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Amy Moselhi
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Amy Moselhi is an at-large representative on the New Rochelle School District school board in New York. Moselhi won a first term in the at-large general election on May 16, 2017.
This candidate participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to view her responses.
Biography
Moselhi's professional experience includes working as a civil engineer and an artist. As of the 2017 election, she was serving on the Board of Hearts and Homes for Refugees.[1]
Elections
2017
Two of the nine seats on the New Rochelle School District school board in New York were up for at-large general election on May 16, 2017. Four candidates filed for the open seats: former candidate Vincent Malfetano and newcomers Amy Moselhi, Moraydda Rosado, and Paul Warhit. Warhit and Moselhi won the election to win their first terms on the board.[2][3]
Results
| New Rochelle School District, At-Large General Election, 5-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Amy Moselhi |
38.47% | 1,921 |
| Paul Warhit |
31.70% | 1,583 |
| Moraydda Rosado | 17.26% | 862 |
| Vincent Malfetano | 12.56% | 627 |
| Total Votes | 4,993 | |
| Source: New Rochelle School District, "Official Results of Votes Cast at the Annual School Board Election/Budget Vote of the City School District of New Rochelle," accessed September 6, 2017 | ||
Funding
| 2017 Campaign Finance Deadlines in New York[4] | |
|---|---|
| Date | Deadline |
| April 17, 2017 | First report due (pre-general) |
| May 11, 2017 | Second report due (pre-general) |
| June 5, 2017 | Third report due (post-general) |
All school board candidates in New York who raise or spend more than $50 are required to file campaign finance reports. If candidates raise or spend less than $1,000 they are required to file with their city or county's board of elections. If they raise or spend over $1,000, they must file with the New York State Board of Elections. Candidates who raise or spend less than $50 (including their own personal funds) do not have to file any reports. If this occurs, candidates are required to file an exemption statement with the appropriate board of elections.[5]
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Amy Moselhi participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[6] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on May 4, 2017:
| “ | New Rochelle schools have the distinct opportunity to serve families from all walks of life; as such, ensuring educational excellence and equity in our district is critical. I am committed to the arts and believe that this is a program that must be avaible to all children at all grades. We must ensure that we remain committed to our strategic road map and hold all staff to the level of “cultural competence” described therein. A vote for me is vote for: • a keen eye on the bond money through a very strong understanding of construction management and contract enforcement • an unwavering commitment to the principles that make a diverse public school district strong • Commitment to the implementation of policies that will help protect the trajectory of the district. I am committed to the idea that all children in our district are equal in their right to a great education from the building resources to the classroom pedagogy. It is incumbent on the BOE to ensure that resources are equitably distributed to ensure that equality is reached. I am excited about the idea of working with the other honorable elected school board members to help move the district further along the path to forge open and dynamic interactions with our great community. Together we will help New Rochelle’s children dream and become whatever they want to be.[7][8] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in New York. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| “ | I moved to New Rochelle in 2011 in search of a safe, diverse, culturally-enriched neighborhood to raise my son and love the City and hope to help push our district in the direction of excellence both academically and in the area of capital improvement. I am not only an accomplished Civil Engineer and the CEO of United Structure Solution Inc., but I am also an artist and an advocate. I serve on the Board of Hearts and Homes for Refugees, am a member of the New Rochelle MBK Race Relations Committee; a member of the Junior league and am the PTA Executive Co-Chair for the Board of Education and Daniel Webster School. New Rochelle schools have the distinct opportunity to serve families from all walks of life; as such, ensuring educational excellence and equity in our district is critical. I am committed to the arts and believe that this is a program that must be avaible to all children at all grades. We must ensure that we remain committed to our strategic road map and hold all staff to the level of “cultural competence” described therein. A vote for me is vote for: • a keen eye on the bond money through a very strong understanding of construction management and contract enforcement • an unwavering commitment to the principles that make a diverse public school district strong • Commitment to the implementation of policies that will help protect the trajectory of the district. I am committed to the idea that all children in our district are equal in their right to a great education from the building resources to the classroom pedagogy. It is incumbent on the BOE to ensure that resources are equitably distributed to ensure that equality is reached. I am excited about the idea of working with the other honorable elected school board members to help move the district further along the path to forge open and dynamic interactions with our great community. Together we will help New Rochelle’s children dream and become whatever they want to be.[8] | ” |
| —Amy Moselhi (May 4, 2017) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer eight questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| No. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should defer to school board decisions in most cases. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Offer additional training options. Offer additional training options. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Rarely and it should be watched closely to ensure it is not used on one segment of the population over another. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Parent involvement |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Talk of the Sound, "New Rochelle Board and Budget Vote Set for Tuesday, May 16th," May 2, 2017
- ↑ New Rochelle Talk of the Sound, "New Rochelle School and Library Budget Pass; Democrats Win 3 Seats, 2 on School Board, 1 on Library Board," accessed May 17, 2017These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available.
- ↑ Elisabeth Moore, "Email exchange with Liz Saraiva, Clerk and Secretary to the Board of Education," May 2, 2017
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedfinance - ↑ New York Board of Elections, "Campaign Finance Handbook," accessed May 8, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Amy Moselhi's responses," May 4, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| New Rochelle School District elections in 2017 | |
| Westchester County, New York | |
| Election date: | May 16, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-Large: Vincent Malfetano • Amy Moselhi • Moraydda Rosado • Paul Warhit |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
