Over the past six weeks, in connection with my decision to run for a second term on the school board, I have looked for opportunities to sit down informally with friends and neighbors, to listen to their hopes and concerns regarding the district and to share my perspective on where we are today and where we must head.

These conversations have been constructive on many levels. They have helped me gain a richer appreciation for how we might successfully navigate an optimal path for our district, and they have helped guide my own personal decision-making during this year's challenging process of developing a budget to present for community approval next month.

In my meetings, one set of questions has come up over and over. "Why would you want to serve another term on the school board?" With all the controversy we have faced (and may continue to face) and with my only child having graduated MHS last June, many people seem truly surprised that I would want to take on the challenge of another term for this volunteer, unpaid position.

Today I would like to share with the entire community why I am running for re-election.

First, I care deeply about our schools and about our community's children. My son received an extraordinary education in his 13 years in Manhasset - his experience here ranged from challenging and enriched academics to full participation in our arts and interscholastic sports programs. For me, this is a time to give back.

When I ran for the school board, it was to serve all the children, and I remain fully committed to all the children. In fact, it is my fervent belief that all our current and future students should receive as rich an experience in Manhasset as my son did.

My platform three years ago included a strong message on accountability. During my first term, my thoughts on accountability have become more clearly defined. We need a more formal continuous improvement model, something I have proposed, in which we build upon our outstanding programs and are prepared to restructure or eliminate our weaker ones. We must find ways to recognize and celebrate exemplary teaching. We must strive for ever higher levels of academic performance for students of all abilities, and we must hold accountable teachers and students - as well as administrators, board members and parents - to play their respective roles in achieving this very important goal.

Second, my platform three years ago also included a strong message on the need to incorporate multi-year planning into our annual budget process and on the need to couple top-rate programs with fiscal discipline. (Prior to joining the board, in my capacity as chair of the CAC for Finance, a committee on which I served for 11 years including eight as its chair, I pushed the district - unsuccessfully - to adopt multi-year budget planning.) Last spring, after much discussion, we were finally able to develop sufficient consensus for having the CAC for Finance assist the board in developing a 5-year forward-looking budget model. I served as board liaison to the CAC subcommittee which this fallundertook the project, and through yeoman's work the subcommittee produced a framework which can now be used to help develop plans forrestraining the rate of growth in our budget. Additionally, I have played a significant role in analyzing our budgetary growth and framing for the board, the administration and the community the key underlying drivers.

During my term, the board of education and administration focused on creating an environment of greater fiscal accountability. I am committed to seeing this process through to its natural conclusion, and I am committed to doing so in a way that preserves and builds upon the excellence for which Manhasset is so well known and regarded.

Third, I have a collaborative approach to working with others and am firmly committed to developing consensus. This style has served me well in my years of service to the district, and I believe it is exactly whatis required at the moment. More lasting, positive change can be effectuated when an effort is made to develop broad-based consensus around the need to conduct our business differently. Our schools will thrive - and the trust the community has placed in the district will be preserved - so long as we maintain a dual commitment to academic excellence and to prudent and appropriate spending.

The Manhasset School District is clearly at a defining moment. How we deal with the issues that face us today will dictate for years to come the quality, character and cost of the educational program that is offered to our community's children.

I was encouraged to run for the school board three years ago by people who thought my financial background coupled with my love for the schools and my experience on the CAC would make a real difference. That is as true today as it was three years ago, except now I also bring to the table the knowledge, perspective and experience necessary to effectively capitalize on the positive initiatives currently underway - many of which I promoted.

We have only just begun a several-year process of truly increasing our fiscal accountability.

We must move forward to accommodate our increasingly large population of students with an expansion of our facilities, which will involve the creation of a new middle school in our secondary school complex.

We have a climate study that was conducted earlier this school year - in part to create an environment of greater accountability - and it requires follow-through.

Also requiring follow -hrough is continued attention to the recommendations of last year's Special Education study, which I strongly advocated as a means for the board to improve the program while better handling our costs.

We have an expiring contract to negotiate with our teachers' union. Following many years of making recommendations to the board on this important issue in my capacity as CAC chair, this is my first opportunity as a member of the board to positively impact the process.

We must redouble our energies to develop a more cost-effective solution to the district's transportation needs.

We must honestly and critically evaluate the educational benefits and the financial costs over time of all our programs (new and existing ones alike) to ensure that we are moving toward ever higher levels of excellence in an economically sound way.

Finally, I will continue to push for the adoption by the board of a long-term vision for the district, which would be informed by community input, so that we have a well-articulated, agreed-upon, broad-based framework for evaluating our programs, defining excellence, and assessing district performance.

I am running for re-election because there remains plenty of unfinished business, because I have a deep commitment to getting this done right, because I have the experience and skill set to see it through, and because it is an honor and privilege to serve this community.

Reuben Cohen

Vice President

Manhasset Board of Education