Board of Education Election: May 20

Four of the nine seats on the Port Jervis School District Board of Education are up for election. Three of the those elected will serve the full three-year terms, beginning July 1, 2008. One will serve the one-year balance on the vacant seat, May 21, 2008 to June 30, 2009.

Ron Cecchini

Ron Cecchini is running for his first term. A real estate investor, Cecchini manages property in Port Jervis and Deerpark. He has also owned and operated a retail store. Cecchini and his wife, Geraldine. reside in Godeffroy.
Reason for running: “Someone once said, ‘experience is what you get, when you don’t get what you want; and it can be the most valuable thing you have to offer.’ With seven biological and adopted children (five of whom graduated from Port), what more experience can one offer the 3,500 children in my district?”

Robert Habig

Robert Habig is running for his fifth term. He currently chairs the school board education and transportation committees and serves on the buildings and grounds and audit committees. He is also a past board president and vice president. A semi-retired architect, Habig continues to serve as a consultant for his former firm, Habig and Cirillo Architects. Habig, and his wife, Ellie, have two children. Both are Port Jervis alumni.
Reason for running: “I have always believed that a good education will allow you to succeed in life. (It is important) to develop a habit of learning so that your education never stops and the habit of learning enables you to grow and become successful. Our educational system is the beginning of the learning habit.”

Brendan Hess

Brendan Hess is running for his third full term. He currently serves as board vice president, chairman of the buildings/ground committee, and is a member of the finance and labor committees. He previously chaired the labor committee. Hess is a vocational training instructor at the Federal Prison in Otisville. Hess and his wife, Patricia, live in Port Jervis. Their three daughters graduated from Port Jervis.
Reason for running: “I would like to continue to serve my community to build on the success of educational excellence of the past three years and to see through the community’s commitment to repairing and updating our facilities for the education of generations to come. Much has been accomplished in adding, rebuilding, reinstating and improving the educational program and extra-curricular activities, while being well aware of the community’s ability to pay.”

Kenneth Jones

Kenneth Jones is running for his second term. He currently serves as board president and chairs the labor committee. He also chaired the finance committee. Jones currently serves as the Undersheriff of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. He also served for 23 years as a NY State Police investigator. Jones and his wife, Karen, are residents of Deerpark. Their three children currently attend Port Jervis schools.
Reason for running: “In the past three years, the majority of the board has ushered in a period of solid progress. Broader educational opportunities, more clubs, more sports, cleaner and safer schools, better test scores were all accomplished with tax growth at an all-time low. There is more to do.”

Roger Kalin

Roger Kalin is running for his first term. A veteran teacher, Kalin chairs the English Department at Goshen High School and the co-administers the Goshen High School alternative evening program. He also taught at Warwick Valley Middle School, worked in marketing and personnel, and served on the Trinity Catholic Elementary School Board. Kalin and his wife, Sue Ann, live in Sparrowbush. Both of their children graduated from Port Jervis High School.
Reason for running: “I have a stake in this community and want to make it better. I value education and want to promote it. I am grateful for the education our schools provided my children and want to give something back. I also have a vision for a new spirit of teamwork, congeniality, and professionalism on the board.”

Brandy Nicolette

Brandy Nicolette, of Deerpark, is running for her first term. A Port Jervis graduate, Nicolette holds an undergraduate degree from Franklin and Marshall and a Juris Doctor from Albany Law School. Prior to deciding to take time off to raise her two young children, Nicolette worked in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Reason for running: “I would like to shift the focus of education. My family and I were born and raised in Port Jervis. I feel there is no better way to give back to our community than to ensure that ALL students are afforded the opportunity for the best, well-rounded education possible.”

William Smith

William Smith is running for his third term. Smith was on the school board previously for seven years, serving as vice president, chairman of the transportation committee, and board delegate to the Orange County School Board and the NY State School Board Association. He also served on the Deerpark Town Council. An Air Force veteran, he runs Smith Tents and Family Events. Smith lives in Huguenot with his wife, Regina, and their two children. Both children attend Port Jervis schools.
Reason for running: “To rebuild the respect, identity, and character of the School Board and to strengthen communications with the administration so that they can run our schools safely and efficiently. And, to actively seek out ideas to bring tax relief, and at the same time, improve our academics, interscholastic, co-curricular, and extra-curricular activities.”

Earl Walker, Jr.

Earl Walker is running for his second full term. Walker served previously on the school board from 1992-1995. He was also appointed to fill a one-year vacancy in 1985. Prior to his retirement, Walker was responsible for product labeling at Lederle and Wyeth Laboratories. He also served as the supervisor of a clinic chemistry laboratory at Cornell University. Walker and his wife, Gretel, are Port Jervis residents. Their daughter is a Port Jervis High School graduate.
Reason for running: “To help assure the best possible educational opportunities are available to our students, while recognizing that controlling costs is essential to community buy-in. And, to enable district administrators to do their jobs without micromanaging and interference from the board.”

District budget page

Click here to view the proposed 2008-09 budget
Community Budget Presentation Schedule  
Answers to frequently asked budget questions
Click here for a glossary of budget terms