Irin Israel Announces Candidacy for Scarsdale School Board

My name is Irin Israel and I am running for the Scarsdale Board of Education as an independent candidate. I believe that I have shown the ability, diligence, energy and time to contribute as a Board member and to help guide policy decisions for our children, faculty, staff and community.

I have been outspoken this year at Board meetings, in the media, on Facebook, in person, and through emails in an effort to ensure all safe options be openly, fully, and swiftly examined for our children. My efforts came about due to my witnessing firsthand the educational, social and emotional struggles of my children in the new learning environment, the lack of transparency from the Administration, and the refusal of the Board to adequately answer questions from the community or to put forward plans and metrics for changes to safely increase learning hours. In all my writings and speeches, I simply pushed for full transparency, reasoning and facts.

While this year has been one of many challenges, the Board needs to take a stronger interpretation of its role to provide oversight and review of the Administration. They need to swiftly correct public and private misstatements by the Administration, and to hold them accountable for misinformation or unanswered questions. Transparency has not improved after being the main concern of the fall survey, and worse, the current Board voted to curtail Public Comment during our District’s biggest crisis in decades. This needs to be reversed immediately. The Board of Education makes the best decisions when they have all the facts. I believe in researching, questioning, asking opinions and thinking outside-the-box. I am open-minded and all my previous work experiences have involved working as a team toward consensus.

For a school district to improve, parents must be recognized and provided a larger forum for input. And the Board must directly address the concerns of the community, must question and must speak up, or they cannot properly set policy, provide oversight, and accurately evaluate the Administration. I believe that the Board has lost its way and it has come time for a change to redirect the Scarsdale District back toward its mission. This past year, the Board’s opaque decisions and lack of communication caused division in the community which needs to be mended.

Next year will be a crucial year for our schools. Things we previously ignored and processes we took for granted will be reassessed. Old methods and ideas will be looked at in a new way. I want to be part of the team that rebuilds our schools. I want to help with policy on assessing the effects of this past year, getting the children to where they need to be educationally and socially, and evaluating what new practices worked and what didn’t.

I have worked on planning, logistics, budgeting, operations, construction, marketing, and hiring hundreds of people as well as dealing with local government, contractors, and vendors in my various roles including creator, developer, and owner of the House of Sports as well as planning and managing numerous films and live events, such as Historic Hudson Valley’s Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze and Horseman’s Hollow. At the House of Sports, I personally created and managed the tots program, which at its peak had several hundred children participating each week in dozens of classes, and I was in charge of the physical facility itself. My Masters in Industrial/Organizational Psychology focused on motivation, learning and leadership. And those who know me, know that I am extremely active in my children’s lives and the community.

Please contact me with any questions you have about my campaign, beliefs or experience. If I am elected to the Board, I plan to personally ask your questions, demand answers and address your concerns about the challenges that lie ahead. That is the role of a Board Member.

Let me be your voice.

Thank you.
Irin Israel
Stratton Road
www.facebook.com/Irin4BOE