Letter to Friends and Neighbors

By Evan M. Eisland

Dear Friends and Neighbors:

I am writing to let you know that I am running for election to the Irvington School Board. Carol Gutman and Diane Mundree, who both currently sit on the Board, have decided not to run for reelection and I am running to fill one of those vacancies. The election will be held on Tuesday, May 15, 2007 and I ask for your support.

My wife, Jane, and I have lived in Irvington since 1998. We have two children in the school system, one currently in Eighth Grade and the other in Fifth Grade. Many of you know me from the soccer fields where I have been coaching and helping to run the AYSO and Club programs. You may also have seen me coaching in the Irvington Recreation Baseball and Basketball programs. I believe that it is important to be involved in the community.

While I enjoy coaching and playing with my children and their friends, I am also deeply committed to their education. My mother was a public school teacher in the Yonkers school system for thirty years. She was also a PTSA president. I learned from her the importance of parent participation in the education process.

I have made it my business to be involved in my children's education -- to meet and speak to every one of my children's teachers and principals, to attend parent/teacher conferences, bagel breakfasts, literary readings, concerts and plays, and to know what my children are learning and understand what is expected of them. From this I have gained a great deal of insight into the workings of the Irvington school system and with some exceptions, I have been pleased. For a small district we offer our students a lot of opportunities.

We also have our issues, and over the years I have attended and participated in many School Board meetings where I have been vocal on issues including, math (both with respect to tracking and the Trailblazers program), budget, class sizes and the poor condition of our playing fields.

More recently I have had the opportunity to speak with Kathleen Matusiak, Greer Fischer, Scott Mosenthal, Raina Kor, Artie McCormack, some of the current school board members, and with many of you, to get a better sense of what the community perceives to be the issues facing the school district.

The primary issues, as I see them are as follows:

Openness: There is a sense among many in the community that important decisions are being made without meaningful public input and involvement and that the school district and the Village are not working together. This can and must be addressed through television broadcasting of board meetings, regular district newsletters, informal community gatherings with board members, and encouraging community participation through committees.

Curriculum: Curriculum is a big topic within the community. Issues involving the Trailblazers math program, tracking, honors and AP classes, World Languages and English Language Arts come up in every conversation and there are many differing views. Clearly, our goal must be to provide the best education possible to every student, from Kindergarten through 12th Grade, based on the resources available to us. The trick is figuring out the best way to proceed. Tough choices must be made between supplementing or replacing existing programs. We must balance the value of offering new programs with both the monetary costs and the cost to our children of pulling teachers out of classes to learn the new programs. These are difficult choices. We have many parents in the district with expertise in education who want to be involved. The community needs to work with the educators to make these difficult decisions and select and implement the best programs for our children.

Taxes/Budget: Our taxes are rising at a rate that for many is unsustainable. This is a very serious issue for everyone in our district. We need to strike a very careful balance between achieving high standards of excellence and keeping costs in line.

Construction/Fields: Almost everyone I speak with agrees that the fields in Irvington are in horrible condition and in need of repair. Still, many people voted against the recent bond initiative because they felt that the process was being mismanaged, that other important issues were being ignored, and/or because they thought the project was overly ambitious. In my view, our sports programs complement a strong academic curriculum. They promote health, fitness and teamwork. They keep our children engaged and off the streets. These programs are important to our children and our community. We need to find a way to balance the very legitimate concerns about the bond initiative with the absolute need to keep our fields playable and our children playing.

I am a lawyer with almost nineteen years of experience, primarily in the areas of commercial litigation and construction, including the drafting, negotiating and interpretation of design and construction contracts. I am also an experienced mediator of commercial and construction related disputes and a member of the Panel of Mediators for the Commercial Division of the New York State Supreme Court in New York County. In addition, I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and was employed as an engineer for the Consolidated Edison Company of New York from 1983 through 1986.

I believe that my education, my involvement in the district, and my legal, engineering and mediation experience give me the tools I need to make a positive difference on the school board. My strong desire to make the Irvington school district the best it can be for our children will provide me with the energy to do the work necessary to achieve this goal. I will involve the community, make rational, fact-based decisions, and keep a sharp eye on costs. I hope that you will support my candidacy.

Please call or email me if you have any questions regarding my views or experience or suggestions on how we can work together to improve the Irvington school district.

Sincerely,

Evan M. Eisland