Managing for Excellence

By Jennifer W. (Ware) Parker

The School Board must set the expectations for every member of the WSSD school community.

Experienced, informed leaders who are willing to make difficult choices are essential for our school district. As a result of my career as an engineer and consultant, I understand the importance of planning, examining costs, and implementing best practices. As Board Vice President, I have endeavored to make well-researched, reasoned choices, and have looked for ways to mitigate tax increases. For example, during the negotiation of the teachers' contract, I initiated the concept that teachers pay a share of healthcare premium costs, notwithstanding the fact that they had never done so before; I voted against middle school project expenditures that could not be shown to have a significant return on investment, such as the Terrazzo floors, and helped to look for alternative sources of funding for desirable, but not absolutely necessary, elements of the project like a Green Roof; and I pursued obtaining a food services contract that will bring profits to the district instead of the losses of previous years. I have also pursued outside revenue sources such as cell towers and signage at King Field.

At the same time, I have worked to improve education for all students, trying to assure that every student leaves our schools prepared for the demands of the 21st century. I am committed to meeting rigorous academic standards and have pushed for maintaining program necessities such as science labs, regular cycles of review for curriculum, and an aligned K-12 curriculum. I am dedicated to a well-rounded education for students, including arts, athletics, and academics.

Although there are a whole host of issues facing the district (including the ongoing concerns that a rigorous curriculum be maintained for all students within the confines of budget constraints), there are THREE issues that are of paramount importance right now:

1. A New Superintendent + The School District recently hired a Superintendent (Dr. Rubeis) who has had 20 successful years in a high-performing school district. He will bring fresh ideas and his penchant to develop a long-term vision for the District. It is important that the board work closely with Dr. Rubeis and his administrative team to raise the level of education being provided to our students. The board needs to support Dr. Rubeis in "managing for excellence." I believe that this can be done while providing an outstanding working environment for our staff and students.

2. A $50 Million Middle School Construction Project + The Board needs to support all efforts to build a wonderful new facility for our middle school children, one that will last for the next 50 to 75 years supporting future changes in curriculum. To date, the district has worked to assure that the building will provide a safe, healthy working environment for students while always being mindful of the tax burden resulting from this new construction. In addition, the district needs to minimize the disruption that the construction will cause to the entire community, including the students and neighbors of the middle school. Every effort must be made to bring this project in on time and on budget.

3. Act 1 - School funding strategies have been dramatically altered as a result of recent legislation passed in Harrisburg. Future property tax increases are now limited by law to a state index plus certain exceptions. The largest exception available to the District at this time, relating to the increase in healthcare costs for our educators, will disappear during the next two years. In fact, for the last two years, I have voted against the budgets as they did not appear to be part of a long-term sustainable plan. The next two years are going to be particularly challenging for WSSD and it will be critical that Board members are well-informed, understand how the District's budget works, and commit to a long-term strategy to improve education within the confines of this new law. New board members typically take two to three years to begin to understand the full details of budget process. Furthermore, future union contracts will have to work within the constraints imposed by Act 1, while maintaining the best staff that the district can attract. I am the only candidate in our region that has had actual experience in this area while on the School Board.

Please help me ensure that Wallingford-Swarthmore remains a top-performing district. As I seek re-election this fall, I can assure you that I am not beholden to any political party or special interest group, but vote in an independent manner based upon what I think is in the very best interest of our children, our schools, and our community.