About the Candidate
Tell us about you: (Such as your family,
children, are they CASD graduates etc.)
I
have four (4) sons all of whom graduated from Coatesville
Tell us about what you do for a living:
Retired- But every morning I get up at 6am and go up to my one
son's house and help get my grandchildren ready for the sitter, and one, Landon
I get on the bus for school. And every Tuesday at 2:30pm I go and pick-up one
of grandsons at PHPII and then wait on son's house till Landon arrives home and
I wait for their mother to arrive. I’m also involved the Caln Senios and the
Knights of Columbus.
Public Service:
Retired Federal Investigator (35 yrs 12 years with the PLCB
Campaign Website: None
Campaign Facebook Page: None
“I am running for the
school board as a write-in because I see the some of the problems. I will admit
that I don’t confess to have all or even some of the answers, but it is our
responsibility to prepare students for the real world. Lowering of standards does not prepare them.
As Bill Gates once said, “If you think
your teacher is tough, wait till your get a boss". And “Life is not fair, - get used to
it".”
What
motivated you to run for the school board?
I
was made aware of some shady doings i.e. putting a gag order on a citizen by
the District. That action disturbed me because as a citizen and taxpayer you
have the right to voice yourself. That led me write a letter requesting the
Legal Expenses incurred by the District which when the response was received
noted that 3.8 million dollars had been spent since the current Administration
came to power. In the same response it was noted that "WE HAVE NO
RECORDS". That floored me. As a retired Federal Investigator you have to
have records for money spent.
What
skills or experiences do you have that makes you different from the current
board members or those running?
I
am somewhat hardnosed from the standpoint that I don’t accept everything that
appears in writing. I also firmly believe that Teacher teat and should not be
forced to do things that are wrong. As a board member the Superintendent
answers to the Board not that the Board answers to the Administration. Wrong
doing by anyone is not allowed. Any action taken by the Administration that involved
staff must have the approval by the Board as well as a written legal opinion
before taking any action.
Do
you primarily see yourself as a representative of the community or as a
representative of the school system?
Community ✔
| School System
Please
Explain: The
Community elects the Board, but your main goal is to make the school and
students better.
What
type of opportunities/strengths do you feel CASD has and how do we accomplish
them?
We
have some young teachers some or most of them graduated from Coatesville and
want to give back to the school and district from which they graduated. The
take pride in their work, however, the current Administration interferes with
the educational process.
What
is the most pressing issues facing the CASD and how would you address them when
you are on the school board?
First
and foremost is accountability by the current Administration, Secondly, the
issue of no records for the 3.8 million dollars spent for legal fees for the four
year of this administration shall be accounted for. We have to take a hard look
at why students left to go elsewhere, And along with everything else, we have
to star holding the line with taxes. Too many of our citizens are retired and
on fixed incomes and raising taxes every year does not help.
Please
share your ideas on the challenge of balancing the budget, while not cutting
too many programs or jobs?
Tis
is somewhat difficult but there are answers. First I would freeze all
Administrative salaries. Secondly, I would take a hard look at the contracts
currently in place. And without doubt that would not be any new construction
activity In addition, I would look at the maintenance of our buildings and
wherever possible use volunteers, that’s the way it was done when my children
went to school, especially Clan.
The
hiring and retaining of highly qualified teachers and administrators has become
more and more challenging. How would you help CASD address this
issue?
Retaining
good teachers and staff is possible, however the current administration does
not see it that way. Wrong doers are fired with a negative mark. Illegal hiring
practices are terminated. There have been instances where former graduates have
applied for a position in the district and didn’t even get a reply, but got a
job in another district. The wrong doers are let go. In short if there is not a
paper trail you are gone.
What
are your thoughts on the current discipline problem and what will you do to
address it?
One
problem is the use of cell phones. As for the current discipline problem, both
students and parents must be held accountable.
Sending students a JP is not the solution, it cost money. It’s time that
we instill that you cause a problem you get a suspension or serve detention
after school. In short we have to look at the current policy and if necessary
re-write a new one. Again, it comes back to accountability by the
Administration.
What
are some of your ideas for improving school safety and significantly reducing
bullying in our schools?
As
a retired Federal Investigator I served on the Pennsylvania Hate Crimes Task
Force which met two (2) a month. Both
the students as well as the teachers and administrators should take
responsibility for listening to any complaints and deal with the problem
immediately. Too often the administrators don’t want to deal with the problem
when reported, which has been the cause many times. I would lecture both
students and administrators of their responsibilities.
If
a parent comes to you with a particular school issue, how do you see your role
as school board member to resolve that issue?
If
the problems is a written approved school policy I would sit down and explain
it. If there was written policy I would try to seek a solution. However,
sometimes the problem could be self-made, to which a common ground could be
found. In short gather all of facts before making a decision.
How
transparent do you feel the district is now?
⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Looking
forward, what are your views on transparency and what kinds of school-district
information should be made public? (Excluding information that pertains to student records and the
particulars of personnel records that would constitute an invasion of privacy.)
Too
often than not, many of the printed materials sent out to the parent via the post
office, do not tell the truth. As an example, committee meetings should be held
at least 1 week prior to the regular board meeting. The public has the right to
have answers to questions when raised during the open comment period, instead
of put in writing and you might get an answer. Too often especially with
Administration they like to use "Executive session" to do their work
this way there is no record.
Are
you committed to a yearly survey of families, students, graduates, community
residents, faculty and staff about what they see as major strengths and
shortcomings of the district and its schools?
Are
you committed to yearly surveys? ✔
Are
you committed to publicly sharing the results? ✔
Why or why
not? The
public are the taxpayers who deserve to know what is happening with their tax
dollars.
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