The new Yonkers Board of Education president says he's ready to fight for vital funding as the district faces a $3.5 million deficit in the upcoming year.

The Rev. Gerald Sudick was elected president of the board this week. The longtime educator and former chairman of the board at SUNY Binghamton previously served on the Yonkers BOE for three years. He's proud of the changes he helped make during that time."They will have $16 million in scholarship offers to their class. They have tripled the advanced placement courses in the schools," he says of this year's graduating seniors.

However, he admits more work needs to be done. "The biggest challenge is to keep this momentum going and to get this educational formula changed in Albany," says Sudick. "It would be terrible to lose children because of the fact of money," he says, referring to students not excelling in the classroom.

Sudick, who leads a Russian Orthodox church in Yonkers, says he's looking forward to the College Board High School opening in September. He also wants to triple the advanced placement students in schools and he's seeking more math and science classes to raise the bar.