Chatham board race focuses on the future

Fisch has served as board president since 2021. He wants to continue to focus on the development of future board initiatives.

“Over the past four years, I have had the opportunity to serve the district as an elected board member, the last two years as board president,” Fisch said. “This year, the board oversaw enrollment of our first universal pre-K class, as well as the capstone of the planning phase for the largest update to school facilities in decades in the form of voter approval. As a registered independent, I consider it my role to facilitate a balanced and coherent vision of district goals and priorities. I look forward to continued oversight of district operations and development of future board initiatives.”

Fisch said the board has the influence to make sure the district efficiently spends with taxpayer money and wants to highlight students’ needs.

“Like other schools around the country, CCSD has many interdisciplinary teams already working on updating curriculum, processes and methodologies in line with clear evidence-based educational research,” he said. “As a board member, it is our responsibility to balance fiscally responsible and efficient spending with taxpayer and student needs. We also bring accountability to school operations and support the agendas brought forth by our best and brightest educational professionals.”

Fisch runs the Chatham Coworker as a community project and is the founder of software company FortMesa, which is working to protect the privacy rights of computer networks. He has five children and has spent most of his life in the Chatham School District. Fisch considers serving on the school board part of his civic duty to give back to the community.

Dawn Friedman of Ghent has been married to Jon Friedman for the last 23 years. They have three children who attend schools in the Chatham district.

Friedman is running for a board seat to continue the legacy of the members who came before her.

“I am running for the Chatham Central School District Board of Education to support the efforts put forth in the years before me and to ensure the school continues to support the community’s children so that they may enter the world ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century,” Friedman said.

Friedman said the proper education can put students on the right path to becoming successful adults, which in turn will strengthen the community.

“Education changes lives and provides more options,” Friedman said. “The stronger our students’ education is, the stronger our community becomes.”

Friedman cites her investment in the community as the main reason she’s running for the board.

“I am vested in our community and want to actively preserve and improve the quality of education our school district provides,” Friedman said.

Friedman is a graduate of Chatham High School, holds a literature degree from SUNY Purchase and is working on completing her master of arts in curriculum and instruction from Clarkson University. She is a real estate broker and volunteers for youth organizations in the community.

Marianne Pierro of Chatham did not immediately return calls for comment.

According to her Chatham Central School District biography, Pierro’s primary focus is directed at the capital project and wants to focus on the recovery of post-pandemic educational outcomes for Chatham’s students. According to the biography, she cites this as the main reason she’s running for a seat on the board.

The Chatham board and budget election will be held May 16 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Mary E. Dardess Elementary School gym.