And the Media Weighs In!

The full City Newspaper School Board endorsements can be reached through this link

Of interest to our readers: City only endorsed three candidates out of a field of eight, but there are four seats up for grabs.

Curiously, this ran in the same edition as some serious news about School District finances (click here)

This is what they have to say about Willa:

A retired captain in the Army Reserve completing her third term on the school board, Powell is a bright, experienced board member who often distinguishes herself with her independence. Although she voted to hire Jean-Claude Brizard, she was one of the first of his supporters on the board to become disenchanted. That contributed to some uncertainty about her among the board majority, whose members weren’t sure when they could count on her support.

But her independence is valuable, on the board and in the community. We don’t always agree with her, but her opinions are usually carefully reasoned and are consistent with her understanding of the district and her commitment to its children. She’s never timid about standing up for her convictions, speaking out firmly against mayoral control and digging in her heels in the dispute over state legislation regarding the school modernization program and adequate funding for Rochester schools. She is a strong ally of teachers, and is endorsed by the Rochester Teachers Association. While we don’t advocate letting the teachers union run the district, teachers’ viewpoints absolutely must be represented on the school board. And right now, teachers are under fire from too many quarters.

We sometimes get the sense that Powell believes that the solution to the district’s financial problems is more state funding, not recognizing the need for restraint in a time of extreme federal, state, and local limitations. But of all the board members, she probably has the best understanding of the district’s finances, both the day-to-day issues and the long-term structural challenges. For months, for example, she has raised questions about the modernization program, questioning whether the district can afford the costs it is committing to. And her long service on the board, with the institutional memory that provides, is crucial right now.

Powell isn’t popular among some Democratic leaders – so much so that the party’s endorsement of her was questionable this year. And we wish she were better able to articulate her concerns and engage the public around them. But she is so valuable in so many ways that it would be a loss to the district and the community if she were not re-elected.