Rydal-Meadowbrook Civic Association

Candidate for Abington Board of School Directors

Download & print PDF with an overview of all candidates, individual responses and questions to be asked at the Forum on October 27, 2011. RMCA and our co-hosts are pleased to provide this candidate an opportunity to present qualifications and priorities. These are the opinions of the candidate and RMCA does not assume any responsibility for the accuracy of the content or typographic errors: 

In your view, what function does the Board of School Directors provide in the School District?
Abington School District belongs to the Abington Township community.  It is their children who are being educated there for thirteen years and it is their financial investment that funds it.  The School Board Directors provide a vital link between the community at large and the administration of the school district.  It is the job of the directors to listen carefully to the people and to discern what is most beneficial to them.  Because Abington is such a diverse community it is not a simple task.  Therefore, the directors have to work together, through divergent values, to provide direction to the administration to achieve the best educational outcome for the students.

What role do you envision for yourself on the Board of School Directors? What experience do you bring to the position and what do you want to accomplish?
Like many Abington Township Citizens, I have a deep love for this community.  It has been my home since I was born at Abington Hospital.  After graduation from Abington High School, my wife and I eventually bought our first and only home in the township.  Our five children, three who have graduated from Abington High School and two who are still attending there, have gained many positive experiences there.  I feel as though I belong to this community and want to give back to it in the best way I can.  My beliefs in the Bible as a Christian have always been a very integral part of my life, like they are for many other Abington residents.  I want to bring the influence of those Biblical values to the Board.  A school is more than test scores and budget lines.  I hope to see the school continue its excellent record of academic success and for the administration to maintain its hold on the coast of a quality education.  But the values that are promoted and exemplified in a school also play a huge role in the formation and maturity of our children.  As a pastor in the community for many years, I bring a pastor’s heart to the board.  That means I am very focused on people, especially in light of their faith in God, more than statistics and bottom lines.  I appreciate the need for educational wisdom, effective management, fiscal administration, and astute legal and governmental interaction.  I plan to join the board with those needs in mind.  I hope to add my understanding of the need to maintain a balance between a public school and the faith-based values of the community, particularly from a Judeo-Christian perspective.  I will do this with humility and respect to all, even when differences of beliefs are broad.

The School District has a budget of $130 million. What are your funding priorities over the next four years?
I have been an associate pastor for most of my career.  I have happily lived on a modest income in a modest home with a wonderful wife and five precious children.  Like many Abington residents, I understand the increasing strain on the value of our dollar.  I don’t want to see taxes go up.  But neither do I want to see the high quality of an Abington education diminished. I have been very cautious with debt my whole life and have found ways to maintain my home and lifestyle at a standard that serves my family well. Those same values will be applied by me to a $130 million school budget.  It is important for the salaries of the school district employees to be competitive so as to attract and keep quality workers.  But as our nation continues to face an uncertain economic future, changes will be required.  The academic program needs to be maintained at the highest level and that will be my first priority.  Secondly, programs in music and the arts, for example, are a vital part of developing a young person and they should take a slightly lower priority.  Athletics were a huge part of my life as an Abington Ghost for all six of my junior and senior high years, as they have been for my children.  I believe there is much value in a strong athletic program and that would come third on my list of priorities.  I will try to negotiate with the teachers’ union a fare wage that fits the financial resources of this community; however, both the school district staff and the community residents will need to make sacrifices, as they have been doing, in order to maintain a quality education for our children.  I believe I will provide valuable wisdom and input to the school district budget process.

RMCA is co-hosting the Forum with the Abington Cheltenham Jenkintown League of Women Voters and Abington Parent Council (PTA & PTOs).

References and Links  
Strategic Plan Mid-point Review 
2011 Budget Summary
Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators White Paper 
Teachers' Agreement 
Memo on Rights and Responsibility of Students 
Board Communications