Long-Time Fair Haven Board Member Says Good-Bye

The decision to not seek re-election came with a “heavy heart” said Andrea Bakst, the second-longest serving member on Fair Haven’s Board of Education. But after twenty years, but she believed the time has come for new members and new blood to come to the board.

Bakst has sat through countless meetings, helped with numerous budgets and negotiated dozens of contracts. She has served on the board through a school reorganization, three superintendents (four, if you include an interim one) and seven principals. She has spent countless hours serving as a board member. But, said Bakst, “It has been my honor to be on the school board,”  and she described it as a “pleasure, not a chore.”

Her time spent serving on the BOE has not gone unnoticed. Many who served alongside Bakst, or knew her in her BOE role, all raved about her advocacy of the children, her competency, her ability to listen to everyone’s concerns and her ability to give sound advice.

Numerous people who have worked with Andrea over the years sent Patch emails, and the chain continued, with others who wanted an opportunity to comment on Bakst’s service.

“SHE WILL BE MISSED!”

The superintendent of FH School District from 1999 to 2007, Bill Presutti, said in his comments on Bakst: “When I think of the model board member, I think of Andrea Bakst.  First and foremost, she always has students at the center of her thinking. Second, she has a gift of sorting through the wheat and the chaff of any issue and getting to the essence in a clear, effective and respectful manner.” Presutti is now the superintendent of the Union County Education Services Commission.

 “The students and community of Fair Haven have been very fortunate to have Andrea has a board member and advocate all these years.  And I was most fortunate to have worked with her on behalf of the students.  She will be missed!” Presutti commented.

Current Superintendent Kathi Cronin said that in the four years she has known and worked with Bakst, “I have always found her to be a person who listens carefully to all sides of a situation before making a decision. She is hardworking, fair and a true child advocate. We always comment that Andrea has the unique ability to sit quietly during lively debates and discussions and then as the discussion winds down to sum everything up into one pearl of information that everyone completely understands. She is truly a clear thinker.”

Andrea was the only board president that Cronin has worked with, but she said she could always rely on Bakst to give sound advice. “She is smart, wise, competent and hardworking and has done a wonderful job of training our newest board members in protocols and procedures,” Cronin said.  She said that Andrea will “sorely be missed,” and added that she has learned so much from working with her in four years.

Nancy Walrath, a current board member, also praised Bakst. “Andrea has been a calming force on the board. She did not/does not have an agenda to push, but always strives to ensure the highest level of academics for students, excellence in teachers, respect for teachers as professionals, and has been an advocate for special education as an integral part of our mission.”

According to Wrath, who has sat beside Bakst on the board of ed’s dais for 16 years, Andrea was not far behind in her years of service to the longest-serving FH board member Bud Dupree, who served for 22 years. 

“Andrea is very well spoken, and is able to diffuse situations where people's emotions take over their willingness to think or act objectively. It will be a difficult transition as longstanding board members like Andrea retire. I will miss her on the board,” Wrath said.

“QUIET FORCE ON THE BOARD”

Bakst is described by Business Administrator Valery Petrone as a “quiet force on the board. “She has been a staunch advocate of children, the curriculum, the staff and the taxpayer.  She lets the discussion go on while she observes, listens and weighs all opinions, letting everyone be heard and then sums up all that was said beautifully getting right to the heart of the matter.”

“Her unwavering desire to do the best for children, her common sense, compassion and empathy are a wonderful mix that has served this board and the community well. To say that she will be missed is quite an understatement,” Petrone wrote.

Bakst said she has a “heavy heart” about leaving, but believes it is important to let new people serve on the board. She described her two decades on the board as “very rewarding. I love the school system and enjoyed all the people and the administration. It was a very rewarding experience for me, so I just kept going.” She described Fair Haven as cooperative, and she said she always enjoyed working with so many of the administrators.

There have been changes in superintendents, principals and even the curriculum during Bakst’s tenure and she oversaw it all. “But, it has always been positive. Stability has made the district a remarkable place.”

For Bakst, “the most important aspect of a town is the school district, and Fair Haven schools are wonderful, they are a gem. We have fabulous administrators and teaching staff,” she said. She praised her fellow board members, and said that every year, “you need to be respectful of the taxpayer and provide quality service. It’s always been a careful group, and has always been very budget conscious.”

Even after her children were both out of the school district, Bakst stayed on as board member. Her youngest graduated last May from college. “It was liberating to be on the board when my children were out of school,” Bakst said.

Wrath said that for Bakst to stay on as board member even after her children left the district is telling: “It takes dedication and commitment to continue to serve after you no longer have students in the system,” she said.

Indeed, for Bakst, serving on the board has been a continuous education for her, and the position is something that she enjoyed and found rewarding.

The two decades of service that Bakst gave may be coming to a close, but her legacy will include being a “role model” board member. And the impact she had on the children, administrators, teachers and taxpayers of Fair Haven will be long-lasting, as proven by the remarks of her colleagues.