Green Party School Board Candidate Accepts Offer to Debate

Green Party candidate for Rochester City School District, David Atias, has announced that he has accepted an invitation to participate in a debate with his lone opponent.

Green Party School Board Candidate Accepts Offer to Debate

(Rochester) - Green Party candidate for Rochester City School District, David Atias, has announced that he has accepted an invitation to participate in a debate with his lone opponent, Domingo Garcia. The League of Women Voters and the Coalition for Common Sense in Education recently sent invitations to Atias and Garcia to participate in a debate on issues concerning the district. A time and place will be determined shortly.

"This is all a candidate could ask for – the opportunity to publicly discuss the issues with my opponent," said Atias. "While Domingo and I are both committed to public service, we definitely have different ideas on the direction of education in Rochester. The voters should be able to hear in what ways we differ that are more substantial than a soundbyte."

Issues Atias is referring to include the role of the school board in protecting classrooms from federal and state mandates, the transparency of district financial records and the district’s stance on high-stakes standardized testing.

"We are hoping that this debate will broadcast to the community in some fashion. It will be another example that shows the seriousness of Green Party candidates," added Green Party Chair, Jason Nabewaniec.

Atias also added, "I am confident that once the voters hear what my vision is for the Rochester City School District they will agree that thirty years of one party controlling the school board is long enough. It really is time to get focused on the things that matter and this debate will get that started."

When asked if anyone from the Atias campaign knows if Garcia has accepted the invitation to participate in the debate, Nabawaniec replied, "he may have accepted, but we haven’t gotten any official word from the League of Women Voters. I would be shocked if he didn’t accept the invitation."

Atias and Garcia are running for the school board seat left vacant by the resignation of David Perez earlier in the year.