Smaller Sullivan West board ?

Voters to decide question in May

By FRITZ MAYER

LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — Do more hands make a lighter workload for everyone or do fewer hands make for a more efficient operation?

That was the question debated at the board of education meeting of the Sullivan West Central School District on March 7. The debate was sparked by a resolution that would allow voters to decide whether to reduce the number of members on the board from nine to seven in the annual election on May 20.

Board member Rose Crotty spoke against the idea. She said, “The buck stops with the board when district residents look for an ear to chew on.” And she said, the more ears available, the better.

Noel van Swol agreed. He said, while there have been many fights and disagreements among board members over the past years, a tremendous amount of work gets done. More people on the board means that more will get done in the numerous committees connected to the board.

On the other side of the issue, Richard Tegnander argued that reducing the number of members by two would save the school district money in terms of training new members and providing books and so on. The district now has about 1,500 students. Tegnander noted that the school district in Schenectady has some 10,000 students, and functions with a seven-member board.

Anna Niemann agreed with Tegnander and said that a smaller-sized board would be able to work more efficiently.

Board vice president Ken Cohen said, “There’s no empirical evidence to show that nine works better, or seven or five. The people should decide.”

The nine-member board was settled on nine years ago, when the three districts, Delaware Valley Jeffersonville-Youngsville and Narrowsburg, merged to become Sullivan West. It was described as a compromise, with the thought at the time being that theoretically three members could represent each of the former districts.

Some board members said that’s no longer necessary. Others asked: if it’s working, why fix it?

Monica Meunier and Kathy Hector, both of Narrowsburg, said they were opposed to a smaller board during the public comment period.

When van Swol asked to hear the opinion of superintendent Kenneth Hilton, Hilton called the question the “third rail” of school board politics. He said, “It’s probably politically prudent to keep my mouth shut.”

When the resolution came to a vote, seven of the eight members on hand voted to let the district voters decide the question at the yearly budget and board election in May; van Swol was the lone dissenting voice.

When Crotty was asked why she voted yes, she said she objected to the smaller size, but didn’t want to stop the voters from having their say. Then, in a reference to the famously rocky history the non-paid members have had, she quickly added, “This job has so many benefits, I think everyone should try it,” which drew a laugh from her colleagues.