To the editor:

Jackie Niederbuhl, Rebecca Law and Patrick Dupree are running for election to the Saranac Lake School Board. This is a very critical time in the history of our school district, and I believe they are the right choice for the future of our students and our schools.

Jackie Niederbuhl is a successful small business owner and a lifelong resident of our area. Jackie is the mother of two girls attending Saranac Lake Central School. Jackie is passionate about education and has some great proposals that will incorporate life skills that our student’s need for success into the curriculum.

Rebecca Law is the clinical manager for Mountain Medical Services, where she has worked for the past 15 years. Rebecca is a lifelong resident of our area and the mother of a 3-year-old son who will be attending the SLCSD. Rebecca takes all sides into consideration before passing judgement on an issue. Rebecca has been volunteering as a member of the St. Armand Comprehensive Plan, and I am impressed with her ideas and determination to better our town. I am confident that Rebecca will bring this skill set to the table of the SL board of education.

Patrick Dupree is a successful small business owner who has an incredible and diverse educational background. Pat is a lifelong resident of our area and has a young son who will be attending the SLCSD. Pat is determined to make our school district the best that it can be. Pat is an advocate for parent rights and parental responsibilities. Pat feels very strongly that our school district can do a much better job at keeping parents informed about what is being offered to our students.

I have had several conversations with these three candidates about the future of our school district. All of them agree, since there seems to be extra space available at the high school, that we should be offering more BOCES type classes. For example, computer programing, medical and EMT classes, etc. They also discussed the possibility of working with NCCC to work with the SLCSD to add college credits to this type of curriculum.

The bottom line is this: Jackie, Rebecca and Pat all want to do the best that we can do for our students. They are common sense candidates and they all will have my vote. I encourage everyone in the Saranac Lake Central School District to vote for them. Thank you.

Davina Thurston

Parent of two adult sons who attended SLCSD from K-12

Bloomingdale