Philosophy of role of school board members
Position on new school
I believe as a member of the school board your role should be:
- To oversee a sound, financial, affordable budget
- To provide opportunities for the best instructional
methodologies for each student's learning style
- To provide educational opportunities that meet the needs
of all students for (both college bound and work bound
students)
- To provide a safe environment for our students
My position on the new high school:
- We have spent three years on making a decision on
building a new high school
- We have devoted a lot of time and thought on renovation
vs new construction
- We spent money on renovation in the early '90's. I
understand we ran out of money after completing
renovations in the elementary schools. We had not
enough money to do a complete renovation job on the
on the high school. It would have been better to set
aside that money and get interest accrued for a down
payment for when the job could be done appropriately.
- Given the fact that a campus-- housing eight (50 yr.
old buildings) is costly to maintain in today's
environment) the safety concerns of today and the cost
to renovate today not much less than a new building, we
need to consider the building of a new school.
I was one of three candidates who supported building a
large building on the present site and connecting a few
of our existing buildings to it-this would have
eliminated all of the extra costs spent to place it on
the new site. This did not have the support of enough
board members; therefore, the majority wanted the new
high school on the new site.
- The decision has been made and we must move forward. I
believe that we must now be prudent in our building
and keep in mind that our community can't afford
spending any additional monies beyond what we have
proposed forthis endeavor.
- We must maintain what we put in place so that the next 5
decades of community citizens can get longer life from
this new high school.
- Our community will be able to sell their houses for good
market value (when the economy comes back) and be proud
of their educational system when all is done.
- I thank the residents who have followed this project and
have provided input (pro or con) and I will work to see
that their input has been acknowledged.
- I have enjoyed my years on the school board and I think
we have come through some tumultous years, but the
students have always made us proud. The educational
staff, students and administration will continue to
strive putting Bethel Park in the prominent place that
it deserves to be.
- We have done it, we continue to do it, and we will
continue our dedication to making Bethel Park proud of
its graduates and its community.
|
