OROL: Gary F. Whitmarsh 1999

Candidate for ORSD School Board 1999

Gary F. Whitmarsh Lee, NH

Resident:	Lee since 1994
Age:	52 years old
Family:	Married with 4 children, 2 still at ORHS.
Education:	Corning Community College in Business Administration
	Minot State College in Business Administration and Personnel Management.
	Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) training in specification writing, particularly in construction contract bidding and performance rating specifications
Occupation:	Inside Sales for Ruby Building Projects
	Architectural Specialist for Marvin Windows working with architects, school districts, and colleges
	Air Force for 4 years from 1966-1970
Community:	ORYA Babe Ruth Coach for 3 years
	Chairman ORHS Project Graduation for last 2 years
	Member of ORHS Community Advisory Committee in 1998

Major Issues:

Our children are our hope and our future. They only have one opportunity for an education, only one chance to go to high school. We the taxpayers and School Board and teachers and parents have next year or the next or the next to get things right. Our children don't have that luxury of time. While we debate spending $20 million to fund the school district for 1 year, the students wait for a single door for their school locker that is shared with 3 or 4 other students. But they will graduate before that door appears. We must focus on the biggest issue before us: the future of our sons and daughters. We must keep the door of opportunity open but close the door of division.

Communication in the community with the School Board is lacking and is a real issue that I will face head on with community ward meetings.

He is a fiscal conservative who wants to return common sense to government. We must get the biggest bang for our buck.

He wants to understand why there is a lot of mistrust of the School Board. He feels the Middle School project left a sour taste and is a major element of this mistrust. He was surprised how this project was handled, particularly compared to projects he knew in New York where there is different funding and more state and local control. He understands that the School Board feels a lot of frustration, too. He feels he can help solve these issues.

He wants to pull the community together. There are a lot of agendas, but we are all in the same boat and must pull the same oar. He is very able at bringing diverse groups of people together to achieve common goals.

He has seen what can happen when the community pulls together: business, parents, teachers, and the School Board. For example, his son attended Cortland High School which has one of the finest film and TV programs in New York state and has received national awards. They have a seed program for Lyndon State College. The high school students produce all candidate debates, state fair coverage, etc. The ABC affiliate in Syracuse works with the students. The students become interns there. The students are prepared to work or go to college as soon as they graduate. ORHS can have such a seed program, and he is already working hard to establish it at ORHS. It doesn't take a lot of money, just interest and committment.

He wants to teach accountability to students. He wants to create a Teenage Alcohol Task Force composed of a good cross section of the community: parents, teachers, police, college officials, and professionals in drugs and alcohol abuse. They will look for ways to combat abuse and train others to train the students. They would work to help families with alcohol abuse at home.

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Last update on 29-Mar-99 at 10:25 PM.

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