Meet the BOE Candidates

This year's Canaan (Falls Village) Board of Education election is peculiar, because you only get to vote for one of the three candidates, although there are two open spots. The Falls Village Blog sent a questionnaire to the three candidates: Andrea Downs, Ross Grannan, and Beckie Seney. Here are their responses in alphabetical order by last name: Their answers are rather lengthy, which suggests that all three are thoughtful, serious and committed candidates.

ANDREA L. DOWNS
Education: Associate Degree, Business Administration; Paramedicine Certificate
Occupation: Paramedic, Supervisor
Volunteer Activities: Canaan Board of Education, 4 years, chair 2 years; Education Connection Board of Directors, 4 years;
Falls Village Volunteer Ambulance, 10 years (Co-Captain 2 years, Captain 1 year);
Falls Village Volunteer Fire Dept., 6 years;
Republican Town Committee, 10 years, chair for 1; Girl Scouts of Connecticut, scout for 10 years, leader for 10 years; Falls Village Congregational Church, Board of Deacons 8 years, chair for 2.
Religious Education Committee, 8 years, chair for 6;
Recreation and Berkshire United Soccer coach, 5 seasons; CYB coach, 7 years, 2 teams for 6 of those years.
Lee H. Kellogg School Building Committee, 1999 renovation

Number of years in Falls Village: 18

Children: Two attending Kellogg school. Jeremy is 13 and is in 8th grade. Lydia is 11 and is in 6th grade.

What do you think are the Kellogg school’s greatest assets?
Unquestionably the children of Kellogg school are the greatest asset. The children are the reason that so many people work so hard to preserve and maintain the wonderful school that we have. Other great assets are our staff and parents. I have always believed in the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” When you put all of these noted assets together [that] makes Falls Village a pretty remarkable place.

What do you think are the Kellogg School’s biggest challenges?
I believe the biggest challenge in our near future is our need to control costs while addressing a decreased enrollment. Now having said that, I also understand that enrollment trends tend to be cyclical and this is not new territory for Kellogg School. I feel it is important to continue to maintain our many learning opportunities currently offered at Kellogg while balancing the increased costs of energy, benefits, and an aging physical plant. One of the benefits of a small school is our ability to be flexible and consider options not available in a larger school system.

What is Kellogg’s role in the community beyond its’ educational mission?
Kellogg is a place of pride for all who live in Falls Village. Many people in our community attend the 8th grade graduation ceremony each year out of tradition. You do not have to have children in this school to feel a part of its community. Kellogg’s proximity to other public buildings in Falls Village such as the library, town hall, historical society, and fire dept. make this a natural gathering place. Many events are held annually at this location such as town meetings, the Falls Village Fire Dept. and Ladies Auxiliary dances, and Memorial Day celebrations when the weather does not cooperate. Various recreation programs use the indoor and outdoor facilities regularly. Currently Kellogg School is the only building in town large enough to accommodate large groups of people.

Why should you be elected to the Canaan (Falls Village) Board of Education?:
I believe that I should be re-elected to the Board of Education because all of my decisions are made with children in mind. I understand that my job on the board is primarily budgets and policy but I must always think about how these decisions will impact the learning of the children. In the past four years I have worked very hard to control the costs at Kellogg School. I have negotiated both certified and non-certified contracts. I feel we were able to negotiate contracts that meet the needs of all our union employees while considering the financial impact to our town. For the first time in the history of Canaan (Falls Village), we were able to negotiate four year contracts realizing a significant savings. I have also worked very closely with staff to control costs in areas such as energy, benefits and plant costs. I have put a great deal of time into rewriting and updating policy. During the first two years I spent time working with other board members and staff to rewrite two of the largest sections of the policy manual. More recently I have worked on policy pertaining to No Child Left Behind, Bullying and Wellness. This is not always an easy task. Many times the law and what the staff and the board feel are best for children are not in alignment. This is a delicate balance that must always be met. If I am re-elected to the Board of Education I will continue to work hard to maintain Kellogg School as the quality school that it is. I feel that giving the children of our community a strong educational opportunity is the greatest gift any community can give their young people. I am a strong proponent of public education and I will continue to work hard to keep Kellogg School a school of choice.


ROSS GRANNAN
Education: 4 plus years of college level classes.

Occupation: I have worked in Blown Glass for 19 years (full-time for 5 years, part time for 14 years) and have worked full-time as a Real Estate Appraiser for 14 years.

Volunteer: I served on the Planning and Zoning Board for three years.

Children: I have two children in Lee H. Kellogg School; Larry and Karl. Larry has attended Kellogg since 2000. I have been highly impressed with the staff and the education my two sons have received. When I tell friends and family that live outside the area about the school they are not only impressed with the class size but the quality of the staff. I feel privileged and secure to have my children enrolled at Kellogg.

What do you think are the Kellogg School's greatest assets?
Without question, the greatest asset at Kellogg is the staff, both certified teachers and the non-certified staff. This group of highly talented teachers and staff has brought Kellogg to a level of education that surpasses all expectations. They have been through 6 changes in principals in the last decade, many changes on the Board of Education and regardless of the challenges they face, and their dedication to the children of Kellogg is phenomenal. An equal asset is the support of the community and the parents. The belief in Falls Village is to support our school and keep the education level high.

