Selection Committee Searching for School Board Candidates

Tse to run for 2nd term; Felsher and Parter will step down

by Joan R. Simon

(February 2, 2006)  The Mamaroneck School Board will look different next year with Celia Felsher and Alan Parter stepping down after each serving two 3-year terms. Linnet Tse, whose first 3-year term is also expiring, has told the Selection Committee (formally known as The Committee for the Selection of School Board Nominees) that she will run again.

That leaves the Selection Committee actively looking for candidates to endorse for the open board positions. The committee describes itself as a non-partisan, self-funded organization, unaffiliated with the schools which seeks out, interviews and endorses candidates to run for election to the School Board.

When asked what qualifications the Selection Committee was looking for in candidates, the committee’s co-chair Mauri Tamarin replied, “A very important thing is that these people know how to work in teams and how to build consensus. The School Board issues are very complicated and they need to be able to listen to a wide range of opinions and come to consensus within the Board.” She added, “They have to have a really good knowledge of the issues affecting the school district and not be interested in just one issue.” She also mentioned the level of commitment needed to serve on the School Board, saying “frankly, the time demands are significant.”

By law, a potential candidate must be a U. S. citizen, who is able to read and write, and a resident of the Larchmont-Mamaroneck community for at least one year prior to the election date which is May 16, 2006. In addition, acandidate cannot be an employee of the school district.

How many candidates? Every year there is a question as to whether the Selection Committee will endorse more candidates than open positions. This year, the committee has said it will “interview the candidates who choose to come before us seeking our endorsement before determining how many candidates to endorse.” To date, the committee has never endorsed more candidates than the number of open positions.

Candidates interested in being interviewed by the Selection Committee can go to its website and click on “Membership Information” for an application. Information will also be listed on LMC-TV’s billboard. The deadline for submitting an application to the Selection Committee is Wednesday, February 15. “Obviously anybody can run and anybody can come before us,” Ms. Tamarin said. “We are just an elected body of community members who take the time to review the candidates and make endorsements.” The committee expects to announce their endorsed candidates by late March or early April.

All potential candidates, whether or not they are endorsed by the Selection Committee, are required to file a petition with district clerk in the superintendent’s office. This year each candidate will need to obtain 69 signatures (2% of the number of voters in the last school election). The filing deadline is 5:00 pm on Monday April 17 in order to be on the ballot in May.

Linnet Tse to Seek Second Term

Ms. Tse said her decision to run for a second term on the School Board was based in part on the need for continuity, since there is new administrative leadership in the district and two other board members are leaving. “There’s so much work to be done and with the new leadership there’s a real opportunity to move the district forward to the next stage,” she said. “I’m very excited about some of the work we’ve embarked on with Dr. [Superintendent Paul] Fried, including the development of a long range plan, “ which she described as an “excellent way to involve the community and the staff in developing a meaningful plan for the district.” She added that she was “guardedly optimistic,” noting that “it’s going to be tough given the budget concerns to balance the needs of the community and financial constraints, but that’s what we’re supposed to be doing.”

Felsher and Parter Leaving

Ms Felsher expressed sadness at leaving the Board after six years, the past two years as its president. Did she consider running for a third term? “I did consider it because I love the school district and I think it’s really important to have a strong public school system in the United States and that has to be supported and nurtured on a community basis.” But a demanding fulltime legal job and the unwritten rule (not always followed by either School Board members or the Selection Committee) that trustees serve only two terms convinced her not to run again.

How does she feel the school district is doing? “I actually think right now it’s wonderful. I really do think that [Superintendent] Paul [Fried] is terrific …He’s done what we thought he should do. He’s built excellent relationships with stakeholders and the board. He really brings the board into decisions and keeps us informed.” She continued: “The board is working together really well. Everyone comes at things a little differently and everyone is respected. Everyone likes each other. We laugh. It’s been a great year.”

Mr. Parter, who is also leaving the Board after six years, described himself as “a very strong believer in the selection committee process. I think the manner in which the Selection Committee proceeds is an extraordinarily good one.” As a former Selection Committee member, he felt that “the tradition of keeping party politics out of school elections is important,” and added, “I think it’s the most democratic way it can possibly be done.”

In referring to his board experience, Mr. Parter said that “the most important thing any board does is choosing a superintendent and I am ecstatic about what we did. The school district is in extremely good hands.” He mentioned that at times during his six years on the board he was the only male, saying “it’s healthy for the school board to have as much diversity as it can.”

Selection Committee Needs New Members, Too

The Selection Committee itself is elected by the community on the same day as the budget and trustee vote in May. The committee consists of 24 members, six from each of the four school districts, serving staggered 3-year terms. Two seats from each school district are voted on each year, bringing in eight new members annually. The table below lists the current Selection Committee -- all third-year seats are up for vote in 2006. The only requirement for membership is that you are a registered voter in the school district. Interested candidates can find applications on the Selection Committee website. The deadline is April 21.

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