Candidate Concerns
We have a great community and school district. I am very happy to be a part of it and help out in any way that I can. These are a few issues that I feel strongly about and I hope to be able to help with if I am elected.
Fiscal Responsibility
The school district is growing and we need more space for our elementary school students. The previous expansions at Lower Nazareth Elementary and Butz Elementary were already at capacity when they reached completion. A new elementary school is being planned and we need to make sure that we are making the right decisions and looking at the most accurate data.
Nazareth Area School District is primarily funded by local taxpayers. The state contribution is set to decrease and the federal contribution is extremely small. We have not had significant tax increases in the past few years, but are now looking at 3.2% increases for the next 4-5 years. It was apparent that something would need to be done about the elementary schools lack of space in 2021, so I feel that we could have spread out tax increases over a longer period of time and invested these taxes into high yield savings accounts or investments to help us combat the estimated $70-$80 million dollars needed for a new school. Not to mention the septic systems at LNE and KBES, the parking lots, and phase 2 of the project, which will include an expansion and revamp of the high school.
We need to make smart decisions that benefit the entire community and we need to do as much as we can to take care of our citizens that are on a fixed income. There is the tax rebate program which I have previously shared on my Facebook page, but there is also the issue of responsible spending and proactive planning. Incremental tax increases (like what I mentioned above) were proposed so that the district could be more prepared for the addition of a new school, but it was voted down. Those more moderate increases could have been invested or put into high yield savings accounts to have put the district in a better position for this new school. And here we are facing a possibility of 4-5 years of 3%+ increases due to a lack of foresight and planning.
Our board also needs to delve deeper into the numbers and developments that were shown at the recent RoundTable events. After speaking with different township supervisors, it seems that the numbers may not be entirely correct. We definitely have an issue with the growth and school sizes, but we need concrete data to base estimates from. If developments that are listed are no longer happening, that needs to be addressed and the numbers reworked.
Responsible spending? Should our district be paying $10-$15k to review a book that was checked out less than 5 times over 10+ years? I think a note from concerned parents would be much more fiscally responsible. Parent choice is important, and with a note, you accomplish saving money and giving parents the choice if their child can read a book* or not. A sensible and fair resolution for all. (*age appropriate of course) Also, by making a list of the 20+ books in the high school library, it made these books more desirable for kids to check out and see what the big deal is. And if they don’t get it at the library, they can find it on their phones or the internet...and probably much worse. Internet safety is much more of a relevant issue in today’s society.
No one likes increased taxes, but with proper communication, responsible spending, and proactive planning, tax increases can be much less painless.
Parent/Teacher Partnerships
Many people choose to move to our area because of the great reputation of our schools. And we owe this to the teachers, staff, and administrators at our schools.
Many parents are looking for more parental involvement or parent choice. And that is understandable. Parents do have the choice to be involved in their child’s education. They can attend school board meetings, attend parent/teacher conferences, join the PTA/PTO, volunteer in youth activities/sports, email the teacher and set up a meetings. There are so many ways to be involved as a parent and to have a choice in your child’s education and experiences.
We need to allow our teachers to do the jobs that they are hired for and teach our children. I think professional educators would know best about what our children should be learning, reading, and their educational needs. That is what they go to school for and what they are paid for. Parents should always be able to advocate for their children and to be involved, but let’s allow the teachers to teach.
Parents and teachers need to work together to ensure our children receive the best education that we can offer. Partnership and Ifcollaboration between parents, teachers, and the community in general, are key to educational success. Team work makes the dream work, right :)
Public Education is For Everyone
Many people move to the area because of the quality of the public education system. We should want to continue to improve upon the academic excellence in the district and support public education in our area. Unfortunately, we live in times when bullying is common, school shootings are common, internet crimes are rampant (such as cyber-bullying, sex trafficking, catfishing, and more)
We need to protect our kids. All kids.
All of our children should be able to go to school, be safe, and receive a thorough and well rounded education. No kid should go to school and be afraid. From my experience, NASD does a good job with this, but it may not be everyone’s experience. And it should be. All kids deserve this.
Let’s keep our schools safe for all.
Keeping our schools free of political indoctrination
Education should not be a tool used to indoctrinate our children. No matter if it is right or left, education should not be skewed. Our kids should learn everything that they can and be encouraged to think. It can be analytical thinking, critical thinking, or creative thinking. Whatever works, but let’s hope that our children are able to use these thinking skills to create their own well-formed opinions and ideas one day.
Schools should be academically vigorous, socially stimulating and politics free. We should focus on the purpose of school and not veer into the realm of political ideologies.
Random fact: Egypt had to revise their textbooks to remove anti-Semitic and anti-Israel content. It’s been done over the past 5-10 years and now 80% are using books that do not contain that type of misinformation and propaganda.
I don’t want our public education systems to be driven by any religious or political ideology, because it’s a slippery slope. You may be happy for awhile, but if circumstances would change and it goes against your beliefs, would it still be okay? Our children should learn about civics, government, and understanding the political workings of our country, but in a non-partisan way, fact driven way.
Let’s keep our schools about education and work to improve on the excellence that we are all so very proud of.