Selection Committee Picks Two for School Board

J. Buchbinder Re-nominated with N. Pierson, Special Ed PTA President

by Joan R. Simon

(March 22, 2007) The Committee for the Selection of School Board Nominees (known as the Selection Committee has chosen two candidates to fill the two seats that are expiring this year (Two Positions Open on School Board.)

Janet Buchbinder, who is completing her first 3-year term, has been nominated for a second time, along with Nancy Pierson, two-time president of the Special Education PTA (SEPTA) and past president of the PTA Council and the Mamaroneck High School PTSA. Board president Cecilia Absher will be stepping down in July at the end of six years of service.

Janet Buchbinder

Janet Buchbinder told the Gazette that her “three years on the school board have been ones of transition,” referring to the resignation of former Superintendent Sherry King and the hiring of current Superintendent Paul Fried. “I feel good about helping Dr. Fried make that transition as smoothly as possible.”

Now she is looking forward to a second term where “we can have in-depth conversations about teaching and learning. I’d like to see more of it happening with teachers, sharing and talking about practices and what goes on in the classroom, and finding out what their needs are that will help shape professional development.”

When asked how she saw the role of the new directors proposed for the high school, she said she had “really high hopes for an incredible opportunity for the different departments.” She was enthusiastic about having personnel with “the time and ability to focus on areas of interest for each department.” She added, “I see it as a collegial kind of role.”

Ms. Buchbinder is the coordinator of RADAR ( Responsible Action: A Drug and Alcohol Resource) and has spearheaded the Communities That Care process, helping to obtain a Drug Free Community grant (see: RADAR Gets $500,000 to Combat Teen Alcohol and Drug Use.) She was previously PTA president at Mamaroneck High School, as well as president of the PTA Council. Two of her sons are Mamaroneck graduates and the third will graduate in June.

Nancy Pierson

Nancy Pierson, also a multiple PTA president, is the mother of two MHS graduates and a current sophomore at the high school. She has worked as a teacher and speech/language therapist in special education classrooms. During the past ten years, she has been a parent member of the Committee for Special Education and Committee for Preschool Special Education, participating in more than 50 meetings a year.

Ms. Pierson told the Gazette that she is looking forward to being the “voice on the board for special education.” She anticipated that it would be “exciting working on the board with a new superintendent and a new assistant superintendent for support services (to be hired as part of a new administrative restructuring proposed by Superintendent Fried) and particularly applauded the decision to put guidance and special education under the same organizational umbrella.

Commenting on the Selection Committee’s choice of Ms. Pierson, Mauri Tamarin, chair of the committee, said “We feel fortunate to have found somebody who has been very committed to the school system for a long time and has an historical perspective of our school community and the issues that are important to our school district.” She added that “in talking to the superintendent and the board, there is definitely a need for special education representation on the school board.”

Next Steps

All candidates who chose to run for the Mamaroneck School Board must submit a petition with 48 signatures from district residents to the district clerk in the superintendent’s office by Monday, April 16. School board trustees will be elected on May 15, the same day as the budget vote.

Selection Committee Seeks Candidates

The Selection Committee itself is seeking candidates who will be elected on May 15 as well. Two positions are open at Central and Mamaroneck Avenue Schools and three at Chatsworth and Murray. Applications can be found on the Selection Committee website (http://www.selectioncommittee.org ) under Membership Information and must be submitted by the third week of April.

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