Kendall Egan: Board of Ed Candidate

Today MyRye.com interviews Board of Education board candidate Kendall Egan. The vote for both open board seats and the school budget will be held next Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Polls are open from 7am to 9pm in the Rye Middle School Gym.

(PHOTO: Kendall Egan, third from left, at a joint Board of Education and City Council meeting earlier this year.) 

Your Name: Kendall Egan

Why are you running for the Board of Ed again?

I very much enjoy the job.  It is a lot of work, but it is extremely rewarding to see things that you have created, discussed or voted on come to fruition.   

What three things should every Rye voter know about your qualifications for serving on the Board of Education?

I have been on the Board of Education for three years and have chaired the Communications, Health and Safety and Facilities committees.  I have served on Finance, District Wellness, the English Language Arts Curriculum and Safe Routes to School committees.  I have also served as a board member on the Westchester Putnam School Boards Association and will serve as a vice-president for WPSBA next year.  Prior to my board service, I was president of Milton PTO, served on district committees and participated in strategic planning for the district.

What should votes know about your track record at the BOE?

I think we have had major accomplishments in the past three years.  We built the Milton gym and we implemented new curricula such as the FLES program, Math Expressions, Theater Arts and hopefully, Mandarin.  We redesigned and launched a new website and added an e-newsletter.  We have also delivered three years of low tax rate increases. 

What’s your day job?

I am the Director of Marketing for Gluten-Free Living, a national magazine for people with celiac disease.  My “24/7” occupation is as a wife and mother of four kids.

Do you have children in the Rye schools?

All four children attend the Rye City School District schools at the high school, middle school and elementary school levels.

Rye teachers have been without a contract since 2007. What is preventing an agreement between the BOE and the teachers?

We need a settled contract that is grounded in the financial reality of decreasing state aid, decreasing revenue and growing pension and health care costs.  We need to slow the growth of the budget, so we need a realistic approach to total salary compensation and health care participation.  I believe an agreement can be reached that respects both the taxpayer and the RTA. 

Who was your favorite teacher when you went to school?

My favorite teacher was Mrs. Katy Sadler, my AP US History and American Government teacher.  I absolutely love history, but she thought I would love political science even more. She was right, I majored in political science in college. She also encouraged me pursue a career path that included lots of writing and public speaking. 

How else are you active in Rye?

I spend many, many hours as the parent on the sidelines of fields, gyms and pools in Westchester County cheering on my kids and their friends.  I also try to spend a couple of hours a week playing tennis with my friends.

Thanks, Kendall!