School children in Syracuse will get three new education commissioners this November.

Three of the seven seats on the school board are up for election. The candidates are Democrats Monique Wright-Williams, Patricia Body, Richard Strong, Republican Blase Parus, and incumbent Kim Rohadfox-Ceasar. Rohadfox-Ceasar is running under the Working Families party ballot line.

The election is Nov. 3.

The commissioners face recurring issues like low-test scores and graduation rates, rundown classrooms and growing budget deficits. Last year, the school board eliminated 46 positions across the district.

With the economy now in a recession, Laurie Menkin, vice-president of the education board warns that a mid-year budget cut is probable. But, she said, more cuts will be difficult.  “We really don’t have any areas that could afford a reduction,” says Menkin.

Money has long been a major concern for the education commissioners.

 “The biggest issue is always with finances,” says Calvin Corriders, current commissioner. “School districts are under assault in terms of cuts. People view schools as an expense, not an investment. That’s been an issue as long as I’ve been on the board and I anticipate it being an issue with the new candidates as well.”

Here are some thumbnail sketches of this year’s candidates:

Kim Rohadfox-Ceasar:
Rohadfox-Ceasar is now the board president and the only incumbent running for re-election.

“I know the time commitment and responsibilities of the job and I know the process,” Rohadfox-Ceasar says. “Disadvantages are that if there are some who don't think the board as a whole is doing a good job then I can be blamed.”

One of the biggest changes she wants to see is the start of the district-wide renovation project. The school district has finally reached an agreement on the first phase of the project. It includes creating a technical school and renovating six schools —

Rohadfox-Ceasar  lives in downtown Syracuse.

Blase Parus:
Parus is running on the Republican and Conservative party ballot lines.

 Being in a town that is two-thirds Democratic makes his campaign more difficult, he says.  But he downplayed the political math. “It’s not about parties. It’s not about power. It’s about educating our children,” he says. “If you could ever get a Democrat and a Republican to agree on one thing — it’s that we want to take care of our kids.”

He wants to build on already successful programs like “Say Yes to Education,” says Parus. “Say Yes to Education” works towards increasing high school and college graduation rate for inner-city school children. Parus lives in the Eastside.

Monique Wright-Williams:
Wright-Williams lives on the Westside and her daughter graduated last year from Corcoran High School.

Her focus is on promoting communications among school officials, teachers, parents, and students, she said. “Not all answers are going to come from getting an extra dollar. It’s what we do with the extra dollar that we have,” says Wright-Williams. She calls communication a “huge” issue, and says getting feedback from parents is just as important as providing them with information.

Wright-Williams is running on the Democratic, Independence, and Veterans Party ballot lines.

Patricia Body:
Body is running under the Democratic, Independence, and Working Families Party. She lives on the Eastside of Syracuse.

As a former social worker, Body cites the effect that children’s economic background has on their educational success. “A lot of disadvantaged kids come into the system two or three years behind,” she says. She wants to have universal Pre-K throughout the district and to open a trade school to provide students with more opportunities.

“Not every child is going to want to go to college,” Body says. “I think that the perception out there needs to be changed.”

Richard Strong:
Strong served on the education board from 2001 to 2005. One reason he is running again, he said, is to move the $136-million school renovation project forward. The project is years behind schedule and has failed to deliver on its promise of fixing up the schools, he said.

 For Strong, better grades and test scores go hand-in-hand with the learning environment. “Some of it’s psychological,” he says. “You see immediate bumps in test scores when schools are renewed.” As examples, he cited Dr. Martin Luther King Magnet School and McKinley-Brighton Magnet School. Both schools have seen rising test scores since being renovated.

 “The minute they start feeling better about themselves,” said Strong, “they start to care.” Strong is running for the Working Families and Democratic Party lines. He lives on the Southside of Syracuse.

(Jessica Shaw is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism and finance.)

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