bus children from all over the district to both schools, was the best way forward and nothing that could be stopped, while the challengers opposed the plan, and would like to see it averted. The school district was also recently named a "Focus" district by the state, according to The Daily Mail. These districts have students with low performances and/or lack of progress in ELA and math, or have insufficient graduation rates. Candidates spoke of their plans to improve those statistics, within their limited budget. Other subjects raised included filling school lunches with local fruits and vegetables, communication with parents, and conflict management.
Hours before the forum, the school district announced, with a robocall to parents and a web posting, "Cairo-Durham High School Participation in Government Class will be hosting the Board of Education Meet the Candidates Night this Friday, at 7 p.m. in the High School Media Center." This was news to several of the candidates at this forum, two days before the event. WGXC will be recording that second forum, and posting that audio online this weekend. The election is from noon to 9 p.m., Tue., May 21, in the middle school cafeteria. Click here to play the recording of the entire event (warning, large file).
PLAY COMPLETE RECORDING (1:31:37)
Link to The Daily Mail's feature on candidates.
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The forum was held in the community room of the Cairo Library.[/caption]
Cairo-Durham Board of Education Candidate Forum at Cairo Library, Wed., May 15.[/caption]Candidates for election to the Cairo-Durham Central School District School Board participated in a forum, Wed., May 15, in the community room at the Cairo Library. The event was co-sponsored by the Mid-Hudson chapter of the League of Women Voters and WGXC 90.7-FM, with a live FM broadcast. Dennis Burke, Peter Byrne, Beatrice Clappin (incumbent), Greg Koerner-Fox (incumbent), and Gary Warner gave opening and closing statements, and answered questions submitted from some of the 30-40 audience members for 90 minutes. Fawn Potash, from the League of Women Voters, hosted, and Heather Maasmaan kept time. There are three seats to win in this election, with Thomas Plank not seeking a return to the board. The discussion focused mostly on the Cairo-Durham elementary schools realignment, or what was once called the "Princeton Plan." Both incumbents said the plan, to keep both Cairo and Durham schools open, and bus children from all over the district to both schools, was the best way forward and nothing that could be stopped, while the challengers opposed the plan, and would like to see it averted. The school district was also recently named a "Focus" district by the state, according to The Daily Mail. These districts have students with low performances and/or lack of progress in ELA and math, or have insufficient graduation rates. Candidates spoke of their plans to improve those statistics, within their limited budget. Other subjects raised included filling school lunches with local fruits and vegetables, communication with parents, and conflict management.
Hours before the forum, the school district announced, with a robocall to parents and a web posting, "Cairo-Durham High School Participation in Government Class will be hosting the Board of Education Meet the Candidates Night this Friday, at 7 p.m. in the High School Media Center." This was news to several of the candidates at this forum, two days before the event. WGXC will be recording that second forum, and posting that audio online this weekend. The election is from noon to 9 p.m., Tue., May 21, in the middle school cafeteria. Click here to play the recording of the entire event (warning, large file).
PLAY COMPLETE RECORDING (1:31:37)
Link to The Daily Mail's feature on candidates.
[caption width="500" align="alignleft"]
The forum was held in the community room of the Cairo Library.[/caption]