Board of Ed Candidate Q&A: Mike Valenti

Mike Valenti is one of three candidates running for one open position on the  Board of Education.

Valenti and his wife have lived in Briarcliff Manor for 14 years. He owns a global e-commerce company based out of Valhalla. He has two children, one in kindergarten and one in third grade. Valenti is a Cub Scout Leader in the village and is "very involved" in his church, the Parish of St. Theresa. He was previously involved with the district's 'Green Team.' He has also coached Little League and soccer. This is the second consecutive year Valenti is running for the Board of Education.

Patch: What makes you a qualified candidate?

MV: I don't believe that there's anyone in the community over the past several years who has followed school district issues more closely than I, except those who are currently on the Board. More importantly, I bring an extremely well-rounded skill set to the table. I have deep, impeccable analytical skills. I'm also very good with very difficult, complex, abstract financial concepts. With that said, I also bring a whole other world of skills to the table. That is where the current Board is deficient. With the exception of Sal Maglietta, I believe we have a deficiency on the School Board which has not allowed for the development of a vision. I bring a strong left brain and a strong right brain.

Patch: What's something you believe the current Board has executed well?

MV: I think the Board of Education did a very good job when they renegotiated the transportation contract. They saved the district a money, and more importantly, it's how it got done. They appeared to do it in a way that left everyone walking away from the table amicably...in a way that all stakeholders could feel good about it and it was financially beneficial.

Patch: What are your thoughts about the two goals for the budget the Board of Education set this year (lowering taxes for both Ossining/Mount Pleasant residents and lowering the overall per pupil cost)?

MV: While it is important for the Board of Education to be a good steward of the community's money and the district's money, it is inappropriate for the School Board to begin a budgeting process with an arbitrary number as they did this year and they did last year. And then we gave an interim superintendent, who is completely uninvested—and candidly, long ago lost the confidence of the community—the responsibility of reaching that number. And then against all protestations by the community, who said, "This is not what we want, these are not our values," we went ahead and did it anyway. That is not the right way and as a result the K-12 academic program and the integrity of the K-12 academic program has been eroded.

Patch: What is your impression of the dynamic between current Board members and what do you think of the way they interact and work together?

MV: It is quite clear that the current Board of Education is not a five-person Board, it is four against one. I think the entire community knows [what] I'm talking about. We all showed up at a Board meeting not too long ago to find a surprise agenda item...to appoint a permanent principal to the . One of the Board members was vocal about the fact that they were as surprised to see this on the agenda as the public was. It was a clear example of disrespect for the community and disrespect for the process.

Patch: What are your thoughts about this year's budget process and the adopted budget itself?

MV: The process was broken. This is not a community where people come to the microphone angry and with tears in their eyes as they have the past two years over the budget. This is not how budgets are created. One of the issues is when we budget, we're not starting off with actual [numbers versus budgeted]. I will encourage and advocate the Board to share these types of numbers with the community. I will also encourage and advocate the Board to show the community choices for budgets, which they have not done. The other problem is we appear to have a Board majority who feels that we have a very high per pupil cost compared to other districts. This is debatable.

Patch: Will you be voting for or against on May 17?

MV: I do not reject the budget. I think a budget of $48.4 million is incredibly fiscally responsible. I support that. Technically, when you go to the voting booth on May 17, you're voting for the $48.4 million, not how it's been spent and not how we got there. I do not support our contingency budget*; I think that the people who are calling for a 'no' vote on the budget don't fully understand the ramifications of a contingency budget.

Patch: Are there any issues you believe the Board of Education should be paying more attention to?

MV: I don't believe that this Board has vision; I do not believe this Board is capable of vision. The only vision this Board seems to have is a vision of low taxes. I think somehow along the way, this Board has decided to prioritize tax cutting over academic excellence and that's not Briarcliff. I have not met a single individual who has said, "I came to Briarcliff for a tax cut." People come to Briarcliff for the quality and reputation of the schools.

Patch: What do you think of the relationship and interactions the Board has with the community?

MV: We must fix that. It may be the single most important thing we do–we must heal this community, we must unite this community. It begins with hearing, not just listening. I had a great conversation with the superintendent in Harrison [Louis Wool]–they had a similar dynamic between the Board and the community and they actually brought in experts from Harvard to put [the Board] through training. He says it's peaches and cream now. [The Briarcliff  Board members] all have great skill sets, they are all successful, they are all probably good people in their hearts, but they're hurting our community and they're hurting our district.

Patch: What was your initial impression of the and what do you think his priorities should be as he starts off?

MV: Now that we have found our new leader, the next most important task in our district is to have that individual acclimate himself to the district. I would be calling on Neal Miller to be doing that thoughtfully and I think he will. I would also be calling on all of the various constituents in the district to be working just as hard, to be part of the process. The district has become very divided over the past two years and he's going to need to synthesize many different perspectives thoughtfully over time. He should develop a mission statement and a vision. I would encourage him to develop a mission statement that has a short, intermediate and long term view. The superintendent and the community have the responsibility to come together and he needs to understand this community. It sounds like he has phenomenal credentials and I think he's going to find this is a pretty special place. I'm sure he will succeed here if he takes time in the beginning and we, the community, need to give him that time.

Patch: Why should residents vote for you?

MV: I'm an individual who has always been known for vision, creativity, leadership skills, people skills...I have a very broad, deep, diverse skill set. If you are really a great Board member, you take all of your views and all of your agendas, and you check them at the door because you just got elected to represent the people and their views and their agenda. And if it doesn't line up with yours, you need to be able to deal with that. When you become a Board member, you lose your voice to advocate for your children. It's a privilege and should not be abused.

See here to learn more about Valenti's campaign.

*Note: Valenti clarified he does "not support going to a contingency budget."