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The League of Women Voters asked the School Board
candidates to "choose what you feel are the most
important issues facing the Lower Merion School
Directors today, and to explain how you would deal
with these issues," within the space of one side of
an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper.
This is what Democratic candidate Susan
Guthrie wrote:
1. Maintain educational excellence in the face
of Act 1.
The most important responsibility of the School
Board is to ensure that all students are educated in
a manner that allows them to thrive and excel. The
recently enacted Act 1 legislation significantly
restricts the District’s ability to finance public
education through property taxes. As a result, the
District faces serious challenges in years to come
in its ability to maintain the excellent education
that is the hallmark of our community and that
supports our strong property values.
With a Ph.D. in economics, a decade of professional
experience conducting economic and financial
analyses, and a passion for well-run public
education, I have the necessary skills to help
preserve and enhance our diverse program offerings
and excellent education. I can evaluate costs and
benefits to ensure that our tax dollars are being
spent in the most efficient and effective way
possible. I will ensure the District develops clear
goals for its educational programs and
systematically evaluates them, using achievement
data where possible, to determine whether the goals
are being reached. I will ensure the District
evaluates program efficacy with an eye toward
program costs, and when prudent, considers
alternative approaches.
2. Increase dialogue with the community to
enhance confidence in the Board and the District.
The School Board serves the community by providing
oversight and setting policy for the District. In
my opinion, the School Board should act like a
client-oriented business, where the resident
taxpayers are the clients. Also, as an elected
body, the Board members have a responsibility to
maintain a high level of dialogue with the community
and to promote dialogue between the community and
the District. Such a dialogue will help improve the
District’s delivery of educational services and will
enhance public understanding of the educational
system and confidence in the Board.
As a Board member, I will bring the same high level
of commitment to client satisfaction as I have in my
professional life for over a decade. I will ensure
the District develops a communications plan that
increases the flow of information to and from the
public and enhances transparency with regard to the
important decisions made by the Board and the issues
facing the District. (Increased information flow
and transparency will be especially important as the
Board tackles redistricting as well as renegotiating
the teachers’ contract.) I will meet with community
groups and groups of District residents on a regular
basis.
3. Complete the proposed new Lower Merion High
School (LMHS).
If the District has not yet entered into a contract
for construction of LMHS by the time the newly
elected Board members assume their duties, I will do
everything in my power to ensure that the proposed
new LMHS is completed without delay. I am committed
to building the best school that allows the District
to provide its diverse, high-quality school
programming at the best price, and to not exceeding
the Pennsylvania Department of Education cost
guidelines. Delaying construction to redesign LMHS
would result in increased cost and lost educational
opportunities. For the children and the taxpayers,
we should move ahead now.
Click here for
Susan Guthrie's Bio... |
