44°
My name is Sanford Benardo. I am running for the Chappaqua School Board because I believe we need to protect the kids, not the brand. Our current Board has misplaced its priorities badly. I am the father of two daughters currently attending Seven Bridges Middle School and our family loves this community. We have big issues to work on here.
The Board has tried to portray those who oppose them as a small fringe element of the population. But this is simply not true. Only a small number of us have had the courage to stand up and speak out - there are much larger numbers of us who are upset and disturbed about what is happening in our District.
Here is where I come from:
For my entire professional career, I have worked on behalf of children and families as an adoption and assisted reproduction lawyer. I am a former teacher and put myself through law school at night while working as a public high school English teacher. And I love teachers - I grew up in a family of educators - and I remain of the belief that our valuable teachers are disillusioned and weighed down by the controversies and legal troubles we are in.
I am also a small business owner - I run a fertility services business along with my wife - and have years of experience with allocating funds carefully, staying within reasonable budgets and keeping to the promises of confidentiality which are central to our business.
I want to help to start to change the culture here to one of openness, tolerance for different viewpoints and judgment to face up to problems and not hide behind a PR firm when something really ugly turns up.
The election coming up on May 16 is a critical one. The planned hiring of a new Superintendent has been announced and we will have a new Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. I think we ought to have two new faces and minds on our Board of five members as well.
Sanford M. Benardo
Click here to follow Daily Voice Chappaqua and receive free news updates.
