CANTON — Elections for local school districts loom closer and several candidates have thrown their hats into the ring to vie for seat on the Canton Central School District Board of Education.

In Canton, seven candidates are running for five open seats on May 18. Voting is from noon-8 p.m.

Victor N. Rycroft

Victor Rycroft, who is running for re-election, currently serves as president of the Canton board of education and has served on the board for 15 years.

“The past year has been a very trying one for our District as a whole. Our staff has worked extremely hard to maintain our educational goals and programs during the pandemic. Educational and support staff have worked hand-in-hand to provide for our students. I can easily recall numerous occasions where staff members have gone ‘above and beyond’ to support our programs,” Rycroft writes in the school newsletter.

Rycroft said that despite the challenges of the last year, the school has maintained services to all students through the hard work of the staff.

“Your board is currently constructing a budget for the upcoming year. As always we are trying to insure we get the “biggest bang” for our dollars. Rising costs in all areas present challenges in all aspects of the budget process,” Rycroft said. “As always I have strived to keep informed on all the issues that affect students and our taxpayers. I will continue to work hard for you and our kids. I can only say that I will do my best to promote our students’ best interests and protect the financial considerations of you, the taxpayer.”

Robert E. Larrabee

Rob Larrabee is a long time resident of Canton. He graduated from St. Lawrence University in 1997 and married his college sweetheart Beth Bullock of Canton.

For the last 24 years they have been living in the village raising their 5 daughters.

Larrabee is a 19-year member of the Canton Fire Department and a 15-year trooper with the New York State Police.

He has been active in the community in other ways as well, including acting in local plays, coaching youth sports and singing the national anthem at many school events.

Larrabee is looking forward to the opportunity to help the Canton School District move forward in this challenging time he said.

Andrew S. Moses

Andrew Moses has been a member of the school board for the last two years and said he is proud of what the school has accomplished.

“As a board we have had to navigate new and difficult waters due to COVID, but have worked hard to keep Canton Central students and staff as our priority,” Moses said. “I have spent most of the last 29 years as an attorney in St. Lawrence County with a practice focusing on Children and Families.

For the last seven years, Moses and his wife have been co-chairs of the Canton Music Friends supporting music and theatre students and programs.

“I have been honored to represent the Canton community on your school board for the last two years and hope to have the pleasure of continuing to serve you for another term,” Moses said.

Susan M. Grandaw

Susan M. Grandaw has been a speech-language pathologist for SLL BOCES for 12 years and worked as an SLP in a variety of settings (school, hospital, nursing home, public health) for 25 years.

Grandaw’s children both attended Canton schools from pre-K to graduation. Her daughter is a junior in college working towards a degree as a PT assistant and her son is a senior at Canton this year.

“I have been actively involved with academics my entire life as both of my parents were teachers and my mother was a past board member for both the Morristown School board and the SLL BOCES board. I know first hand how demanding a position being a school board member can be from listening to my mother over the years,” she said.

“I also have been involved in Special Education both as an educator for students who have deficits in Speech and Language as well as having a child who utilized special education services to assist with academics. I have seen parents who are baffled by the special education system try to manage the system to provide for their children. I have been an advocate for my child who has needed those same services in order to succeed. I have been a part of remote learning for my students and for my own children. I have seen the process succeed and I have seen it fail. I think we need to focus on making the process succeed for every one of our students, not just the ones who have people ‘in their corner’ pushing the system,” Grandaw said.

“Our students need opportunities to expand their skills and learn new things in the classroom, on the stage and on the sports field. If you vote for me I will do my best to support all students equally and without bias,” she said.

Kate Halleron Murphy

Kate Halleron Murphy lives in Canton with her husband, Dave, and their four children, three of whom are currently in the Canton Central School District. Maeve will be entering sixth grade, Mac will be entering fourth grade, and Daniel will be entering first grade in fall 2021.

Murphy teaches in the education department at St. Lawrence University, focusing on issues in contemporary US education and the practice of teaching. She holds an M.A. in english literature from New York University and a M.S. in english education (7-12) from Syracuse University.

Her primary motivation to serve on the board is a fervent belief in the power of a high quality and holistic education that meets all students’ needs, regardless of background, her bio said. Particularly after such a tumultuous 2020-2021 school year, Murphy said she is interested in guaranteeing all students equal access to the education and co-curricular activities that CCSD offers. She aims to focus on transparent and effective leadership; student-centered governance; mental health resources for students, teachers, and families; and adaptive responses that will best meet the needs of our unique district, thinking beyond one-size-fits-all state and federal models.

Her ultimate goal as a board member will be to listen to and work with the community—students, teachers, parents, administrators, and Canton residents alike—to strengthen and expand the district’s curriculum and programming, she said.

Wendy Todd

Wendy Todd has three students at Canton Central, including a son in the class of 2025 and both a son and daughter in the class of 2029. Todd’s husband, Aaron, is a Canton native and Canton Central School graduate and they have made Canton their home since 2016.

Todd is a community volunteer, having served as secretary, and then president of the Banford Parents Organization since 2017. In 2019, she took over as co-commissioner of the Canton Pee Wee Association’s Baseball Program.

“Before we moved to Canton, I was president of the Board of Parent Talk, a non-profit organization in the Boston suburbs whose mission is to help families of young children connect, learn, play, and grow together and build community,” Todd said.

Professionally, Todd is a vice president of Energy Insights at DNV, with over 20 years of experience as a project manager for utility-scale commercial and industrial energy efficiency programs leveraging her understanding of energy markets and systems. She has a B.A. in environmental economics from Middlebury College and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Michigan.

“If elected I will draw from my experiences as a parent, professional, and community volunteer to focus on two key issues essential for a successful school board,” Todd said. “One, representation – I believe the board should accurately represent the entirety of the CCSD family. We need to put aside the wants of the individual and listen to, understand, and represent the needs of our larger community. Two, open communication – We need to work together to make transparent decisions based on facts and expert advice. This is achieved by including all stakeholders in our conversations and making sure CCSD students, families, educators, and administration are invited to actively contribute their experiences and expertise to our deliberations.”

Christopher Marquart

Christopher Marquart is a graduate of the Class of 1999 and has two children enrolled in Banford Elementary. Marquart has 17 years of experience in higher education, currently serving as the assistant dean of student life at St. Lawrence University, and holds a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from the University of Vermont.

“I am very excited to be running for a seat on the Board of Education. My professional experience, educational background, and long-standing commitment to the Canton community make me a strong candidate for our district at this important time,” Marquart said.

“I understand the intangible benefits our children enjoy from growing up in this special close-knit district, yet also understand how it benefits them for us – as a collective community – to keep pushing for positive change so they are prepared to be thoughtful and engaged citizens in the world, no matter what their plans may be after graduation,” he said.

Key areas of interest Marquart hopes to advocate for on the board include proactive support for mental health of students and staff, comprehensive K-12 curriculum alignment, additional funding for instructional support and co-curricular opportunities, and strengthening communication between the school and the community.

“The past year of my life has been dedicated to making sure St. Lawrence University students were able to enjoy a safe, yet productive college experience during COVID-19,” Marquart said. “I would welcome the opportunity to contribute to similar discussions on the board to ensure all Canton Central School students have the same opportunity to enjoy a positive experience in the classroom, with extracurricular activities, and on the playing field.”