Meet the Candidates: Fulton Board of Education Election 2016

FULTON, NY – Two seats are up for grabs on the Fulton City School District Board of Education at this year’s budget vote scheduled for Tuesday, May 17.

There are three candidates running to fill the two open seats that become available when the current terms of board members Christine Plath and David Carvey expire at the end of this school year.

While Plath did not seek reelection, Carvey is running for reelection along with newcomers Paula Hayden and Lynn Lyons, of which the two candidates with the most votes will each serve a three-year term.

Oswego County Today asked the candidates a few questions to get some inside information on their campaign, their results will appear in the order that the candidates will appear on the ballot.

Paula Hayden has lived in Fulton for 16 years with her husband who is a native of the city and she has worked with Oswego County Opportunities since 2004 as Financial Manager – Education Services & Transportation Services.

Hayden has a daughter at the Fulton Junior High School where she also serves as a member on the site base committee and a daughter in Volney Elementary.

As an active volunteer within the district for years, Hayden has also participated on various other committees for the district including serving two years on the budget committee and most recently participating on the superintendent search committee.

When asked why Hayden was seeking election to the BOE, she said “As a parent, it’s an opportunity to be actively involved in my children’s education. We are at a point of change in our district and I want to see the positive growth of our children continue. We need to continue to support that by looking at all information presented to our administrative team before making decisions that impact their future.”

Aside from being a part of the positive growth of the district, Hayden also likes that the district is seeking and utilizing alternative teaching methods for students in the district.

“Not all students are going to continue on to college and we need to support their interests and learning styles. For the students who do go on to college, it’s an opportunity to already have college credits at graduation,” she explained.

Hayden feels that her 12 years of work experience with OCO in the educational department will be beneficial to her service to the district should she be elected to the Board of Education.

“Working in the early education field for the last 12 years on the administrative side, I am familiar with forming policies and procedures that meet our funding regulations. I am able to keep an open mind and look at all the facts before making a decision that will impact our children and families,” she said.

The second candidate that will appear on the ballot is a lifetime Fulton resident, Lynn Lyons.

Lyons graduated from Fulton’s high school, as did her parents and her four children, two of which now work within the district, and she now has two grandchildren enrolled in the district as well.

She has worked with Vision Works for the past 16 years as a lab journey person after working four years in the office at the Fulton Junior High where she said she learned quite a bit about the district’s educational system, although coming from a family of educators she has never been a stranger to the concept and naturally found education to be a top priority in her life.

When asked why she was seeking election to the BOE, she said “I have had years of watching the Fulton school district grow and would love to be part of the building of its future. I am not afraid to learn, research and ask questions.”

Lyons also has past experience as a member on the Planning and Environmental Board in the town of Granby, where she was able to showcase her ability to work efficiently to get things accomplished.

Should Lyons be elected to the BOE, she would hope to contribute in the strive to improve graduation rates and would be an advocate for smaller class sizes.

She is also a fan of the alternative options that the Fulton district makes available for students as they work their way toward exiting high school.

“I don’t feel all kids are cut of the same mold, therefore we need to insure that if college is not for them we send them on their way with tools to find jobs out in the workforce,” she said.

The final candidate appearing on the ballot is a current board member seeking reelection, David Carvey.

Carvey is finishing his fifth year of service on the Board of Education, as is a proud graduate of Fulton’s 1988 graduating class. He has one son who has also completed schooling in the district as a 2014 graduate and currently has one son and one nephew enrolled in the district.

He has worked as a dispatcher for the trucking company Gypsum Express based in Baldwinsville for 22 years.

Carvey began his work in the district as a volunteer for a Parent Teacher Group at Granby Elementary when his son’s attended, where he served as both Vice President and President.

He has also volunteered with Fulton Youth Soccer and the Boosters Club and has been actively involved with the Budget Committee and the Title I Committee.

When asked why he was seeking reelection to the BOE, he said “I am running for reelection because I feel that every person in our community should support our students as they will be our future community leaders. I also feel that we as parents need to be more involved and be good role models for our students. We need to set an example and give back to our community.”

Carvey said he likes that Fulton is a small community with a big heart, one that supports each other as he recently saw personified at the mock DWI presentation at the high school when students and staff alike came together to support a student who became overcome with emotion.

However, he would also like to continue his work on the board in hopes to help improve graduation rates, early literacy, grades 3-8 ELA and math assessments, reducing class size at the kindergarten-second grade level and addressing struggling learners in particular subgroups.

Carvey believes that while he is pleased to have so many educationally affiliated members on the BOE, his contributions to the board as a person who does not have present or prior work experience in the field of education brings a better prospective of the everyday person to the table and that his experience on the BOE for the past 5 years will prove beneficial to the district.

“If I am reelected, I feel my five years of board service will be a great support to our new superintendent. It sometimes takes a little bit of time to understand everything that you become involved with as a board member. Already having some knowledge, I feel that will only be an asset towards our efforts to address our areas of concern,” he said.

Of the three candidates, the two that record the most votes will fill the open board seats each for a three-year term.

All three candidates urge city residents to utilize their right on Tuesday, May 17 to vote on their fate for the board of education, the 2016-2017 FCSD budget and the numerous other propositions presented on the ballot.

Voters residing in the town of Volney and on the east side of the city can vote at the CCC Campus located at 11 River Glen Plaza whereas voters residing in the town of Granby and on the west side of the city can vote at CiTi/Oswego County BOCES Offices located at 806 W. Broadway.

Both polling locations will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. for all registered voters.

Anyone seeking further information regarding the 2016 Budget Vote can visit the school’s website.

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