Maintain Educational Excellence

Lower Merion is known locally and nationally for its outstanding public education system.  Our children receive excellent instruction and have access to a wide range of educational opportunities.  In addition to high test scores and acceptances to the nation’s most prestigious universities, LMSD students enjoy a rich and varied co-curricular program.  Maintaining these programs is vital to preserving and improving student achievement levels.  How does the School Board support all students? We nourish programs ranging from math and literacy instruction to theater, band/orchestra, Science Olympiad, interscholastic athletics, and newspaper/literary magazines, to name a few.  All are essential to educational excellence and student achievement. 

Complete High School Construction Projects

As chair of the facilities committee for the last four years, I have been personally involved in the planning and managing of the last 3 elementary school projects, all of which were completed on time and on budget.  Oversight of the high school construction projects includes controlling change orders and ensuring that the professionals are doing their best.  Knowing what questions to ask and when to get involved in the process is vital to ensuring a positive result.

Manage District Finances

It is easy to add programs as needs arise. The challenge is to remove programs that have run their course.  I feel we need to eliminate those that are no longer successful and spend the resources on proven approaches and fresh initiatives.  In developing the budget, School Directors must be ready to hold the administration accountable.  I voted against the budget 2 years ago because I felt that we could have maintained our overall program by reallocating resources rather than adding expenditures.  I am not afraid to take a hard line when necessary.

Raise Achievement Level of All Students, in particular, our lowest performing students

We need to improve learning for all our students.  Our “kids in the middle” need creative programs that push their limits and expand their horizons.  For our lowest achieving students, new programs in the elementary schools are showing results, and we need to carry that progress to the middle and high schools.  High expectations, improved support, and increased coordinated efforts between school and home are some of the ways to help students grow.  Motivating students to stretch their minds and to take intellectual risks is vital for our highest achievers as well. Individual growth of all our students is the hallmark of educational excellence.   The School Board must be willing to continually reevaluate its methods to make sure we are doing our best for all students.

Redistricting

This will be necessary when we open the two new high schools and balance their populations.  It will improve the delivery of education in the elementary schools by allowing better allocation of staff and resources, and will likely save the district money.  Redistricting is always an emotional process and the school board will need to work hard to maintain fairness, cooperation and community harmony through this difficult task.  A Community Advisory Committee, like we used for the high schools, will be needed to allow different neighborhoods and civic groups to contribute to the decision making process.

Contract Negotiations

The LMEA (teachers and staff) and the LMOSA (administrators) contracts both expire in June 2010.  The new board will be responsible for managing the negotiations and setting the course for the next agreement.  My experience with previous bargaining sessions, and my understanding of the issues, will be valuable as we move forward with this process.