Common Council #2 - Visit to the HCSD Board of Education

After a handful of false starts over the last few months (and with considerable appreciation for Peter Meyer’s cheerful insistence), Monday I attended a Hudson City School District Board of Education meeting at the new Junior High. I went with a willingness to sit and listen but with at best vague notions of what might come of the visit. I have met and know a few of the principles, Board members Elizabeth Fout and Peter, Superintendent Jack Howe. So some of the members of this tribe were not foreign to me. Neither, in outline, were its rituals. Although I once spoke the language of an active public education parent and of an education journalist, and my most recent professional experience was in higher education (15 years), languages and codes, as they should, evolve over time.

So while, for example, there was much discussion of the CELA (pronounced sea-la) teacher professional development program and its potential or actual effect on the ability to help children learn language, inexperienced observers were left in the dark as to the character of the program. Elizabeth and Peter, without prejudice to CELA, inquired whether the school administration had researched the experience of other schools using CELA since the cost of training was $36K plus. The administrators present spoke passionately about the program’s value, as well of a modestly upward trend in testing associated with CELA. But the decision to proceed was clearly of the sort that the Board as a whole had little interest in either questioning or rescinding. And it wasn’t obvious that there was reason to do so. The discussion, however, was indicative of a Board that is comfortable with and supportive of the school administration.

At the public comment period I took advantage of my three minute allowance to introduce myself. As the moment approached, and I was forced to focus, I considered what use might come of my visit. As a first principle, Hudson must have strong relations with the School system. What I hope I said clearly is that much of our future, of our children’s and families’ futures, our economic future, rests on improving the quality of education in our schools. We must all get behind this goal, whether or not we have children in school. But what can the City government practically do? What I learned last night from Jack Howe is that there are over 340 students in after school programs in the lower grades. Do our Youth Department programs speak to the School District’s programs? What use is made of our Library? Are student codes of conduct reflected in the City’s programs? Can the City and our nonprofits, the Hudson Opera House, Time and Space Limited, be assisted to do more to encourage student achievement? I am not presuming answers here. But a hard lesson learned in school is that the first step toward understanding, and change, is to raise your hand and ask a question.

Bliss Towers: A New Future for Residents and for Hudson

Thanks to many people, but primarily to Bill Hughes and Wanda Pertilla, a process has begun to evaluate the possibility of replacing Bliss Towers with low rise mixed use housing and a unique senior housing complex. On Thursday evening, September 24, the first of many meetings was held to describe for Tower residents what could happen with renewed interest, thanks to the administration of Barack Obama and a Democratic Congress, in expanding financial support through the US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for low and moderate income housing.

A great deal was described at the first meeting about the quality of the proposed housing (rents would not change, apartments would be larger, and townhouses will have yards), and that understandable fears about displacement could be set aside since the Federal government strictly prohibits displacement when old housing is replaced with new. What is so refreshing about this possibility is the important role it can play in improving the standard of living and sense of opportunity for over 130 families in Hudson. A sound strategy for economic growth and development in Hudson, as the professionals readily say, is that a workforce that is attractive to new employers must have decent housing. You can't have one without the other.

I visited the Towers with Wanda and Bill, about six weeks ago and got a good look at the physical facility and talked to residents. It will be important for many people to get to know the Towers because HUD will want to know that the entire City supports this plan, not just the Bliss Towers residents. So it will be important for a coalition of concern to get behind this proposal, to attend the meetings that will be called once application is made by the City Housing Authority for funds to undertake the replacement. And a coalition is building. It was clear at the meeting that replacing the Towers will have the support of the Mayor Scalera and Treasurer Halloran as well as many local Democrats, Republicans, Bottom Liners, and Independents. This is all to the good. We will also have the support of Congressman Murphy. Senator Schumer is a cosponsor of an important, comprehensive bill, The Livable Communities Act, that will likely become the funding program to which we will apply. The process could take at least five years, but the journey has begun and it will be one of which we can be proud when it is completed.

What Can the Council Do #1

People ask, what can the Hudson Common Council do to make a difference? It can focuson growth in jobs and in small and large businesses, controlling and reducing taxes, affordable housing and job training, support for working families, preserving the quality and character of our diverse communities.

Then, it can put these priorities first. Work closely with the people and organizations, public and private, that are smart and effective at stimulating growth and a healthy city. Then we need to ask where city or county laws and ordinances can help, and where they get in the way.

Why do I want the job? I’ve spent my career in public service and my life working for my communities. I believe I have the experience, credentials, principles—and the desire—to make a measurable contribution to Hudson at a time when pulling together and giving back can make all the difference in the world for Hudson’s future.

Don Moore's Bio

Donald A Moore

Candidate for Common Council President

City of Hudson

EXPERIENCE
• ccSCOOP, Columbia County, NY online news publication, 20th Congressional District Special Election coverage reporter and photographer, 2009

• RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE, SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES, ARTS and SOCIAL SCIENCES - Director of Communication 1997-2008

• BARD COLLEGE, Director of Alumni Affairs 1994-1996

• SOCIETY FOR AMERICAN ARCHEOLOGY, Executive Director 1993-1994

• AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF MUSEUMS, Deputy Director for Programs 1990-1992

• DANCE/USA Executive Director 1982-1990

• NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS, Congressional Liaison; Deputy Chairman 1977-1982

• FEDERAL COUNCIL ON THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES, a White House Inter-agency Task Force, Deputy Chairman 1980-1981

• US REP. JOHN BRADEMAS (D-IND), Press and Legislative Aide to the Chief Deputy Minority Whip 1973-1977

EDUCATION
BARD COLLEGE, Bachelor of Arts in American Literature

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY
Development, implementation, and management of a range of communication, marketing, and fund development initiatives that enhance organizational strength and service delivery.
• Program, staff, and board development
• Fundraising strategy and implementation for projects, operations, and capital campaigns
• Communication Strategies for public awareness and membership development
• Print and web information design, text, and photographs
• Conference and event organization and administration

VOLUNTEER HIGHLIGHTS
CURRENT: Vestry Member and Officer of Christ Church Episcopal Hudson.

FORMER: Board Member of the American Arts Alliance. Treasurer of the Board of the Deep Listening Institute. Author of opinion articles in The Washington Post and The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Member of the Bard College Alumni Association Board of Governors. Co-Chair of the Christ Church Poughkeepsie $425,000 church capital campaign. Member of the Organizing Committee of the Dancing For Life AIDS Benefit at Lincoln Center. Volunteer at World Trade Center site after 9-11 preparing meals for firefighters and work crews. Co-Organizer of the After 9-11 Workshops and Speaker Series for students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Co-Chair of Annual Capitol Hill Public Schools 10K Race. Guest Lecturer on the needs and conditions of the arts for the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, American University, University of Tennessee, and George Washington University. Consultant to the National Endowment for the Arts; the American Assembly colloquium on The Arts and Public Policy; and consulting editor for the Journal of Arts Management and the Law.