What do you think are the Kellogg School's biggest challenges?
The biggest challenge facing Kellogg School is rebuilding the lines of communication between the staff, parents, administration and the town in general. Kellogg School is still an outstanding institution for learning and that of course is because of the excellent teaching staff. The staff is still in place and good teaching still goes on. The problem lies with the Board of Education and the administration and the unilateral recent actions involving the classroom reconfiguration. This was an example of the lack of openness and communication that needs to be changed. It is dysfunctional and somewhat self-serving. Declining enrollment should not result in knee jerk cuts in school programs and staff. I want to look at the big picture. I want to look ahead, see what we can do to attract more families to town, and work with everyone to maintain the same level of expectations for our Kellogg students, our faculty and our town, like we used to. We need to think outside the ‘’box’’, we need creative solutions, not simplistic financial reactions. The parents and teachers need to be able to address problems and solutions with the board of education without feeling like it is falling on deaf ears. Without a team approach the chance of moving forward and dealing with future issues is sure to bring further division, something this community strives to avoid.

Why should you be elected the the Canaan (Falls Village) Board of Education?
There are several reasons why I should be elected. One of which is my goal to bring back the relationship the board of education used to have with the teachers, parents and community (as mentioned above). I will bring to the board of education a solid and respectful relationship with the teaching staff. I truly respect them and I am receptive toward their needs. I want the staff to know they have support from the board of education that they can trust the BOE, rely on the BOE and that it is possible to rebuild the relationship they once had. - After all, without this truly amazing staff, what's left of Kellogg? I will also bring openness and collaboration back to the board of education. In Kent Allyn's letter to the editor he describes a board of education that used to be. Yes, agendas and minutes used to contain all that was discussed in a board of ed. meeting. Last year the new configuration, the biggest change in 14 years, never made an agenda or a set of minutes! Yet the board of education publicly acknowledged they supported it 100% - but how do you support something you have never discussed (according to the minutes, any way) would the public have come to a board of education meeting had they known this was happening? - Absolutely, the library would have been full. Sadly, no one knew but the board of Ed and the principal. In addition, I have run my own business for more than fifteen years and I am quite familiar with the bottom line. In my business I have seen thousands of commercial buildings and single-family homes. I look at 60-year depreciation of costs of structures and yearly maintenance costs as well. One of my first tasks is to find out what the status of the Kellogg building itself. I feel my work in the private sector can offer something to the Board that they may not have at this time. I will bring to the BOE the ability to look at the big picture, look ahead at what is coming and approaching issues with an open mind. I am also willing and able to work with the whole community - teachers, staff, the board of education, the Selectmen, the Board of Finance and the taxpayers.

BECKIE L. SENEY
Education: Bachelor of Music Therapy, Psychology minor – Shenandoah Conservatory, Winchester, VA, 1992. Master of Science in Communication Disorders – Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT, 2004.


Occupation: Speech-Language Pathologist, Region One School District (full-time) and New Milford Hospital (per diem).

Volunteer Activities:
Present:
Canaan (Falls Village) Board of Education, 2004-present. Current Vice-Chair.
Falls Village Volunteer Fire Department, 1998-present. Current Firefighter I/EMT-B; current member, Board of Directors; Past EMS First Lieutenant and Past EMS Co-Captain.
Emergency Medical Services Institute, Inc. Board of Directors, 2005-present. Current Secretary.
American Heart Association Basic Life Skills Instructor, 2007-present.
Salisbury Visiting Nurse Association Professional Advisory Committee, 2006-present.
Past:
Falls Village Day Care Center Board of Directors, 2001-2005. Past Vice-Chair.
American Red Cross CPR/First Aid Instructor, Connecticut Child Care Instructor, 1999-2004.

# of years in Falls Village: 10; I moved here in 1997 from Schenectady, NY. I previously lived in Virginia for a year as well.

Children: 2 step-children, Ryan (24) and Heather (22), both Kellogg and HVRHS alumni. Ryan earned both his B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Heather is finishing her Bachelor’s in English at the University of Connecticut.

What do you think are the Kellogg School's greatest assets?
Kellogg School has two assets that stand out amongst its many strengths – one is the staff, whose dedication and experience is unsurpassed. The other is the active involvement and support of the parents and the community as a whole.

What do you think are the Kellogg School's biggest challenges?
The biggest challenge faced by the school and the board of education right now is the declining enrollment, with the multi-faceted implications of that shift. This shift has the potential for impacting programs (curricular and extracurricular), staffing, physical plant, etc. This is not something new; enrollment is cyclical, and Kellogg experienced just such a decline in the 80s. The challenge is maintaining Kellogg’s outstanding educational program which prepares our students for secondary education opportunities while controlling costs.

What is Kellogg's role in the community beyond its education mission?
Kellogg’s educational mission is its primary role, however, in this close-knit community, the school serves other purposes. It is in many ways the heart of the community, where events such as town meetings, fire department fundraisers, and athletic events are held. But it goes beyond the physical building - the students of Kellogg are the future of Falls Village, as well as the state and the country. The children of our community learn more than academics there; they learn citizenship, respect, responsibility, integrity. The skills learned by the students, modeled by the staff and parents, will shape Falls Village for years to come.

Why should you be elected to the Canaan (Falls Village) Board of Education?
I believe that I bring a strong background in policy development combined with experience in education to this board of education. As an employee of the Region One School District, I have a thorough understanding of the unique structure of our tiny district and the regional one from which we purchase services, and the impact of the policies the board develops on the day-to-day operations of a school. I understand the concepts of due diligence and the board’s role of governance, not management. But the biggest reason I believe that I should be elected to our board of education is that I care deeply about the children and I want them to have the best educational opportunities we can offer them.