The Race For East Hampton School Board

Spring is in the air ... you can actually smell it! The trees are blooming and doors are opening for business. As I drive around this beautiful village, I think to myself of how proud I am to call this my home. As I write this, my first blog for Patch.com, I am thinking about the future of this town, and our kids. With so many important issues going on right now in the town, I think that the East Hampton School Board election is one of the highest priorities, even if you do not have children.

The future of our town is in our children's hands, and it is all of our tax dollars at stake here. We need to put people in place who can work with the teachers, and, most importantly, put the education of our kids first. As a graduate of East Hampton High School, and a mother who has two daughters in the school system, I feel very confident that we have schools that have what it takes to give our kids an excellent education. We simply need people in place to make the right decisions for our kids AND we need the public to vote!

So far, Jackie Lowey is saying what I have been thinking, and I believe that she is on the right path. The following is what Jackie had to say at the candidates forum a couple of days ago, and I think that we need to listen and pay attention to what her position is:

“There is nothing more important than ensuring that all children in East Hampton receive an excellent education in a healthy and safe school environment. As a parent of two children who attend John M. Marshall Elementary School, I am running for School Board because I believe parents need a voice on the board.

Enrollment is growing, class sizes are expanding, and educational achievement — at least as measured by standardized tests — is falling behind. The district is fortunate to have many outstanding, committed teachers. Increasingly, those teachers are being put in the untenable position of trying to teach large classes, comprised of diverse learners with a huge variety of needs. The district’s limited financial resources must be directed at providing adequate support for those teachers and towards programs which directly benefit students and learning. We must ensure that the expectation of excellence is not sacrificed in what has become a district-wide struggle to simply achieve minimum standards.

Having worked in senior positions in the federal Government for many years, including serving as Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Transportation and Deputy Director of the National Park Service, I have experience managing big, complicated bureaucracies. The EHUFSD is a public entity supported by taxpayers, who have a right to insist that their tax dollars are well spent. Those who have been entrusted with the responsibility of running the district are employed by the taxpayers and must be open, transparent, and responsive.

I don’t have a personal agenda in seeking this office. I will approach the challenge with a strong voice and an open mind. I will fight for the interests of families in the District, who want and deserve the best for their children.”

Follow Jackie on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jackie-Lowey-for-East-Hampton-School-Board/165809726808672?ref=ts&sk=wall

Click here for the lowdown on most of the candidates:

http://www.easthamptonstar.com/Education/2011421/Elections-Harbinger-Big-Changes"

Pay attention to this blog over the next few weeks, and I will give you the low-down on each candidate, the vote and the outcome ... and I am going to encourage all of you to vote. Stay tuned.