Three Syracuse City School District Board of Education commissioner seats are up for grabs in next week’s election, and five candidates are running for the open positions.

Three of the candidates are Democratic incumbents, and two are newcomers to the school board race.

Here are the candidates running for seats on the school board:

Patricia Body

Patricia Body, a Democrat, is a retired social worker currently serving as the vice president of the SCSD Board of Education.

“When I retired, I wanted to still help the kids in my community, and the best way I thought was to be on the board,” Body said.

She was first elected in 2009, won the re-election in 2013 and is again running for re-election. She is currently the longest serving board member.

Body was the chair of the Danforth-Pond-Butternut Task Force and a facilitator for TNT Northside, according to Syracuse.com.

She said she aims to make various changes in the school district, such as reducing suspensions, but the district must do a lot more.

“We have to change the culture of the school,” she said. “The school district culture does not change overnight, but it’s changing slowly.”

Body is also running on the Working Families Party line and Women’s Equality Party lines.

“I want every child that attends the Syracuse school district to be the best person they can be and (know) that we offer the best chance to do that,” she added.

David Cecile

David Cecile, a Democrat, currently serves as a commissioner on SCSD’s Board of Education. First elected in 2013, Cecile is running for re-election.

He has worked in various Syracuse schools as a teacher and principal for 27 years. After retiring last year, he now works as a substitute teacher.

Cecile said he plans to improve transportation for students.

“We have kids that have to walk a mile and a half to school,” he said. “And in the wintertime here, the streets are bad, the sidewalks aren’t plowed.”

He said he also aims to improve the quality of education by offering career technical programs that will make students want to come to school.

“We (SCSD) are in a good position. We are moving forward. We have seen a big increase in graduation rates, student attendance — our enrollment is increasing in the district, we have many good things going on, and so I want to continue to be a part of that,” Cecile said.

Cecile is also running on the Working Families Party line.

Derrick Dorsey

Derrick Dorsey, a Democrat, said at a candidate forum that the “quickest way to success is education.”

Dorsey is running for re-election after serving as president of SCSD’s Board of Education since 2013.

Dorsey previously acted as director of a community-wide dialogue group where he fought against racism. Dorsey has also served as the co-chair of SCSD’s code of conduct committee.

His main priority is to increase student safety, as well as safety for teachers, administration and visitors.

Dorsey said he also plans for the district to receive more funding from the state.

“We have 19 percent of refugee and immigrant students in our district,” Dorsey said. “To keep serving them right, we need more funding.”

As a graduate of the district himself, he said he plans to work to prevent children dropping out of middle school.

Michael Hunter

Michael Hunter is a newcomer to the race. He is running as the Conservative Party candidate for SCSD Board of Education commissioner. He currently serves as a chair of the Onondaga County Conservative Party and fuels airplanes at Syracuse Hancock International Airport.

Hunter said he is a multi-generation Syracuse native — his family has always lived in Syracuse. He attended city schools, as did his three children.

Hunter said his aim is to provide better education to the youth and that city schools still need many improvements.

“Turning the city around starts with our youth and the education provided to the youth,” Hunter added.

Darlene Medley

Darlene Medley is running on the Working Families Party line and would be a new member of the board if elected.

She graduated from Henninger High School in 1998.

She said she aims to improve transportation for students. In 2016, Medley and her 11-year-old son expressed the need for buses or any other form of transportation, as the students had to walk up to 2 miles to reach their schools.

Board members serve four-year terms and are paid $7,500 a year.

Published on November 1, 2017 at 10:45 pm

Contact Eshalaxmi: erbarlin@syr.edu