Why am I running for a seat on the school board?

I have been in the trenches – teaching in urban centers such as Elizabeth, NJ, Baltimore, MD and our nation’s capital. I have walked the walk, now I am talking the talk as a candidate for the Alexandria School Board. I am witnessing the further urbanization of our own city school system as it becomes a mini-version of those cities.

It is more important to pay for our children’s education now, instead of their welfare checks 10 or 20 years from now. It is vital that our students of today become the scientists, doctors, teachers and community leaders of tomorrow.

This does not mean free-wheeling, out of control spending – we already have that now as we spend more money on fewer students. We have a $165 million budget, expected to rise by seven to eight percent for the next fiscal year, yet enrollment is on the decline.

What happened to fiscal responsibility? Why are we paying an athletic director $92,000 a year when we have teachers being paid less half that amount? Think of the message that statement sends. It tells students that we value athletics over academics – that is already evident by the size of the paychecks professional athletes already draw versus that of educators.

Make no mistake – I’m as big a sports fan as the next person – certainly my wife will attest to that – but should it be the overriding priority when we have children in middle school and high school who cannot read or write a coherent sentence in English or successfully complete basic mathematical equations.