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Community Corner

School Board Candidates Square Off in Irvington

Differences Emerge Between Elliot and Whitney

 

On the surface, very little seems to distinguish Irvington Board of Education candidates Gordon Elliot and Phil Whitney.

Both have worked with blue-chip corporations designing web sites. They tout their analytical abilities. They have served on other boards and are active in the community. And they seek to preserve the school district’s quality of education while controlling costs, in part by combining overlapping services, including human resources, payroll and billing, with nearby school districts..

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But at a recent candidate’s debate, held in the Campus Presentation Room at the Irvington Middle and High School campus, sponsored by the Irvington PTSA and the Rivertowns League of Women Voters, several differences emerged.

The format of the proceedings allowed for two minute opening and closing statements and minute-long answers to questions from audience members, which kept the candidates from exploring any one topic in depth but also allowed them to address a range of issues. Despite a fair amount of repetition, the candidates raised several important points during an exceedingly civil proceeding that hinted at real tensions between the board, the administration and the faculty.

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In all, the crowd of 50 attendees required more chairs to be brought into the room and asked 35 rounds of questions. Several inquisitors took multiple turns addressing the two men.

Elliot declared his opposition to the proposed $50 million budget and stated that he would vote it down were he on the board, though he would not lobby others to do so. Whitney, who served on the district’s Budget Task Force and the Irvington Education Foundation, supports the budget.

Going forward, Whitney said that he would suggest making cuts from the district’s approximately 24 clerical positions. Elliot would seek to slice a half million dollars in costs by cutting administrative positions.

Other policy differences centered on the continuing decrease in tax revenue as businesses and residents challenge their assessments, leading to an approximately $6 million shortfall over the next few years, said Elliot.

Whitney said that it’s “not such a big problem” to borrow money to deal with the loss of revenue as long as it’s built into the budget. Elliot countered that he was “bothered by spending money that we don’t have” and advocated raising taxes.

Taxpayers “have to acknowledge that we need to be paying for things,” said Elliot. “I don’t like bad finances.”

Elliot, whose wife teaches in another district, said that he decided to stay at home and raise his son, which would allow him to spend his days meeting with people in the community to help decrease tension.

Whitney agreed that it’s “no secret that there’s no harmony going on right now,” and said that he catches an early train into the city and returns in the evening, giving him ample time to tackle the district’s problems and remain accessible.

At his job, he learned to “never lose your cool” and vowed that he would seek “collaboration and consensus building” if he were elected.

For his final statement, Whitney outlined his three top qualifications: his experience in the private sector bringing efficiency to bloated operations, his ability to plan for the future and his goal to provide for the district’s children without “arbitrary cost-cutting.”

Elliot also reiterated his credentials dealing with large budgets in the private sector, stating that he’s a “person of action” who sets goals and gets things done. “I’m a change agent,” he said. “For some people, that’s scary.”

The last word came from moderator Laura Fratt, from the Scarsdale League of Women Voters, who reminded attendees that the event would be broadcast on channel 75 before the May 17 vote and that “democracy is not a spectator sport.”

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