Three incumbent candidates campaign for school board

PINE PLAINS — For this year’s school district election, voters residing in the Pine Plains Central School District (PPCSD) are fortunate to have three experienced candidates campaigning for another term on the Pine Plains Board of Education (BOE).

Both the school district BOE election and the 2021-22 budget vote will be held in-person on Tuesday, May 18, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Stissing Mountain Junior/Senior High School. This year’s BOE election features three open BOE seats, each with a three-year term starting Thursday, July 1, and running through June 30, 2024. Incumbent candidates Anne Arent, Jean Stapf and Joseph Kiernan are re-running for their seats on the board.

Anne Arent

Running for her fourth term on the board, Anne Arent has been involved with the PPCSD community in various ways since her children’s elementary school days, including five years as president of the Pine Plains PTA; three years on the district’s Budget Advisory Committee; and her involvement with many other district committees. Arent originally joined the BOE in 2013 and has been its vice president since 2016.

In addition to her involvement with the BOE, Arent is currently employed as assistant director of the Bard Early College-Dutchess Program and is pursuing her doctorate in educational leadership through the University of New England.

Looking ahead, Arent said she’s hoping the district can bring back a sense of normalcy. Given the BOE’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, “I think our board as a whole has demonstrated a strong sense of the importance of student academics and continuing to bring about positive change and reinforce the good that we have. I think we’re very lucky we have an amazing level of staff and teachers who have really proved themselves this year, and I want to be a part of continuing to see success in Pine Plains.”

While she believes in paying attention to the present, Arent said the BOE also needs to look at the future and address future potential and financial needs the district might have down the line. Additionally, she said the pandemic has given them an opportunity to see where technology serves education well and where it doesn’t, and to look at education equity among the district’s students.

Jean Stapf

Coming to the end of her first term on the board, Jean Stapf said she was motivated to serve on the BOE because she believes that taking a role in her community and her children’s education is a way for her to contribute and ensure their success. Since she first joined the BOE in 2017, Stapf said it has become obvious to her that “Pine Plains Central School District is a special community, small but mighty,” and that all parts of the school community are working toward one goal: the complete well-being of the students.

Beyond her experience with audits, financial reports, policies and the knowledge of a board’s responsibilities, Stapf believes her role as a parent has lent her insight into the impact of each decision made by the BOE. 

Considering the decisions made in the district this past year with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stapf explained, “It was important for me to run for another term because I want to see this pandemic through. I want to see our school come out the other side of this challenging time stronger than ever.”

Among the BOE’s priorities for next year, Stapf said one of the priorities will be getting a better sense of what work needs to be done to get the student body where it needs to be academically going forward, understanding what a new normal might look like and how to best continue to give the students “the type of well-rounded education that we are used to providing.”

Joseph Kiernan

Having joined the BOE in 2015, Joseph Kiernan was originally driven to run by his interest in getting involved with his local community, educational matters and instruction and the work small districts do to help foster growth among its young people. As he runs for his third three-year term, this desire hasn’t waned in Kiernan, who recognizes the learning curve involved in understanding the machinations of a school district.

“It’s a bit of a learning curve to understand how school districts work, what’s possible, what’s going to be more of a challenge, what changes you’d like to see,” Kiernan said. “I think there is a baseline level of mutual respect and admiration amongst the board members that’s good and helpful and allows for a more productive relationship and collaboration.”

Like his fellow BOE candidates, Kiernan shared how proud he was of the school community for showing up to support its students, families, staff and other members during the COVID-19 pandemic. Viewing the past year as a challenge and a success unto itself, he said “cool heads” and commitment to the district’s best interest were paramount to how the PPCSD  handled the pandemic as a community.

Along with moving forward with the district’s capital and energy performance projects, Kiernan said he would like to continue seeing the academic improvements the district has been making among its students and to continue seeing more efforts and initiatives to include diversity in inclusion and instruction. 

He added he’d also like to see continued improvement with some of the mental health and emotional support and awareness toward the district’s young people.