By ARIEL ZANGLA
Freeman staff
azangla@freemanonline.com; twitter.com/ArielAtFreeman

SAUGERTIES, N.Y. — Four people are vying for three seats on the Saugerties Board of Education in Tuesday’s election.

The candidates are incumbents Teresa Bach-Tucker and Richard Petramale, former board member Donald Tucker and newcomer Lawrence Quick.

Each winner will serve a three-year term.

Voting will be from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the district’s four elementary schools. (Voters in Mount Marion Park will vote at the Riccardi Elementary School.)

Bach-Tucker, 53, served on the Board of Education from 1992 to 2001 and was re-elected in 2009. She is a 1978 graduate of James Madison High School and works as the produce manager at the Hurley Ridge Market.

Bach-Tucker lives on VanVlierden Road with her husband, Bruce Tucker, who works as a produce manager at Price Chopper. She has four children, two step-children and nine grandchildren.

Bach-Tucker did not respond to a question about her priorities for the district.

Petramale, 52, is seeking his fourth three-year term on the board. He is a 1977 graduate of Saugerties High School and is the co-owner of Saugerties Carpet. He lives on Deerhaven Lane and has an adult son.

“I’ve seen a lot,” Petramale said of his nine years on the board, including the district needing to overcome a financial deficit in the past few years. He said the district needs to do more to improve its graduation rate and that he would like to see if more extracurricular activities can be offered within the limits of the state’s new tax cap.

Tucker, 57, served on the Board of Education from 2003 to 2009 and on the Saugerties Village Board from 1986 to 2003. He is a 1973 graduate of Saugerties High School and is a sergeant with the Saugerties Police Department. Tucker lives on state Route 32 with his wife, Barbara, an aide at Saugerties High School. They have an adult daughter. Continued...

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“Continuing the high level of education the children are receiving” is a priority, Tucker said. He said he would like to be able to reduce taxes but would need teachers to help by offering give-backs. Tucker said the teachers need to look at what they can afford to give up and what the taxpayers can no longer afford.

He added that he wants to keep the district moving forward and wants to reinstate programs that have been cut.

Quick, 59, is seeking his first term on the board. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1971 to 1975 and received an associate’s degree in business from Ulster County Community College in 1977. Quick lives on Old Stage Road, is married and has an adult son. He is semi-retired, but works as a substitute teacher in the Saugerties school district.

Quick said cost is a problem for district residents because they cannot afford school tax hikes. He said he would like to implement a suggestion program and a cost-effectiveness program in which employees would be rewarded for coming up with ideas that benefit the district and save money.

“I believe in rewarding people for their brains,” Quick said.

He added that he would like to try a two-team approach to teaching as a way to increase graduation rates. Quick said each team would use different techniques to see what is most effective at keeping students in school.

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