Sussman upbeat as Lawrence moves past divisive election

On the eve of Tuesday’s school board elections, Lawrence trustee Dr. David Sussman — who was running unopposed — both decried the “negative allegations” reverberating in the community and looked forward optimistically.

In an interview with The Jewish Star, he cited the “tremendous number of good candidates on the entire ballot,” and said it was important that the community unite after the vote. In anticipation of that vote, he stressed that it was important that voters endorse the budget; they did.

As arguments over the board’s endorsement of the sale of the Number Six School were batted about in signed and anonymous emails, Sussman, running for his seventh term on the board, said that the “public made a fine decision” voting down the sale. The school board was required to accept the bid, he said, noting that it was the highest offer and that it was “hard to say that a medical group for Mount Sinai was not credible.”

Legally, the board “had to take the highest credible offer,” he said. The “board chooses a buyer and the community must vote yes or no.”

He conceded, however, that the contract was not “tight” enough, and stressed that any future contract should be better.

On the matter of the district’s budget, Sussman said it hasn’t been increased for years.

“If the budget goes down, we are looking at losing 20 to 30 teachers, extra curricular activities and turning the schooling of the community upside down,” he said “We must look out for all segments of the community.”

He said the taxes would rise by three percent overall and would “increase educational opportunities to all segments of the community. It’s still one of the lowest raises.” If it doesn’t pass, he added, it would bring “incomprehensible devastation to the school district.”

As for the competition for two board seats on Election Day, Sussman said that “voters have a chance to pick good from good from good.” He noted that fellow board member Rabbi Nahum Marcus “came to most of the meetings and when he had something to say he said it.”

Sussman said that he was “proud to run with [former trustee] Michael Hatten,” whom he considers a “friend,” and he has “nothing bad to say about Nahum.” Hatten won.

Rabbi Marcus, an incumbent candidate who completed six years on the board, said there was a “problem with the way the board operates” — that although there are seven board members, “half the time four members decide.” He stated that he had been excluded from meetings and discouraged from running for the board.

Marcus cited his record, that he “helped a lot of people in public and private school. If the community decides that I am on the board I will continue to be a good advocate for the community. It will be all over tomorrow night. I stand up for the community not for myself.”

Marcus also emphasized the importance of passing the budget.

“The biggest problem is the budget,” he said, noting that they need to “restructure,” and that as it stands it’s “not sustainable. We need to fix the system and generate more money.”

The Lawrence School Board has seven members. The school year ends June 30 and the new school year begins July 1, with a reorganization meeting held in July. At that meeting, the board votes among themselves for one member to be president and another vice-president of the board; the others are trustees. Candidates run for specific seats; they are up for election on a rotating basis, with three seats voted on this year. Those elected will serve for three years. Board members have no salary and no benefits.

The seats held by Asher Mansdorf and Murray Forman will be up for a vote next year, those of Uri Kaufman and Abel Feldhamer, the year after that.

When board member Solomon Blisko stepped down, vacating his seat, three candidates sought to succeed him — in addition to Marcus and Hatten, another challenger, Juan Zapeda, pulled out of the race but remained on the ballot.

The school board and budget elections are held yearly across New York State, always on the third Tuesday in May — Super Tuesday. The budget covers transportation, books, and other educational services including special education, speech therapy, school nurses, school psychologists and other services for all schools in the district, public and private, including yeshivot.

“Every effort has to be made to prevent discord,” said Sussman. “It’s a diverse district; it’s best when we work together. No matter who wins tomorrow, we have to work together and heal.”

He stressed the need to help everyone “and not waste time on intolerance.”

“We don’t want what’s happening in Washington to happen here, where both sides don’t come together; we have to come together,” he said.

Sussman said that “resources are tight for all segments of the community” and noted that all labor contracts — for teachers, secretaries, custodians and others — are “all up in a year or so [and] we don’t have the resources to pay more for the same jobs.”

“We have to support education in all areas, private as well as public,” Sussman concluded. “There isn’t one child in the district who isn’t worth working towards. The board is known for this. We have to keep working towards this.

“The challenge is to work together after Election Day.”