New school board faces challenges in July

By TOM KANE

JEFFERSONVILLE — The Sullivan West Central School Board has its work cut out for it in the coming year.

It has to guide the administration in the construction of the new high school, still slated to open in the fall of 2003, and the renovation of the three existing school buildings.

It has to monitor the transition of the Delaware Valley and Narrowsburg campuses into K-6 schools, and the Jeffersonville campus into a K-8 school.

It must encourage the development of additional curricula, as promised, as the new high school is built, merging the high schools currently housed in Delaware Valley and Jeffersonville into one Lake Huntington structure. Because of the consolidation, new economies and larger student numbers make it possible to take on courses that none of the three school separately could have adopted.

The new board will have one controversial new member, Arthur Norden, who will replace Donna Sauer Jones. Norden has spoken against the merger, the construction of the new high school and the new school budget.

The board that is now leaving office experienced some division over the appointment of Margaret Tenbus as the principal of the new high school over the objections of school superintendent Michael Johndrow and assistant superintendent David Rowley. The choice divided the board and occasioned some critical comments among board members.

“I don’t foresee anything that the new board can’t get over,” said board member Tim Lanese. “Anyone who got on the board is going to work well with the others. Once you get into the groove of things and see how things work, you see what has to be done.”

Lanese was optimistic that the board could avoid arguing.

“We need to bring the three schools together—the teachers and the students,” said board member Rick Sandler.

Sandler said he was sorry to see Sauer-Jones leave but spoke optimistically of working with Norden, whom he has known for a number of years.

“He knows the issues and is up on everything and may not have the same view as other members. That’s why we have nine members,” he said.

Bill Erdman feels skeptical about the new school being completed on time, but was optimistic about the new board. “This board is working well together now. Articles in the paper to the contrary were, well, out of whack,” he said.

“There were differences of opinion on this board but it ended here in the board room,” said board member Carol Nearing. “You have to go into a board meeting thinking that things are going to work out,” she said.

“The new board has to work together to get things done,” said board member Rick Lander. “People think things are worse that they really are.”

Norden declined to be interviewed for this story.

Angela Daley, a former board member, expressed some reservations. “The board has to address the fractious nature of the new district,” she said. Daley pointed out that Jeffersonville, Youngsville and Delaware Valley all voted down the recent budget (although it passed district-wide), and voted overwhelmingly for dissident Norden. In Jeffersonville and Youngsville, Norden got 303 votes against his two opponents, Linda Pomes and Jones, who got 167 and 157 respectively. In Delaware Valley, he got 269 votes over Pomes’ 89 votes and Jones’ 240 votes.

Narrowsburg’s plurality passed the budget and Narrowsburg voted against Norden, Daley said. “The fact of this division can not be ignored,” she said. “It needs to be addressed.”

Barbara McPhail of Narrowsburg, another close observer of the board and the Sullivan West district, said, “I feel that we’re going to be surprised at how well this new board will work together.”