Candidate for
Member, Board of Education; Blind Brook-Rye Union Free School District

C. Stephen Baldwin: Dick Hubert: Passionate about Blind Brook children's futures
I trust as an outsider, but one deeply involved in the education of our children, you will permit me to offer public support for the candidacy of Dick Hubert for Blind Brook's School Board.
I have known Dick since we were students together at Amherst College.
While I was devoting my professional career working internationally for the Ford Foundation and United Nations, Dick was a renowned television documentary producer whose education reporting was winning top professional awards--like the DuPont-Columbia Award for his nationally distributed one-hour special Class...and the Classroom.
Dick's pro bono efforts for our College saw him elected by the alumni body to the Amherst Board of Trustees, where, among other key votes cast, Dick became a major voice in ensuring that Amherst became coed-- and in doing everything possible to make sure that an Amherst education was available to everyone who gained admission, regardless of their economic circumstances.
When I retired from the United Nations, I decided to devote myself to public education, teaching third grade in the South Bronx for three years as a New York City Teaching Fellow and helping to found, then chair, the South Bronx Classical Charter School, now one of the top performing tax-supported schools in the city.
Dick and I will be getting together again this May, for as the Reunion Program chairman of our 1960 class, he is organizing, among other seminars, a major symposium on charter schools, in which he has invited me to participate, along with education experts from Harvard, Boston, and Amherst.
It is rare for someone of Dick's experience, background, and passion to be running at this stage of his career for a seat on a local school board. I know he's doing this only because he cares passionately about the 21st Century futures of the children in his community and the concomitant burden for financing their education the community shoulders.
I urge everyone to vote for Dick. Blind Brook is fortunate to have him as a willing and able volunteer.
Mr. Baldwin is board chair of the South Bronx Classical Charter School.
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Sam Marcus: Why Dick Hubert is right for the Blind Brook Board of Ed
I believe Dick is uniquely qualified to be a member of the Blind Brook Board of Education for the following reasons:

• His relationship with Amherst College: He has been an alumni trustee of Amherst College (routinely ranked the number one or number two liberal arts college in the country) and is currently an Amherst trustee emeritus. Dick has a long-term record at Amherst endorsing quality/cost-effective education and financial aid for those who need assistance and voted "yes" in the historic vote to admit women into the college. He has been a strong advocate for increased diversity as well as for developing future American leaders for the 21st Century. Dick's position at Amherst has also given him tremendous insight into the freshman class selection process--what it takes to get into a top academic institution. These insights will serve Blind Brook well.
  
• A focus of his profession: Journalist, producer, commentator on educational issues. Winner, Columbia University's prestigious DuPont Columbia Award for nationally televised series "The Search for Quality Education" and the one hour special "Class...and the Classroom."
  
• He is an involved Blind Brook resident on school issues: Dick has attended, contributed to and advocated at more school board meetings over the years than any other resident. He advocated cooperation with Port Chester and other school districts long before the board took up the charge, and the facing of the realities of the Great Recession and its impact on our residents. His relentless presence and advocacy influenced the board's decisions to reduce by more than half the proposed tax increases for this year and next without any negative impact on the quality of education.
  
• Involved in the community-at-large: He is a member of Building Community Bridges (BCB), a Town of Rye organization promoting cross-cultural, cross racial, cross-ethnic understanding among residents of the Town of Rye. He was instrumental in attracting Professor Tobin from Duke University to Rye Town (at no cost to the community) to conduct his seminar, written up in the Westmore News: "Building Community Bridges Recruits Students for Voting Project" http://rb.westmorenews. com/full.php?sid=11933&current_edition= 2010-01-15.
  Dick's platform is forward-looking. The three top platform points from www. dickhubertforblindbrookboard.com:
  A) An exceptionally strong foundation in the core curriculum is essential: e.g., math, science, English, history, fluency in at least one foreign language/culture, at least one area in the arts; and building and maintaining "healthy bodies."
  B) The district must make difficult decisions regarding the allocation of resources-- money, time, space, technology, attention and people. We are a (very small) public, not a private, school.
  C) Current cost structures and trends are not sustainable and must change to reflect not only economic reality but plain common sense.
  Among the challenges he sees:
  A) Maintaining a 21st Century education within a budget that recognizes the financial limitations and realities of the taxpayers in the district.
  B) Moving from rewarding/paying faculty and staff almost exclusively for longevity towards rewarding results, classroom outcomes, effectiveness, impact, competency and value.
  C) Increasing collaboration and sharing with other school districts and BOCES to reduce costs, become more efficient and broaden the diversity experience of our students.
  D) Working with students, parents and professionals to address the alcohol, drugs, cheating, bullying and mutilation (self and other) that has been reported by students. These are very serious issues that must be dealt with by supportive teams.
  E) A willingness to work where most of the power is--the New York State Legislature. Dick will focus on issues such as mandates and costs that hamper our district--both academically and financially.
  F)Dick's profile: He is different from the current board members--now three with law degrees, an accountant and a software business owner--all of whom have children in the district. Dick does not have children in the district; he would bring some deep life experience (including Amherst noted above), wisdom and a perspective that transcends short-term thinking. He would be on the board to represent the best interests of all the children--as he does at Amherst.
  All this aside, I believe that Dick's character, his sense of conviction and integrity, his intellect and empathy would serve the entire community well--all of the community. He has boundless energy, is fearless and dedicated--all of these qualities differentiate true leaders from others.
  Mr. Marcus is campaign manager for Dick Hubert.
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  Angela Cusato: Dick Hubert is in touch with the Rye Brook citizenry
  Dick Hubert is in touch with the citizenry of Rye Brook. He believes in quality education and understands our problems and our concerns. He knows that the taxes we pay are much too high and worse yet, they are being spent improperly both at the local and state level.
  Unlike most politicians, he is willing to listen and take the type of action to help us instead of the usual politician that is more interested in furthering his/ her self-serving needs or goals.
  Dick Hubert is a candidate we can rally around and who shares our views unlike those who have been in power too long and whose ears have been deafened too long to our pleas for change.
  A vote for Dick on May 18 for the Blind Brook School Board is a vote for all of us.