ANNA WALL

Cogan Station

I am a writing this as someone with an agenda. I am a parent of small children who will soon be starting school in JSASD, and I do not want our small schools to close for a vast host of reasons. In addition to it being the least disruptive plan for the children in our district, I also firmly believe that district rebalancing and keeping schools open is the most financially responsible option with the best long-term outlook for our district.

I have really been hesitant to write this letter because I do not believe in smear campaigns and running on a continual assault of an opponent’s weaknesses as we so often see in politics these days, but not saying anything does not feel right either. I think the public should have as much information as possible when casting their ballot, and unfortunately there seems to be a lot of confusion around where certain school board candidates stand on this issue and what their own agendas actually are.

This is not the first time this has happened.

Past board members Craig Allen and Wayne Kinley both used statements such as, “I have no agenda,” or “I don’t want to close schools.” However, all of their votes as school board members once elected have reflected the exact opposite stance.

Having seen this before it makes me wary of the current candidates who are also tiptoeing around their position on such a huge issue for the parents and children of our community.

Two current candidates, Cheri Peters and Bill Pfirman, have advertised that they “have no agenda.” Despite this claim, candidate Pfirman’s wife is advocating for school closure. Instead, they point our attention to a Republican Committee endorsement. There has not been disclosure that the candidates belong to the very committee that provided their endorsement, nor the many school closure advocates that sit on this same committee.

Here is a list of members sitting on the endorsing Republican Committee: Bill Pfirman and Cheri Peters (Candidates); Don Peters (Candidate’s Husband); Ann-Marie Pfirman (committee member/22-23 School Closure Advocate/wife of candidate Bill Pfirman); Bob Pryor (committee member/Ex-board member/22-23 school closure advocate); Carol Pryor (committee member/wife of 22-23 school closure advocate and ex-board member). Shelley Helm (committee member/ex-board member/22-23 school closure advocate).

Other notable supporters: Craig Allen (ex-board member/school closure advocate/original school closing voter), Wayne Kinley (board member and school closing advocate), Jesse Edwards (board member and school closing advocate)

What is happening elsewhere? An uncontested return of once retired Region 3 board member — Harry Brungard, 22-23 school closure advocate, and original Nippenose school closing voter.

With an endorsement with so many undisclosed school closure advocates behind the scenes, the statement of, “I have no agenda,” certainly becomes alarming. Hopefully, this letter will leave the voting public more informed as they head to the polls for the coming election.

Nancy Petrosky and Dr. Langlois have been incredibly clear and forthcoming on their position that they are in favor of moving forward with community schools open, competitive, and run in an efficient manner. For taxpayers, they highlight the many pitfalls of school closure including no guarantee of savings.

Regardless of whether you traditionally vote Republican, Democrat, or somewhere in the middle, these women have publicly committed to doing what they can to serve in a balanced way for all residents in our community and the voter can have no doubt about that. If their values do not reflect your values, then absolutely, cast your vote elsewhere, but, for the sake of the children in our district, please take “endorsements” and vague promises with a grain of salt.