Letters about the
Sullivan West election

To the editor:

The residents of the Sullivan West School District are fortunate that the current Board President, Jeff Nober, is seeking another term. Jeff has many years of board experience, serving for four years on the Narrowsburg Board and five years on the Sullivan West Board.

After serving as a school board member for 10 years, I feel strongly about the qualities that make a good board member. The most important quality is taking the time to prepare oneself before meetings. The board packets are often lengthy, but a thorough reading helps to answer one’s questions before the meeting, therefore asking only for clarifications on areas of uncertainty in the meetings. Once a board member has made a decision, based on the best information available at the time, it is imperative that the board member supports the majority position, even when being part of the minority vote. When a board member expresses an opinion, it is important that the message is the same, be it executive session, the board meeting or the local coffee shop. Mixed messages cloud the issue and confuse fellow board members and the public. It is nice to know where your fellow board members are coming from. The ability to work with all members of the board is important, even when some try to malign you in some way. In an ideal world, board decisions would all be win/win situations for all parties involved. In reality that rarely happens, so when the going gets tough, the board member has to be able to shoulder the criticism and continue the work.

Since Jeff Nober has exhibited the above qualities for many years, the district will be losing a valuable spokesman and advocate for all the children if he is not re-elected.

In addition to Jeff’s school board involvement, he has also served our community for many years in the following capacities: AYSO soccer coach, Delaware Valley Little Fellows League Coach, Cochecton Youth Board member, and Cochecton Planning Board member.

Many people mistakenly view change as an improvement. This year it is important to vote for the incumbent, Jeff Nober, to another term as Sullivan West Board Member.

Linda Pomes
Cochecton Center

To the editor:

I was remiss in not supporting Mr. van Swol in one comment he made in his previous letter to the editor, “if voters stayed home, the situation at Sullivan West (SW) will only deteriorate.”

Of course, he is absolutely correct.

If you, the voter, do not take it upon yourself to go to the polls and exercise your right to vote, and to vote for change, the situation at SW will deteriorate.

At the recent school board meeting I attended on May 22, there were several comments by the public and school board members that need additional mention.

The majority of the meeting focused upon the reserved and unreserved fund balance and the importance of letting the voters know that the allegations of hidden revenues made by one of the board members was simply that, allegations.

The board as one, with the exception of Mr. Norden, wholeheartedly accepted and endorsed the explanations of the fund balance provided by Business Manager Keith Menges and Superintendent Johndrow, thus putting to rest any notion these allegations had any basis in fact.

When all was said and done the last board member to speak was Board President Jeff Nober. He said, “I called the special meeting last week on short notice, and if I had to do it all over again, I would do the same thing.”

Of all public comments made after his remarks, only one spoke up in favor of Mr. Nober’s leadership of the board. It is of this leadership that one must ask themselves: How effectively has Mr. Nober exercised his leadership role and where has he led the board and this district?

Under his watch, three outstanding administrators resigned their positions because of turbulence on the board. Is this leadership?

If you are content to allow this district to spiral in this direction, then by all means vote for Jeff Nober. If, however, you believe a leader is one who leads by example, and is respected for their vision and their ability to lead others in carrying out that vision, then I ask you to vote for a change.

Two candidates who deserve your vote, offer a wealth of educational and prior board experience, Regina Wagner and Angela Daley. The voters of this district now have an opportunity to send a message to those who continue their partisan practices. Three districts voted to merge as one. Now is the time to move forward and act as one!

Jerry Murphy
Jeffersonville, NY

To the editor:

If the Sullivan West district is ever to reach its potential, it must do so as a unified entity—one based on mutual respect. We demand it from our kids on the playground, we should expect as much from our board. So far, we haven’t seen it.

Good education comes from good teachers and administrators. They should be valued, not abused. In the past year our school board, under Mr. Nober, has seen five excellent administrators leave or be forced out. Keith Menges, our business manager, is the latest. An honest, hardworking, community-minded person, he left (and took a big pay cut) because he was tired of the unprofessional conduct of the board. Now we have the vicious and baseless charge that our superintendent is “hiding” six million dollars. For certain board members, it seems, ruining people’s reputations is a sport. Nasty backyard politics and narrow agendas waste taxpayers’ money and betray our young people. We shouldn’t put up with it.

There is a chance to change things. There are several excellent candidates now running for the board. Mrs. Regina Wagner is superbly qualified. She has 30 years experience in our schools, and beyond that, great integrity. Mr. Sandler, running unopposed, has been forthright and steady. Mrs. Angela Daley, when she was on the board several years ago, showed herself to be a hard worker and one committed to representing everyone. She attends meetings and is familiar with the issues. These people can make a difference and merit your support on June 3. The district deserves better from our board. So do our children.

William Klaber
Fremont, NY

To the editor:

I’m writing to voice my support for Regina Wagner in her run for a position on the Sullivan West Central School Board of Education.

Her care and compassion for my children during our relocation after 9/11 was incredible. Her attention to detail and her thoughtfulness made the transition easier than we could have hoped. She cut through the red tape and had the children back into a stable educational environment immediately.

While I am thankful to so many people who assisted us, I will always be most thankful to Mrs. Wagner.

I honestly feel that all the attributes above will make her an invaluable member to the Sullivan West Board of Education.

Preston Lyon
Youngsville, NY

To the editor:

Our family has known Nancy Nicoletti for a number of years, dating back to the time that Nancy and my wife, Karen, were attending church board meetings within the same charge. It was at those charge meetings that Nancy began showing us her positive attitudes, which were again displayed when we worked together at a church dinner.

Three years ago I became a co-worker with Nancy at Community Services. Since that time, I have observed her to build on the positives of everyone she meets, and in-turn she is able to bring out the best in others. She has also shown that she has a strong sense of fairness and listens carefully to all sides before she makes any conclusions.

Nancy’s positive attitudes and strong sense of fairness make her a catalyst when it comes to team building to get jobs done. She constantly displays a good sense of planning, and getting the job done after everyone agrees on the plan. She is flexible and understanding about making changes as the plans evolve, and she provides a cohesive attitude in helping others in completing plans. Nancy has show a good financial sense at work, where we need to work within budget guidelines, while she always keeps the best interest of the people she is assigned to work with as her foremost concern.  

I have worked at CSE meetings and found Nancy to be a good advocate for student’s best interests when she served as a parent advocate. I know that Nancy has worked with children through her employment at Social Services, and at Big Brothers & Big Sisters. She has been a PTA member, served on the Boy Scout board, and is currently representing Cochecton on the Sullivan County Youth Board.  Nancy is a former JYCS school board member. Please vote for Nancy Nicoletti on June 3, 2003 for Sullivan West school board member.

Mike Valenti
Narrowsburg, NY

To the editor:

With respect to the open Sullivan West school board seat being vacated by K. C. Garn, a vote for Tony Wayne is in order.

Mr. Wayne is something of a community folk hero because of his exposure of the pollution and floodwater problems at the controversial Lake Huntington high school construction site.

If the Sullivan West administration had listened to Tony Wayne, we could have saved 2.4 million dollars in site preparation costs and would not now be frantically hiring construction attorneys to recoup an additional million dollars or more of taxpayer’s money essentially wasted due to unnecessary DEC violations and design flaws in the flood abatement plan.

Tony Wayne deserves your vote on June 3. If you stay home, the situation in the Sullivan West school district will only deteriorate even more.

Noel van Swol
Long Eddy, NY