BOE Candidates 2026-2027

NAME: Deborah A. Bouley

AGE: 68

YEARS IN DISTRICT: 32

EMPLOYMENT:

Retired Teacher in the NECSD School District – Master Teacher and Teacher Mentor, and an educator for the District’s Homeless Population afterschool program

EDUCATION:

Master of Science Degree – English and Education

Bachelor’s Degree – Business Administration

Associates Degree – Business Administration

SPOUSE/OCCUPATION/PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT:
N/A - not married

CHILDREN/AGES/SCHOOLS:
2 daughters that are NFA Graduates 2007 and 2012

NEWBURGH ENLARGED CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT COMMITTEES AND/OR COMMUNITY COMMITTEES SERVED ON:

Former Board of Education elected Trustee, BOE Policy Committee, BOE Personnel Committee, BOE Curriculum Committee, Strategic Planning Committee, Several Interview Committees, Negotiation’s Committee, Secondary Grievance Chairperson, Head Delegate, Kairos Prison Ministry

HOW WOULD YOU COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE?

If I could achieve any one educational accomplishment while serving as a Board of Education member it would be…… I would ensure that every student that crosses Academy Field is not just receiving a paper diploma but instead is leaving our care educated to be a productive adult member of society.

WHAT DO YOU VIEW AS THE BOARD OF EDUCATION’S TOP PRIORITIES?

Return to taxpayers the tax increase wrongly placed upon them in the 24/25 budget. As per the NYS Comptroller's Report released 2/26 there was no gap or deficit that required the increase. The information from the District personnel and some members of the BOE was misleading to taxpayers. Instead, there was a $17,000,000 surplus. In this report the State writes that the surplus money can be given back to taxpayers in the form of a reduction in taxes. And that is what needs to happen.

 

Monitoring that every administrator in every building is adhering to all aspects of the District’s Code of Conduct and SAVE legislation so that offending students receive consequences as required. No exceptions. Consistency so that students who break rules are not enabled to do it again, and sacrifice their learning and the learning of everyone else in their classrooms. Students do not learn if they don’t feel safe.

 

Significantly increase each school building’s proficiency in reading and math through specific changes in current systems and creating immediate quarterly monitoring reports. To be overseen by the BOE.

 

Require that all IEPs for students with disabilities are completed before the end of the school year and planned accordingly for staff to service the needs of the students as required by law so that is not November before they start receiving what they should have started in September. The legality of the IEP overrides what the district says it cannot do. We must do it. Reporting to the BOE must be required.

 

People in central office must work fully during the summer. Summers are the most critical times for planning and implementation of schedules, classes, busing, new board goals, etc. We can no longer wait until mid-year to get accurate data to inform decisions. Those must happen over the summer so that we are out of the gate in September.

 

The negative culture of Board of Education meetings, that developed over the past three years, must stop. No more lies, slanderous and defamatory statements about board members, made by particular board members and audience members. A new decorum of civility and maturity must be established and maintained so that our students don't think that this behavior is what should be modeled. Quite the contrary.

 

Professional Development days for staff and teachers must stop being created from the top down with little relevance and value to our employees. Our upper management, who has little if any classroom experience, is neither qualified nor credible to decide what PD looks like. For example, teachers should be able to truthfully express what they need- i.e. what to learn more about or get clarification about, or to meet with teachers from other buildings about ideas- that is what needs to be considered for PD days.

 

Trust, respect and integrity among employees and administration must be built, so that no employee ever is forced to work in defensive mode or is afraid of being targeted with false charges because they have personal beliefs that do not align with upper management. We must treat all teachers with the professional respect they have already earned through their education and experience. They are experts in education in our district. They have had much  of their autonomy removed, and their value minimized by being forced to use programs and curriculum that don’t work. We must restore educational planning and implementation to teachers and teaching teams.

 

The district claims it cannot fill jobs, why don't people want to work here? We do not know because we do not use exit interviews from employees resign to fix problems. We must.

 

All policies must align to student learning. There must be accountability and expectations.

 

NAME: Ramiro R Burgarelli

AGE: 53

YEARS IN DISTRICT: 41

EMPLOYMENT: Retired NYPD

EDUCATION: Marlboro Central High School

SPOUSE/OCCUPATION/PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT:
Lillian Burgarelli/Realtor

CHILDREN/AGES/SCHOOLS:
Sebastian/19/Florida Tech
Carmen/16/NFA Main

NEWBURGH ENLARGED CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT COMMITTEES AND/OR COMMUNITY COMMITTEES SERVED ON:
Library, Policy, Facilities


HOW WOULD YOU COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE?
If I could achieve any one educational accomplishment while serving as a Board of Education member it would be…..Improve reading /math scores district wide.

