Atias Calls Press Conference to Highlight Opponent’s Refusal to Debate

Rochester City School Board Candidate, David Atias, is holding a press conference on Tuesday, October 26th at 5:00pm in front of the district’s Central Office Building at 131 West Broad Street. The press conference is to call attention to Domingo Garcia’s refusal to accept a League of Women Voters’ invitation to debate.

Atias Calls Press Conference to Highlight Opponent’s Refusal to Debate

(Rochester) – Rochester City School Board Candidate, David Atias, is holding a press conference on Tuesday, October 26^th at 5:00pm in front of the district’s Central Office Building at 131 West Broad Street. The press conference is to call attention to Domingo Garcia’s refusal to accept a League of Women Voters’ invitation to debate.

"Apparently my opponent doesn’t feel the need to discuss the critical issues facing our schools and the children who are in them," said Atias. "I have been ready to go since the moment I received the League of Woman Voters’ invitation. When he refused to answer them, I personally invited Mr. Garcia at a candidates night that we were both present."

Green Party Chair, Jason Nabewaniec said, "This isn’t a huge surprise. Our votes are taken for granted because there hasn’t been a non-Democrat elected to the board in thirty years. They haven’t been held accountable and don’t see the need to participate in a real democracy. It’s the same attitude the school board has held towards the general public for years. Candidates have an obligation to their prospective constituents to communicate."

This summer, Atias decided to run for the open seat on the board when it was discovered that the Democratic candidate was going to be unopposed. "If you’re running against me, you’re not going to get by on a platform of – vote for me because I’m an ‘insider’. I’m going to push you to talk about what you believe in. It’s not enough to say we need to fix our schools. The people deserve details," said Atias.

Zuzana Szewczyk, Secretary of the local Green Party added, "You don’t get anointed Commissioner of Schools. Students, parents, teachers and taxpayers deserve to hear what vision the candidates have for the most important part of our community.

Atias has been running on a 32-point platform that is available at www.schoolboardforkids.org. He has been focusing on the moratorium of high-stakes standardized testing and the transparency of district finances.