In addition to answering the question, the Meadville Tribune also scheduled separate video interviews with me and the other school board candidates.
Hope this answers some of your questions about my position on school board issues.
Meadville Tribune Video Interview
In April the Meadville Tribune sent me three questions to answer about the Crawford Central School Board. Here are the questions and my answers.
1) Why are you running for office?
Over the years, I have advocated for various issues in front of the school board. I am campaigning because people have encouraged me after witnessing my work. They know that I will conduct thorough research to understand all the different perspectives. I don't look for easy answers, and I share both the positive and negative findings.
This region is facing a demographic decline, with the student body expected to shrink by nearly a quarter. This will create an unprecedented challenge for the district due to a smaller tax base and reduced state funding. There isn't going to be an easy solution. Rather, achieving lasting success will require many small, nuanced victories in many areas.
My decades of experience in developing and supporting complex manufacturing machinery and years of volunteer work have taught me to how to find effective solutions given limited resources, time, personnel, and money
2) Do you support or are you against a policy to allow for the review and removal of reading materials from the libraries in the district?
I support the current guidelines Crawford Central used to acquire appropriate material for the elementary, middle school, and high school libraries. I don’t believe an update to the current policy is needed.
Keep in mind that individuals have the ability to make the most of opportunities not only locally or in the state but also globally, including in creative, entertainment, services, and manufacturing industries without having to move from our region.
As a result, students need to be prepared to deal with these opportunities and how to work with individuals whose life experience is very different from what we experience here in Crawford Central. A well-stocked and updated school library is an important part of preparing students to meet these challenges as they begin to enter the workforce.
For additional information see the following
2019 Guidelines for Pennsylvania School Libraries
Pennsylvania School Librarians Association
American Association of School Libraries
3) Do you support or are you against closing schools based upon feasibility studies?
I was born in Meadville and lived here all my life. I chose to get married and raise my kids here. I appreciate the different communities that exist in our county and district. Meadville and Cochranton have separate identities and these should be preserved within the district at both the elementary and high school levels if it is all possible.
We are facing a demographic decline within the district. It is currently estimated that we will lose over a quarter of the student population over the coming years. However, this may impact Meadville differently than Cochranton. I can envision a situation where most of the decline occurs in Meadville and enrollment remains relatively constant in Cochranton. If this is the case, I would be very skeptical of closing any schools in Cochranton.
If the worst happens then we have to be prepared as a community to make some hard choices.
For further information see the Enrollment Projections released by the state of Pennsylvania.
When I decided to run for office, I read up on and watched videos about how to campaign at the local level. One point they stressed was th...
