Four vying for two Watertown BOE seats; candidates bring varied experience to the table
May 14—WATERTOWN — There are two seats open on the Watertown City School District Board of Education, with four vying for a spot. Both seats come with three-year terms. Each qualified voter per household in the district will receive their own ballot. Terms are to begin July 1 and end June 30, 2025.
Fredric "Fred" J. Sovie, 55
A veteran of various area school districts, Mr. Sovie has 31 years of teaching experience. Born and raised in Watertown and a 1985 graduate of Watertown High, Mr. Sovie began his teaching career in the Catholic school system at Immaculate Heart Central, teaching elementary levels for two years and then moving to the high school to teach art. He then accepted a job at Copenhagen Central School and taught in the district for the next eight years. He began teaching in the Watertown City School District in the early 2000s, most recently teaching art at the high school. In his career as an educator, Mr. Sovie has taught kindergarten to 12th grade. His wife now teaches kindergarten in the district.
"I don't want to just walk away from education all together, and I figured my wife has another two years to go, so I'll run for the board," he said. "Watertown is a great school. I want to see that it stays a great school."
Mr. Sovie said he's seen a lot in his career, which he believes would make him an asset to the board. With a platform aimed at focusing on communication as well as the mental and emotional health of students, he said his goal will be to help keep things running smoothly.
"My goal is to make sure kids are No. 1," he said.
As an art teacher, Mr. Sovie said he'd like to see the arts, music and visual arts thrive. He noted that sometimes he has had students in his classroom tell him the only reason they came to school that day was to finish an art project they were working on. He said that means a lot.
If elected, Mr. Sovie is confident he would be able to work alongside fellow board members with the best interests of students in mind.
"More than 30 years teaching, I've seen a lot of things happen," Mr. Sovie said. "So if problems do arise in the future, I'd be able to talk it over with the other board members and say, 'Hey, let's try this, or we should look into this, because I've been in situations like this before.'"
Eboni V. Combs, 37
Born and raised in Watertown, Mrs. Combs graduated from Watertown High School in 2002 and works as a caseworker for Jefferson County Child Protective Services. She has two older children already in the district and her youngest will be entering pre-K soon.
"There's obviously a personal interest in just wanting to be informed about what's going on in the school and being active," she said. "And with my job, I have an interest in working with children and making sure that they are cared for and protected. And part of that is the educational piece and making sure that kids are getting a good foundation because education is so important."
Mrs. Combs said now is the time to run for the board because one of her children will be graduating next year, so she should have a bit more free time after that. She was interested in running a few years ago, but her youngest had just been born and she wanted to make sure that when she ran, she would be able to commit to the job.
"I'm gonna have more free time on my hands to commit and really dive in and hopefully, if I'm elected, just give it my all," she said.
Part of Mrs. Combs' job with CPS is investigating educational neglect reports, working collectively with schools when there are concerns about kids not receiving a proper education. She said this gives her a unique opportunity to talk with the families and to the teachers and school officials to see what obstacles they're facing.
"I think I'm able to bring a unique perspective as far as what policies and procedures could use some tweaking or help," she said. "With these ever-changing times, things have been different almost every single day, so we need to make sure our kids and teachers are feeling supported."
If elected, Mrs. Combs said she'd like to see what types of issues the board is facing and work together with fellow board members to solve those problems.
"I have the ability to work collectively and collaboratively with many different people in many different situations," Mrs. Combs said. "So I think that would be an asset to the board."
Culley T. Gosier, 47
Mr. Gosier, director of creative services at WWNY-TV, Channel 7, grew up in Adams Center and was a product of the South Jefferson school district. He has been in the Watertown district since shortly after finishing college about 25 years ago.
The only incumbent in this year's pool of candidates, Mr. Gosier has served for the past five years on the board.
"When I was elected five years ago, it was voted on to reduce the term from five years to three, so I was the last person to actually serve a five-year term," he said. "I've had a pretty good amount of experience with it and I like to be involved, to be active in the community. I think it's important."
He said he is surrounded by dedicated members of the board, staff, teachers and administrators, so it's a pleasure getting to work with them.
"I think that the past five years will show I work well with the current board as well as past board members," he said. "We're fairly like-minded, but the board is made up of different various community members, and me not coming from an education background or necessarily a business background I think helps and just adds that different perspective to the board."
Mr. Gosier's wife Jeri is a teacher, as are many of his family members and friends, so education is very important to him.
His two children attend school in the district. With both of them heavily involved in sports, he said if he's asked to lend a hand, he will say yes if time permits.
Regardless of Tuesday's outcome, he said he is thankful for current and past board members, the administration he has worked with and his family.
Pamela D. Desormo, 58
Having considered running for the board for a few years, when the opportunity once again presented itself Mrs. Desormo figured it was time to throw her hat in the ring.
Clerk for the town of Watertown, Mrs. Desormo grew up in Philadelphia and attended Indian River High School. She moved to Watertown in 1983 when she got married and has been there ever since. Though she no longer has children in the district, she does have grandchildren in school and remains interested in parental rights.
"I believe in parental rights, and I'm not saying that's a problem or anything here, but I hear across the country a lot of parents are not being able to speak at board meetings and different things," she said. "I thought, I'd like to know what's going on in the school district, I want to kind of protect my grandkids and other kids in school. I don't think that the Watertown school district does anything wrong, I just think it's time at this point in my life to get involved."
Mrs. Desormo said she doesn't think she's any more qualified that the other candidates, she's just interested in participating and is willing to do the homework to be able to do so. And if parents are having issues, she'd like to be able to advocate for them. No stranger to working with a board, Mrs. Desormo co-chairs the Watertown Town Planning Board and has been involved with it for about 22 years.
If elected, she said she is looking forward to getting to know school board members and hopes they can all work together for the school district.
"I'm not looking to rock the boat, I'm not going in to criticize anything anybody's done because that's not my point," she said. "I'd just like to put my input in and help any way I can."
