Dr. Villanueva works with lawmakers, administrators at LHCSS conference

Oftentimes, the biggest battles facing a school district aren’t fought alone.

On Wednesday, Nov. 19 the Lower Hudson Council of School Superintendents held its monthly meeting in Harrison, NY, offering local school administrators an opportunity to confer with colleagues to discuss some of the challenges facing school districts across the area. But this particular meeting also gave district leaders a chance to meet with elected officials and advocate for reforms and transparency that will benefit a wide number of New York schools. 

EUFSD Superintendent Dr. Alison Villanueva was one of more than 140 people who attended last month's conference, an event that included superintendents and Board of Education members as well state senators and legislators such as State Senator Shelley Mayer and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin. Attendees participated in candid, productive discussions about the landscape of education in the state and how best to navigate larger economic and political trends while providing students with enriching learning experiences. 

Liaising with public officials is an important, yet sometimes overlooked, part of a superintendent’s job, explained Villanueva, who added that she was thrilled to have a chance to discuss policy with those—like Paulin and Mayer—who make decisions in Albany.

“When I was hired, I shared with the board that I felt that superintendent-level advocacy is very important, not only for the school district and the board members that they work for, but also for the entire community and public education in general,” said Villanueva. “So I think when they hired me, they not only got someone who loves education and wants to be in Eastchester, they also got someone who wants to take an active role in policy and legislation at the state level.”

Villanueva noted that Eastchester—like many districts across the state—are beholden to laws and policies that are enacted by state leaders, so events like last month’s conference are a vital step in ensuring that those policy-makers hear directly from the schools in their voting districts. Topics of discussion at the LHCSS meeting included a general decrease in state aid that will be felt by districts in coming years as well rising external costs associated with education—including transportation—that may present hardships for districts hoping to stay under the 2% tax cap levy as required under current state law.

“There are mandates that come down all the time that aren’t necessarily coupled with financial support; for instance, we all have to have electric buses (by 2027), but each bus costs between $400,000-$600,000, and there are a lot of questions about how local districts can handle that,” said Villanueva. “So it’s important to go to a meeting like this, where I can speak directly to people like Assemblywoman Paulin.

“The hope is that this will allow them to go back to Albany when they are in session, and say, ‘This is what I heard from my districts, this is what the impact is going to be,’” she added.

Villanueva acknowledged that, given the disparate wealth and size of districts across New York, lawmakers have a difficult needle to thread to ensure that all students—whether they live in rural, suburban or metro areas—have access to a first-rate education, and that the Nov. 19 meeting goes a long way in helping elected officials get a broader sense of educational needs across the state. 

“It’s a really tall order, and even when you’re thinking about Assemblywoman Paulin or State Senator Mayer, they serve a large number of districts that all have vastly different needs,” said Villanueva. “So this meeting was an attempt to show them that we’re not just fighting for Eastchester or our own district, we are looking for ways that we can all collectively benefit.”