READER DOESN’T WANT A FORMER POLITICIAN ON SOSD SCHOOL BOARD; SUPPORTS INCUMBENT CANDIDATE

To the Editor,

I’m not sure if many people know this, but Scott Vanderhoef has thrown his hat into the ring for a seat on the South Orangetown School Board. Many of you know Vanderhoef as the former Rockland County Executive, a position he held for 20 years. Most recently he ran for state Senate and before that lieutenant governor, solidifying Vanderhoef as the most prominent politician in Rockland County over the last 30 years.

When I first heard of this, I thought, why would a politician of Vanderhoef’s stature be interested in serving on the local School Board? First thing that came to mind was, “what’s his agenda?” As I was thinking of this, I realized that no matter what the agenda may be, because Mr. Vanderhoef is a professional politician, the perception will be it’s a political agenda. His mere presence on the board will politicize the running of our schools. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to look at our school board members and think about what political party they represent. I don’t want school board meetings to start looking like town board meetings. The running of our schools should be about what is best for our children. Community and politics should never play a part!

Leon “Lonnie” Jacobs (who Vanderhoef is challenging), a long-standing member of the community whose children attend our schools, has served on the board for the last 12 years. His professional background as a project manager and engineer has helped the district save millions of dollars. Let’s keep politics out of our schools. Keep Jacobs on the board!

Sincerely,

Ivanya L. Alpert
Piermont

  Leon Jacobs, Lonnie Jacobs, orangetown, piermont, scott vanderhoef, South Orangetown School Board