Newfield School Board meets candidates

On May 6, the four candidates for Newfield Central School District’s Board of Education — Christina Ward, Tim Payne, Jack Bradley Nelson and Austin Kuczek — spoke to the Board and the community about their backgrounds and motivation to serve on the Board.

Two of the candidates — Ward and Payne — are currently serving on the Board, while the other two are newcomers. The election will be held May 18, and the candidates who place first and second will serve for three years, starting July 1, while those who place third and fourth will serve for one year, starting the day after the election.

Nelson, who also goes by “Brad,” retired from the Ithaca Police Department in 2019 after 20 years of service. He has also worked with Payne at the Newfield Fire Department as an EMT.

Nelson said he got to know many families in the area during his time in the Ithaca Police Department. He said he is excited for the opportunity to serve the Newfield community and get to know the rest of the district.

“What I have to offer is my genuine self,” Nelson said.

Kuczek decided to run for the Board a month ago when he heard that his position as a teacher’s aide for Newfield Elementary School was going to be eliminated due to COVID-19-related budget cuts. He chose to resign early, with May 14 as his last day, and seek a position on the Board in order to make a difference in the schools.

By law, current employees of the Newfield Central School District cannot serve on the Board of Education. Kuczek said his perspective as a former employee will benefit the district.

“Sometimes, when you sit on a board, you don’t see the daily school schedule, and you don’t come into the classrooms in some situations,” Kuczek said. “I feel like I’ve seen all that, and I really want to give my time and do what’s best for the kids and the community and the faculty and staff here.”

Kuczek currently works as the recreation director for the town of Newfield, a position he has held for the past two years. He said he has had to adjust to many unforeseen complications, from construction interfering with camp during his first year to the COVID-19 pandemic in his second year, and that he was able to help bring the department back from having what he described as a year off.

Kuczek said he is hesitant to make drastic changes to the district in the near future since it had undergone so many changes during the past year, such as getting a new superintendent. Instead, he hopes to see the current changes through and get the school district back to relative normalcy, and one of his goals is to see Newfield Central School District safely reopen.

“I think our kids are losing something with not being school full-time,” Kuczek said. “It’s nobody’s fault. It’s just we got to try to make it work, and we got a couple months to figure that out before September with the guidelines and all that.”

Ward spoke about her service to the Board for the past three years, as a member and as vice president, describing herself as someone who takes her job seriously and votes for what she believes in.

“I always vote with my gut even if I don’t think it’s going to be the popular vote,” Ward said. “I’m not afraid of that embarrassment of standing out or, hopefully not, being wrong, but I don’t let that hold me back from doing what I feel is right.”

Ward, who is a stay-at-home mother, said she finds school Board work deeply rewarding, even if the past year was challenging for the Board. She had considered stepping down at the end of her term but reconsidered, as working on the Board rekindled her interest.

“It’s a hard job, or rather, a hard position,” Ward said. “It does take a lot of your time, and in my own life, my kids are home, I don’t have the same type of time that I needed to have for the first year and a half of being on the Board, so it’s been a struggle to juggle my time so I can give as much as I wanted to.”

Payne has served in the Newfield Fire Department and currently serves on the Tompkins Employees Federal Credit Union’s board of directors.

“I really just want to keep giving to the community,” Payne said.

Payne thanked the voters and asked them for their support in the coming elections.

“I see a lot of new and exciting faces,” Payne said. “I see a lot of new and exciting things happening to the district that are great and just really want to be a part of this.”

Board President Jennifer Pawlewicz thanked the candidates for throwing their hats in the ring.

“Like Christina said, it is very rewarding work, but also very challenging and time-consuming,” Pawlewicz said.

For more information on the election and candidates, visit https://www.newfieldschools.org/districtpage.cfm?pageid=1504.

In Brief:

Newfield holds budget vote

The Newfield Central School District will hold a vote on the 2021-22 budget from noon to 9 p.m. May 18. Voters must be United States citizens, be 18 years old or older and have lived in the district for at least 30 days prior to the day of the vote.

Absentee ballots can be obtained by emailing the district clerk at abrown3@newfieldschools.org. Ballots will contain directions on how to mail them back and must be received by 5 p.m. May 18.

Board of Education resumes in-person meetings

The next meeting of Newfield Central School District’s Board of Education will be its first in-person meeting since the shift to remote meetings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. May 20 in the gymnasium of Newfield Middle/High School.

Attendees are required to fill out health history forms, wear masks at all times and sit in designated seats while maintaining 6 feet of social distancing.

PowerHouse promotes clean heat in Newfield

The town of Newfield, Newfield Public Library, HeatSmart Tompkins and Get Your GreenBack Tompkins will hold an open house with the PowerHouse on May 16 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The PowerHouse is a small, portable house with interactive exhibits on solar energy, heat pumps and other ways to conserve energy. Energy educators from Get Your GreenBack Tompkins and HeatSmart Tompkins will be present to answer questions from the public.

Registration is not required, but people who are interested may reserve a tour at https://calendly.com/tinypowerhouse/tour-the-powerhouse. Only one group will be allowed inside the house at a time, face coverings are required, and attendees may be asked to confirm that they are not experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and have not been exposed to the virus in the past 14 days.