Well, that didn't take long

I'm back. I like blogging so I'm going to keep doing it. I just need to manage my time better.

The number one reason to vote for Travis is that he has no alterior motives to being on the board. He doesn't own a local business, he doesn't have kids involved in one particular school group, he isn't unhappy with how things are done now, he doesn't have a grudge against any administrator, he just wants to be a part of something good. Something that benefited us so well. We want our kids to have the same experience with school that we did. The Mt. Zion School Board's job is NOT to come up with "fresh" ideas or teach the kids. That is why Mt. Zion only hires the best educators and admininistrators. The school board's job is "behind the scenes" budgeting and making it possible for Mt. Zion to continue to be the outstanding district that it already is. Most of the candidates who are running for the board have not even been to a school board meeting. (They keep track of visitor attendance.) Several of the candidates mentioned the growing population of Mt. Zion and the need for additional classroom space. Well, if they knew their facts, they would know that although new housing is popping up all over the place, our enrollment has been completely stagnant for almost 20 years. In fact, my class, the class of 1988 is still the largest class to ever graduate from Mt. Zion. A few candidates mentioned security at the grade schools. If they knew their facts, they would know that the school has already budgeted $15,000 for additional security measures at both schools. In the past year, the district designed a 5 year plan. They took input from parents, teachers, administrators, board members and outside experts to come up with a comprehensive plan that addresses everything you can think of associated with eduation in Mt. Zion. The plan has been reviewed by the Illinois Association of School Boards and was found to be so well thought out that they have asked to provide it as an example to other school districts. One of the greatest assests Mt. Zion ever had was Ken Hendriksen. He thinks BIG and even though he is no longer at the helm, by hand picking Darbe Brinkoetter and Travis Roundcount, he has laid the groundwork for Mt. Zion to be successful for many, many years to come. Remember when you vote to elect the candidates who want to make a way for our administrators and educators to keep up the excellent work they are doing NOT the candidates who have an agenda that only benefits a small segment of the Mt. Zion population. If you need me to spell it out for you, you can e-mail me at saraforeman@insightbb.com

Thank you for listening to me ramble on about this. It is extremely hard to watch a whole community be conned by certain candidates. I had to vent!

*****Edited to add additional thoughts. I should say that owing a local business does not make you a "bad" candidate. In fact it is a good sign that you are committed to Mt. Zion. My point is that as a school board member, you get your name in the paper a lot. People ASSUME that a school board member is an upstanding, moral, person with integrity so obviously you are going to get some business just from that assumption. Travis doesn't own a business, so there is nothing for him to gain by being in the paper or being on the board. And just in case you missed it, being on the board most certainly does not guarantee that you are an upstanding, moral person with integrity. For sure. Definitely. No doubt about this one.