Meet Jennifer Boyle, Board of Education Candidate
The Rye City School District Board of Education election race, along with the vote on the $113 million 2025-2026 school budget (a 2.45% increase from the 2024-25 budget of $110,556,311), will be next Tuesday, May 20, 2025. Voting will take place in the Rye Middle School gymnasium between 6:00am – 9:00pm.
The two candidates will be Jane Anderson (incumbent) and Jenn Boyle (incumbent), running unopposed for the two open spots.
MyRye.com will be running question and answer interviews with each of the two. Although the race is uncontested, we wanted to give our readers an opportunity to hear from each candidate as they will represent two of the elected seven-person Board of Education.
Today we introduce you (again) to Jenn Boyle. You can also read our interview with Jane Anderson.
Your Name: Jennifer Boyle
MyRye.com: Why are you running for re-election to the school board?
Boyle: My decision to run again was influenced by a couple of factors. I am excited to continue to support and be a part of the fantastic work our administrators, faculty and staff have been doing with our students and their families. I value and enjoy working alongside the many smart, witty, caring, and creative professionals that are part of our district. Lastly, in my view having a consistent team during the transition to a new superintendent is a priority.
Do you plan to support the upcoming school budget vote on Tuesday, May 20th?
Boyle: Yes
What are three or four features of the current budget that make it worthy of voter support?
Boyle:
- The 25-26 adopted budget continues all the current programs for students K-12. The high-quality reading, writing, math, science and arts instruction that our students receive remains.
- The budget provides for a Director of Counseling and Student Wellness. This will be a great opportunity to continue to build and align the social emotional skills work of our 12 school counselors, K-12.
- The budget supports the kick-off of the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) program and funds new faculty for the IB business management and computer science courses and creates opportunities for additional computer science course options at the high school.
- The budget supports safety, security and facility replacement and repairs. These include replacements for older security cameras, replacing the leaking cafeteria roof at Osborn school and a new custodial position to cover the new additions for Osborn and Midland schools.
What district costs are the hardest to control? (3-6 sentences)
Boyle: The most challenging costs are items like utilities, healthcare premiums, pensions, and other mandates from NY State that continue to rise. The district continues to look for ways to be more energy-efficient, participates in consortiums to help lower costs and advocates to our elected officials to get their assistance when possible.
What are the three biggest opportunities / challenges facing Rye schools over the next 3-5 years?
Boyle:
- With change comes opportunity. We have been very fortunate Dr. Byrne has been our superintendent for the last 8 years. I am thrilled and very excited for Dr. Murray to begin her tenure and bring her talents to that role.
- Ongoing work that continues to shape school culture around building a stronger sense of belonging, purpose and mattering for students.
- One of the newest challenges is AI. Understanding how it can be used appropriately by students as a resource to benefit their growth as learners and thinkers. Also, reflect on how it may change over time and how our systems may need to adjust.
How have these evolved over your tenure?
Boyle: We are fortunate to have the Rye Commitment as a guiding statement as a focus for the district. Whether it is supporting students academically or socially, including the skills identified in the Rye Commitment in our programs and curriculum has been one of the most pivotal evolutions during the last 9 years.
The approach to AI has been strategic. The broad availability of AI prioritized the need for the district to provide professional learning for our faculty staff and then, through our Technology Committee, develop AI Guidelines to identify best practices of how it can be used to appropriately benefit students. Parent education has already begun and will be ongoing as these guidelines will be consistently updated as AI changes over time.
What are the three biggest areas for cost containment with the Rye schools over the next 3-5 years?
Boyle:
- We are already limited due to the tax cap, which requires constant monitoring of costs and limits the possibilities to try new programs or projects as part of the operating budget. Thankfully, the Rye Fund for Education, our education foundation, bridges some of this divide through grants that provide opportunities to explore new ideas and pilot programs district wide.
- The district has completed extensive facility work over the last several years – thank you to the community for supporting the capital projects. All the upgraded infrastructure will need to be maintained over time. This will require planning to spread out any repairs or replacements cyclically.
- The costs for many services the district uses, such as utilities, transportation, and healthcare, have been increasing each year. We continue to monitor these, and look for ways to reduce expenses, even though many of these are outside of the control of the district.
How have these evolved over your tenure? (1-2 sentences)
Boyle: Costs related to state mandates have continued to rise, despite advocating for changes at the state level. In recent years, NYS has allowed for the ability to reserve some costs like pensions, which helps to offset costs when increases are more severe.
The capital project helped to address many of the urgent needs for our buildings. Because of this work, updates to our fundamental systems such as ventilation, instructional technology access, electrical wiring, and security, to name a few, have resulted in improved learning environments and experiences of our students.
How do you handle situations when someone strongly disagrees with you?
Boyle: I try to be a careful listener to better understand the other point of view. I try to find areas where there is commonality and an opportunity to connect on shared goals. No matter the outcome, I believe it’s important to acknowledge differences respectfully.
What do you consider your greatest failure, and what did you learn from it?
Boyle: My most recent failure was a Pilates class at the YMCA studios. I had difficulty with many of the exercises and wasn’t feeling very accomplished afterward. What I learned is that I need to go back and keep trying (and hope I don’t fall and sprain something).
How many years have you lived in Rye?
Boyle: 18
Where do you live in Rye?
Boyle: I live on Oakland Beach Ave.
What is your favorite Rye tradition?
Boyle: There are a few, but I have to start with the Rye-Harrison Game – Go Garnets! I also really enjoy all community events like the parades, holiday celebrations and all of the elementary school fairs throughout the year.
Thanks Jenn!
More info:
Jennifer Boyle has served on the Board of Education since 2016, as Vice President two times for a total of four years, and as President for the three years. She is currently Chair of the Policy Committee, the Board Liaison to the Curriculum Council and The Rye Fund for Education. During her Board tenure, she has served on the Audit, Communications, Facilities, Health and Safety, Technology, Wellness, and Policy Committees and on Management Council. Prior to joining the Board, Jenn served for four years as Co-Chair of the Friends of Rye City School District. Jenn has served the broader Rye community through volunteer work with the Rye Newcomers and Neighbors Club, the Auxiliary Board of Rye Presbyterian Nursery School (as Personnel Chair) and served on the Director Search Committee. She previously worked in Public Relations for Edelman, New York, and has a BA from Loyola University. Jenn is an 18-year Rye resident and has three children attending Rye Middle School and Rye High School.