WHAT DO YOU VIEW AS THE BOARD OF EDUCATION’S TOP PRIORITIES?
Improve reading/math scores. Improve communication and fiscal transparency.

NAME: Victoria Bousche

AGE: 36

YEARS IN DISTRICT: 31

 

EMPLOYMENT: Assistant Office Manager

EDUCATION: NFA 2007, Pace University

SPOUSE/OCCUPATION/PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT:
N/A

CHILDREN/AGES/SCHOOLS:
Jaxson-6, New Windsor


NEWBURGH ENLARGED CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT COMMITTEES AND/OR COMMUNITY COMMITTEES SERVED ON:
BOE 24-25; Policy Committee, Curriculum Committee PTO President, New Windsor School 25-26 Son Jxson, Youth Goldbacks, Tackle/Flag

HOW WOULD YOU COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE?
If I could achieve any one educational accomplishment while serving as a Board of Education member it would be…… that every scholar walks across Academy Field with the confidence and knowledge to succed in life due to the education they recieved in our district

WHAT DO YOU VIEW AS THE BOARD OF EDUCATION’S TOP PRIORITIES?
1. A transparent budget
2. Well rounded student centered discussions
3. Ensuring a safe space for students
4. Taking accountability when needed, and adjusting when needed
5. Management and collaboration with the Superintendent

NAME: Letitia McDaniel Politi

AGE: 47

YEARS IN DISTRICT: Lifelong resident

EMPLOYMENT: Teacher 

EDUCATION:

AAS Fashion Design Fashion Institute of Technology

BS Production Management  Fashion Institute of Technology

MS Special Education Mount Saint Mary College

Certificate of Advanced Study: School Building and School District Leadership SUNY New Paltz

SPOUSE/OCCUPATION/PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT:
Electrician IBEW Local 363

CHILDREN/AGES/SCHOOLS:

MaryJane Politi age 19 SUNY Cortland

Augusten Politi age 14 South Middle

Levon Politi age 11 South Middle

Olive Politi age 9 Horizons on the Hudson

NEWBURGH ENLARGED CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT COMMITTEES AND/OR COMMUNITY COMMITTEES SERVED ON:

Personnel Library and Curriculum committees.

HOW WOULD YOU COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE?
If I could achieve any one educational accomplishment while serving as a Board of Education member it would be……To foster a lasting, transparent partnership between the district and our community, ensuring every decision we make is grounded in fiscal responsibility and more importantly in the shared belief that our schools are the heart of Newburgh’s future success.


WHAT DO YOU VIEW AS THE BOARD OF EDUCATION’S TOP PRIORITIES?

My top priority as a BOE member is to implement a comprehensive vertical aligned pipeline of support that spans from early childhood through graduation. Michael as a BOE member is a Co-architects of our “Portrait of a learner” Initiative, a road map that ensures every student's journey is purposeful, sequential, and that they will graduate with the skills they need to be successful.

NAME: Philip Howard

AGE: 64

YEARS IN DISTRICT: 50


EMPLOYMENT: Retired

EDUCATION: Attended Adelphi University 1982-1986

SPOUSE/OCCUPATION/PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: Jacquelin office manager Woodstock woodworking

CHILDREN/AGES/SCHOOLS:

None in school

NEWBURGH ENLARGED CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT COMMITTEES AND/OR COMMUNITY COMMITTEES SERVED ON:

Personnel, Finance, Policy, Exceptional Learners, Library, SAVE, Bus/transportation start times, Curriculum, Buildings & Grounds, Diversity Equity & Inclusion, NYSSBA “DEI” Committee, Newburgh Armory Unity Center Board of Directors, Newburgh Ministry Board of Directors

HOW WOULD YOU COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE?
If I could achieve any one educational accomplishment while serving as a Board of Education member it would be……Understanding that the role of a board member is to advocate for the best interest of students and the community, the one educational accomplishment I would champion would be the enhancement of our “Early literacy initiatives”, I believe this would positively impact student learning and ultimately increase our graduation rates.


WHAT DO YOU VIEW AS THE BOARD OF EDUCATION’S TOP PRIORITIES?

The top priorities of the BOE should be to ensure the success and well-being of all students, which should include academic excellence, student well-being, equity & inclusion, teacher support and development, parent and community engagement, financial responsibility, facility and resources responsibilities, curriculum development, assessment and accountability to measure student progress and teacher effectiveness and overall school performance, and long term planning.