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Age
38
Current Job
Simulation Program Supervisor, University of Pittsburgh, School of Social Work, Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center
Township or Borough of Residence
Manheim Borough
Qualifications
Doctorate in Education (EdD), 15 years experience in community centered work, 10 years in education
Facebook Page
www.facebook.com/people/Support-Manheim-Central-Schools/61571625623482/?sk=about
I would begin my term as a school board member by intentionally spending time getting to know the other board members to build connections. When discussing topics, I will use facts to share my perspectives and will access community input when possible and bring those perspectives to the board. I am committed to treating the school board as a non-partisan role and will hear perspectives from all parties to support my decisions.
I will prioritize the students in my role on the school board. The public school system is in place to serve students and support their education, growth, and development. Each decision made by the school board has impacts on some, if not all, students in the district. All groups are important in the process; I plan to balance these perspectives, and I understand that there will be decisions that are made that disproportionately impact some groups.
While our school board has not experienced debates recently over policies, I believe the upcoming budget needs for the district are likely to cause debate. It will be important to balance the budget to avoid the need to cut programs or resources for students and teachers.
The school board has refrained from any tax increase in the school district, especially noting the concerns of COVID-19 on the community. Unfortunately, this has resulted in a gap in the budget with a need to increase income for a balance without cuts to programing. This disparity may result in a need to increase taxes or reduce spending for the district.
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Age
43
Current Job
Social Work Case Manager
Township or Borough of Residence
Penn Township
Qualifications
B.A. English
Facebook Page
Support Manheim Central Schools
I would focus on what brings us together in our community- educating the next generations. We can collectively agree we want the best for our learners. And we can probably all agree that budgets for our homes, our schools and our businesses have grown tremendously. School directors have the job of diligently balancing the tax burden while providing the best education for learners of our community. The starting point should be finding the opportunities our learners need in order to be the next generation of well informed and responsible citizens. Let’s go from there to figure out what resources we have to accomplish those goals.
Learners should be the priority since the function of public education is to educate our youngest learners for the benefit of the community, commonwealth and nation. Families, teachers and staff, and taxpayers all play a part in ensuring learners are prepared to engage in civic life. Education provides for a strong and flexible workforce and leads to entrepreneurship, home ownership, and lifelong investment in a community. Public education benefits us all. It is important for all parts of the community to work together to support our learners. They will be the difference makers in the future.
Providing learning opportunities for all students is an essential function of a school board. Making sure students have access to relevant courses, access to community learning resources, and creative learning supports should be the focus. Boards need to address how we can make it easier for families to access the school system; from early childhood learning experiences to after school care and extracurricular support. Students learn better when their basic needs are met and they feel safe. Families and schools work together on a fine balance of trust that both are advocating for the best education for each learner. In order to preserve that trust, we need to protect students’ and families’ autonomy while addressing barriers to learning.
Local taxpayers are asked to carry more responsibility to fund public schools than they should. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is one of the lowest contributors toward public education in the nation. Taxpayers are paying for underperforming cyber charter schools and wondering why the local brick and mortar public school is struggling. Emergency funding during and following the pandemic helped keep tax increases at bay, but only for so long. We’ll be facing a deficit and tough decisions in the near future. I would prefer even handed increases over more time, but we may no longer be in the position to consider that approach. Which is why we need board members who will make careful decisions focused on our learners.
