The five-member Haldane Central School District board will have two candidates on the May 21 ballot for two open seats. Maggie Valentine is an incumbent elected to her first 3-year term in 2021. Michelle Kupper, the immediate past president of the Haldane School Foundation, is running for the seat held by John Hedlund, who did not seek a third term.
What are your qualifications?
Michelle Kupper: I have served in a leadership role in the community as president of the Haldane School Foundation for several years and learned a lot about programming, processes and collaboration in the district.
I have gotten to know the district as a leader and also as a parent of a graduating senior and a middle-school student. I have a background in teaching and I hold a doctorate in sociology of education. I am passionate about the important role schools play in the life of a community.
Maggie Valentine: I’ve spent the past three years as a trustee updating and reviewing board policies, keeping tabs on the district’s burgeoning campus master plan and elevating the voices of community members, all in the vein of bettering student outcomes.
My background in financial journalism has provided insight into what needs to be asked about the school budget so that spending is prioritized and educational and financial goals are met. Lastly, I am a parent of two school-age kids in a district that I’d like to see continually improve.
How can the board improve students’ experience in the district?
Kupper: The board can improve students’ experience in the district by seeing through the passage of Phase One of the capital project in fall 2024. More common spaces are key to students feeling connected to the campus and to each other.
Students will benefit academically and socially from a student services support suite, a new STEAM lab, additional classrooms to accommodate an expanding list of course options and a common space to study, collaborate, eat lunch and socialize.
They will feel the improvements in infrastructure and safety in their everyday experiences, such as much-needed upgrades to restrooms and the electrical system and changes that improve car and pedestrian traffic flow.
I would like to see the board continue to strongly support professional development. Our students truly benefit when their teachers have access to new techniques, curricula and resources, as well as shared time to collaborate.
One of Haldane’s strengths is its beautiful and unique K-12 campus, and I would be happy to support ongoing traditions and new methods that foster flow and connectivity across our grounds.
Valentine: We need to continue supporting the big goals of our administrative council: Keep investing in curriculum improvements like the science of reading and evolve our special-education offerings. We should also get our high school kids out of the declining Mabel Merritt building and into real classrooms so they have the space on campus to do more than just subsist.
What should be the board’s top priority next year?
Kupper: The board’s top priority needs to be hiring a dynamic new superintendent who is ready to take the reins and move Haldane forward. Dr. [Philip] Benante has been pivotal in working with the community to set critical and meaningful goals, and he established a solid plan of action toward those goals with Haldane’s teachers and leadership team.
We need to transition to a leader with the skill set and vibrancy to usher in this exciting new phase while being attuned to Haldane’s evolving needs.
Valentine: Hiring a competent, compassionate long-term superintendent who relishes the unique challenges of overseeing a small school district, which includes engaging and collaborating with community members and taxpayers.
We need someone who can empower our district leaders to do what they do best and, when needed, provide mentoring for both the big picture and the day-to-day inner workings of our schools.
