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032103 Fallon nominated for statewide award
BY FRANK NARDOZZI
In a surprise
addendum to Wednesday night's school board agenda that was added in her absence,
Bedford Central School Board President Dot Fallon was nominated for a statewide
distinguished service award,
The award is the Everett R. Dyer Award for Distinguished School Board Service, given annually by the New York State School Boards Association.
The honor is presented to a current or former school board member who the state organization's award committee recognizes for outstanding contributions to public education and the children in his or her community.
After the motion was made by school board trustee Paula Kumar, seconded by trustee Brad Sacks and supported by school board vice president Elin Sullivan, some objection was raised by trustee Joseph Whelan, a self-styled school board watchdog who was elected with the support of the Taxpayers Oversight Committee three years ago.
Mr. Whelan, who
may be running for re-election to the school board along with Mrs. Fallon in the
election on May 20, questioned the way the nomination was made,
Mr. Whelan noted that Mrs. Fallon normally sets the agenda for school board meetings along with Schools Superintendent Bruce Dennis,
"There could have been a different approach to this," he said, "There could have been a report card generated that tied the school board's nomination to results."
But, Mr, Whelan said, "The nomination is out there now, and I don't want to rain on her parade."
Dr, Dennis responded that it was his decision to propose the nomination in Mrs. Fallon's absence. No reason was given for Mrs. Fallon's being out of town,
"She knows nothing about this," Dr, Dennis said. "I just thought that it would be a nice thing to do in her absence, It represents absolutely no self-aggrandizement on her part."
Mrs. Sullivan called the nomination a "tremendous move" and called Mrs. Fallon's level of dedication "unbelievable,"
"I don't know where she finds the time, She goes to meetings and school events and volunteers to speak at public forums. She delves into every issue and is always trying to figure out how she can bring parties together, including local government representatives.
"Her service is really above and beyond the call of duty," Mrs. Sullivan said, "She runs school board meetings in a professional manner, She can be tough, but she also has a sense of humor,"
Trustee Met Comberiati remembered a school board meeting two years ago in which the board had to deal with a "great upset" in the Spanish-speaking community at Mount Kisco Elementary School over the elimination of a part-time bilingual social worker.
"Busloads of people came to the meeting with translators ready to demonstrate," Dr, Comberiati said. "Dot spoke to them at the meeting very comfortably in Spanish, surprising us all, She totally defused the situation.
"Because of things like that, I support this nomination 100 percent," he said,
Fallon "brings nothing but credit to this community and school board. Her tireless leadership has been unbelievable," He added that while he had served only two years on the board, he knew Mrs. Fallon for 14 or 15 years and had great respect for her as a mentor.
Mrs. Kumar also praised Mrs. Fallon as a "great leader" who had done an "incredible amount of work," especially in obtaining passage of the $67,7 million school bond issue, a two-year effort that Mrs. Kumar said Mrs. Fallon had made to appear "seamless."
Trustee Mark Slivka praised Mrs. Fallon as "an extraordinary talent and a wonderful leader, At a time in our country when we are very short on leaders who are both tough and intelligent, she is both," he said.
The nomination was then approved by the board, 6-0,