Why I Applied for the Nomination to the SBNC for Board of Education and Still Want to Serve

This letter was sent to Scarsdale10583 by school board candidate Woodrow W. Crouch, PE

I was nominated to the slate for the Board of Education by the School Board Nominating Committee (SBNC) to the seat for Art Rublin. I want to thank the SBNC for honoring me with this nomination, for all their hard work and Sundays sacrificed. If elected I will do them proud!

I recently learned that Fuehrer is going to contest the election and run against me specifically for Art Rublin’s seat. Alison Singer won Pam Fuehrer’s seat for the SBNC nomination.

I thought I should let the community know about me and why I am going to continue through to the election on May 15th. ACTA NON VERBA

My wife and I have lived in Scarsdale for 40 years. Though I am not in my 40s, I am also not in my 80s! As an older empty nester, I am deeply invested in the Scarsdale community. I have a BS from the US Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) and a MSME from Columbia University and am a licensed New York State Professional Engineer. I was honored with the Outstanding Professional Achievement Award from the USMMA for exemplifying the best tradition of the Corps “ACTA NON VERBA” (Deeds Not Words). I work to exemplify this motto in all parts of my life.

I spent the majority of my career at the New York Power Authority (NYPA). At NYPA, I was Vice President of Project Management and led billion dollar engineering and construction projects for gas, oil and hydroelectric power plants, high voltage transmission lines and high voltage underground and underwater cables. I also led a billion dollar modernization of 29 units of the Niagara and St Lawrence hydroelectric facilities.

Early in my career, I was the project manager for a new coal fired plant fraught with contention on Staten Island. I spent 7 years obtaining extensive licenses and permits and meeting with the community to discuss the project and respond to questions. The Congressman from Staten Island strongly opposed the power plant and its impact on the community.

Years later, I undertook an impossible project for NYPA: the installation of ten power plants throughout New York City to prevent summer blackouts. This effort was accomplished in nine month from August 2000 to June 2001! Because of the trust I built early in my career with local politicians and community leaders, I was able to accomplish the impossible. On Staten Island, that congressman from years prior said, “If Woody Crouch is going to do this job, I will support it. I trust Woody.” This is an example of my ability to work with the community on contentious projects through honesty, respect and thoughtfulness. I believe in always telling the truth. I will bring these qualities to the Board.

I have worked with unions on all my projects to ensure that everyone was treated fairly, with respect and that the safety of the personnel was a number one priority. The workers know me from my being on the job sites and taking an interest in their work and they respect me. A respect that is not given easily, but is earned. Since retiring I has served as a Vice President at Skanska and Noble Environmental Power. I am currently founder and Chief Executive Officer of DC Transmission Partners LLC.

As a leader in the utility industry, I was President of the United States Society on Dams and Chairman of the Construction Committee. While on this Board, I expanded the purview to include small dams, not just large dams, which were aging and in need of technical support. I understand and care about aging infrastructure.

I had a grandson who was born with Sturge-Weber syndrome, a rare disease, and lived five months. I am currently serving on the Sturge-Weber Foundation (SWF) Board of Directors. I was on SWF Board for eleven years, with six years as Chairman and was asked to return and am now serving again as a Board member. SWF is dedicated to supporting the families dealing with horrendous rare disease and research to find a cure. My lobbying effort in Congress resulted in the National Institute of Health including SWS in its research.

I have served for decades in various Scarsdale organizations. Currently I serve as a Committee Member of Scarsdale Troop 2 and am a Merit Badge Counselor for Engineering, Energy, Citizenship in the Community, Communication, Family Life and Personal Management. I served on the Drake Edgewood Association as a member of the Board of Governors and as President, on the Scarsdale Neighborhood Association of Presidents as Chairman. I also have chaired the Edgewood Athletic Association and coached girls and boys’ basketball, soccer and softball teams. I served as a member on the IHM Religious Education school Board of Directors and as its Treasurer. My wife and I also co-managed the Edgewood Fair and I volunteered as an Auxiliary Police Officer.

I believe that our teachers are the heart and strength of our school system. While I am an engineer with vast construction experience, I am surrounded by a family of teachers and students. My wife and her two sisters taught in New York City schools. I saw the dedication and teaching skills that they honed through continuing education and their daily preparation for the next day’s class. My two brothers also had careers in education. One was a high school math teacher and later became the Principal and the football coach, and my other brother was a professor. As for myself, I taught as an Adjunct at Manhattan College at night for three years and learned first-hand the preparation that is required for each class. I say hurrah to our teachers who have the privilege to educate these young people. They need and deserve our support.

My two children went through the Scarsdale School system from kindergarten through high school. Until two years ago, when they moved out of state, three of my grandchildren attended Greenacres from kindergarten to fourth grade, with a grandson in the inclusion class. Currently I have five grandchildren in the Scarsdale Schools, two in Edgewood, two in the Middle School and one in the High School. I am at their games, their concerts and everything that I can attend in the schools.

I hope to bring my unique experience in building power plants and laying cables and wires through communities to bear on the capital programs that we are commencing for the Scarsdale Schools. Much of Scarsdale’s infrastructure is turning 100, and I can help the community through this critical period in Scarsdale’s history. My work with unions and my appreciation for education and educators drove my decision to seek nomination to the Board of Education from the School Board Nominating Committee. I earned that nomination. I hope to earn the votes of the citizens of Scarsdale so I can see this endeavor to its fruition. I believe I am the right candidate for the Board right now. To learn more about me, you can visit: https://woodyforboe.com/.

(Pictured at top: Woody Crouch and Governor Mario Cuomo: Woody describes the High Voltage Cable Project underground through Yonkers, Bronxville, Eastchester, New Rochelle; buried under the Long Island Sound and underground through Long Island to Garden City High Voltage Substation.)