VOTE411 Voter Guide

I believe our public schools are one of our community’s greatest assets. I want to help improve them while responsibly stewarding tax dollars and maintaining the trust of residents without children in the schools through wise spending and demonstrated value. I bring a collaborative, evidence-based approach. My career responsibilities and skills in QA, risk management, process improvement, policy development, negotiation, oversight and leading teams, helps the Board ask the right questions, evaluate outcomes, identify efficiencies, manage risks, and seek common ground. I co-founded of a foundation in Ghana that opened three schools that became sustainable and self-sufficient. For 10 years, I served as vice-chair/treasurer, working closely with local communities and staff. That experience reinforced the importance of responsible stewardship, collaboration, sustainability, and empowering communities to build lasting solutions, I’ll bring to the BOE: keeping students at the center and working constructively toward practical solutions. My wife grew up here and I joined >10 years ago; what’s more meaningful than giving back to the community with our children in public schools?

The BOE should focus on two priorities: academics (1) and responsible governance (2). 1) support educators in providing strong foundational skills while developing critical thinking and evidence-based reasoning. This prepares students for high school, careers, and tasks that may not yet exist. Every student is different, so parent input and support matter. Technology should only be used when it serves educational goals, not be the goal itself. Students should learn to find information and distinguish reliable sources from misinformation, disinformation, and AI-generated content. 2) Strengthen fiscal responsibility, transparency, and value from expenditures. Decisions should be data driven, comply with state requirements, respect educators’ expertise, and focus on educational needs rather than political/religious viewpoints. BOE members should exercise independent judgment, share information, seek input, and maintain a trusted working relationship with the superintendent. I believe these other candidates bring independent views and likely support the above: B. Skowronek, E. Fiore, C. DeBerry, and for HS: J. Bettermann

For meaningful savings without compromising core needs, we should focus on transparency, efficiency, and measurable value: • Reviewing expenditures and technology purchases for educational value. • Finding administrative efficiencies before reducing classroom services. • Reviewing contracts and purchasing for better terms, including energy savings demonstrated by the Green Committee. • Exploring cooperative arrangements with municipalities, neighboring districts, and other partners. • Identifying unnecessary duplication and administrative costs. • Using data to determine whether programs and expenditures achieve intended results. • Reducing avoidable legal and dispute-related costs while ensuring compliance with the law. School funds should serve their intended purpose and student success. I believe significant resources are devoted to legal fees and police presence related to disputes over state requirements, including the Freedom to Read Act. Those resources could instead support academics, students, staff, and facilities. Banning age-appropriate books for all students (parent choice already implemented) cost money and resources better directed at what matters.

We have a relatively low-tech household: we understand the challenges technology presents for children. I support age-appropriate digital citizenship education addressing online behavior, social media, digital safety, and effects on self-esteem and well-being. Meaningful parental involved in children’s education and technology use supports the school’s policies and staff to address digital bullying, harassment, and other harmful behavior. Students should know where to seek help safely. I support a bell-to-bell policy governing personal internet-enabled devices during the school day to reduce distractions while improving academic engagement, emotional well-being, and digital safety. In my professional work, I help integrate AI into processes. I would bring that experience to the BOE by supporting information literacy across subjects. Students should learn to distinguish evidence from opinion, evaluate sources, recognize bias, verify claims, and identify AI-generated content and potential errors. Technology should serve educational goals, NOT BE the goal; particularly for younger students traditional reading/writing increases retention.