When it comes to the Town Meeting Day elections for the Addison Central School District board, experience counts. That is why I will cast one of my votes for Steve Orzech of Middlebury.

Steve is seeking re-election to the board to continue many years of service, including several years when he and I overlapped. Steve looks at our multi-town school system as one educational community, and wants all students to have excellent and equitable opportunities at a cost folks can afford. That can lead to hard conversations, and Steve is blunt and clear, occasionally to a fault, but always with his eye on what is best for kids.

His school board service extends to the Hannaford Career Center, where his is an ACSD appointed member. The career center board gets much less public attention, so it is vital to have people on it who understand how it and the high schools that feed it function and work together. Steve has served the district well in this role.

I am most thankful for Steve’s lead on the ACSD board’s Negotiations Committee, one of the hardest and most thankless roles one can play on any school board. Steve succeeded me as the lead negotiator, but in more challenging times as federal COVID dollars dried up and health insurance premiums skyrocketed. Despite those challenges, ACSD emerged with fair, very responsible multi-year contracts with its teachers and support staff. That takes dedication and experience.

I look forward to Steve Orzech continuing to take on the challenges of our district and I look forward to voting for him.

Peter Conlon

Cornwall