Nichinsky, Jacobson & Tse Running for School Board

by Joan R. Simon

See Schedule for LMC-TV Interviews with the Candidates

(March 30, 2006) The Committee for the Selection of School Board Nominees is endorsing two newcomers and one incumbent for three open positions on the Mamaroneck School Board. First time candidates are Robin Nichinsky and Michael Jacobson, and Linnet Tse is seeking a second three-year term. (See: Selection Committee Searching for School Board Candidates.)

Robin Nichinsky works half time as a criminal appellate attorney with the Center for Appellate Litigation in New York City. In addition to her law degree, she also has an MS in guidance and counseling. She has been a member of the Human Rights Commission for ten years and has served as its chair for three. She was also co-president of the PTA at Central School, a member of the School Board’s Task Force on Minority Achievement, and has served on the high school and Hommocks PTA executive committees. She obtained a grant for Central’s conflict resolution program, CORE, which is now in its third year, and as part of that program was trained as a facilitator in conflict resolution. She has daughters at the high school and the Hommocks as well as an MHS graduate who is a freshman at Yale. Her three children all graduated from Central.

“I love this community and I love being part of the community,” she said, describing the school board position as a “natural next step” following her many volunteer activities. “The Mamaroneck School District is an incredible school system and I appreciate how good it is.” She cited the 5-year long-range plan that the board is developing and said she was eager to be a part of that discussion. While it might seem otherwise, she said she has “plenty of time,” explaining with a laugh that she is a “multi-tasker.”

Michael Jacobson is a managing director at Ixis Capital Markets in New York City. He has been a board member of the Larchmont Little League for seven years, three of them on the executive committee. He is also a member of the Citizens Financial Advisory Committee, the Larchmont Board of Architectural Review and the high school Athletic Advisory Council. He has an MBA from Yale and has worked primarily in the area of municipal finance as both a banker and advisor to all levels of state and local government. His two sons, a senior and a freshman at Mamaroneck High School, both attended Chatsworth and the Hommocks.

He described the school systems as “the common ground for everyone who lives here,” and singled out the challenge of “financial constraints and continuing to provide a quality education.” He posed the question: “How do we continue to expand education to provide our kids with the things that they will need as the world changes,” in light of the high built-in and mandated costs in the school budget. “For the foreseeable future, finance is going to play a big role in what happens here,” he predicted. “I have the background and the community knowledge and the willingness to put in the hard work” to deal with these problems, he promised.

Linnet Tse, who is being endorsed by the Selection Committee for the second time, is the School Board’s liaison to the Citizen Financial Advisory Committee and has an MBA from MIT. She has two sons, one at the high school and the other at Hommocks, and both are graduates of Murray. She was a PTA president at Murray and has been active in the high school and Hommocks PTAs.

“The project which I’m particularly excited about is the long-range plan,” she noted, referring to Superintendent Paul Fried’s initiative to develop a 5-year plan with community and school input. She cited the new Citizens Financial Advisory Committee as an example of how the board is “trying hard to reach out to different stakeholder groups” in the community. She also expressed her support for the growing collaboration within the schools and the current board initiative on writing. “I see a lot of positive change and a real opportunity to build on this excellent work and eventually extend it to other curriculum areas,” she said.

How Would the New School Board Look?

If the Selection Committee candidates win election to the School Board on May 16, the professional make-up of the board will change slightly, with 4 lawyers (down from 5 on the current board), two MBAs (up one), and one educator (Rick Marsico, a professor at New York Law School, who is also a lawyer). All four elementary school districts will continue to be represented and the gender breakdown of 5 to 2 (in favor of women) will remain the same. There will be four (up one) former PTA presidents.

All candidates, both those endorsed by the Selection Committee and any others who chose to run, must file a petition with the district clerk in the superintendent’s office by 5:00 pm on Monday, April 17. Candidates are required to obtain 69 signatures from school district residents. School Board Trustees are elected on May 16, the same day as the budget vote.

Election for Selection Committee Members

New Selection Committee members will also be elected by the community on May 16. The committee consists of 24 members, six from each of the four school districts, serving staggered 3-year terms. This year, three seats are open at Chatsworth and two seats at each of the other three elementary districts. Interested candidates can find applications on the Selection Committee website. The deadline for applying is April 21.

Meet the Candidates on LMC-TV - Schedule 

Day                  Date                 Time           Channel

Monday             4/10/06             8 PM                75

Friday               4/14/06             6 AM                77

Friday               4/14/06             6 PM                77

Saturday           4/15/06             6 AM                77

Saturday           4/15/06             6 PM                77

Sunday             4/16/06             6 AM                77

Sunday             4/16/06             6 PM                77

For further information see www.lmc-tv.org

Front Page

Print This Page
Email this page