Grandmother ready to serve community

Spectrum, by Beverly (Bev) Erbey

I am a 64-year-old grandmother who has been enjoying the quiet life of retirement. So now the question arises, why am I running for a seat on our school board? I have to say the answer is not simple. There are many reasons.

Two of our three children have graduated from Palmer High. I now have seven grandchildren. Two have graduated from Colony High and are now attending West Point Military Academy and a third graduated from Palmer High and will soon be attending Matanuska-Susitna College. The remaining four are still attending Valley schools and I want them to have the same opportunities.

I have followed school district issues and have become very concerned at some of these issues. For instance, I feel a school district the size of ours needs a fully qualified superintendent at the head of our administration instead of a chief school administrator who does not have the necessary qualifications.

I have nothing against private schools or home schooling but I am very concerned to see so many parents pulling their children out of our public schools and placing them in private or parochial schools or resorting to home schooling because they have a problem with our public school system. I would like to see these parents working together with the teachers, principals, school administration and the school board to correct these problems and make our public schools better.

I believe that when a teacher, principal, employee, parent or a concerned citizen takes the time from their own busy schedule to go before the school board to present a problem or discuss an issue, the board should pay attention.

Certainly, when these people present questions to the board, the board should have the decency to answer these questions. I realize this cannot always take place at that particular meeting, but the person does deserve to receive an answer as soon as possible. These people usually have good ideas and input. As a matter of fact, these people are the voters. They are the top of the "chain of command" and the school board is directly responsible to these voters.

Another issue of concern is the budget.

During my lifetime I have been a manager of the collection department of a credit bureau, owner of a small business and an assistant purchasing agent for a mobile home manufacturer. I have worked for Army finance and accounting at Ft. Richardson, was a payroll accountant for a naval caretaker contract on Adak and was project assistant for the Army Corps of Engineers on Shemya.

So when it comes to budgets I feel I have considerable experience in that field. I feel our district has some serious problems that must be worked out. Our Valley is experiencing a rapid growth, but the Mat-Su School District does not seem to be keeping pace.

We are losing good, qualified teachers who are leaving the area. Some of the reasons they have stated for leaving are very disturbing. They are dissatisfied with the treatment they have received here in our school district. They are afraid to speak out for fear of losing their jobs. In fact, this complaint is not just with the teaching staff but permeates all of the school district's employees.

I feel the top priority of our school district is the teachers. Good teachers make good schools. No matter what the subject, courses or programs, if you don't have good teachers to get the ideas across to the students you are not going to have a successful school.

The next priority is the students. They are what this is all about. Every effort must be made to see to it that each and every student has the opportunity to learn.

Students with learning and/or physical disabilities often require special handling, special equipment and extra caring, but they are no less important than any other student.

Our principals are certainly a high priority. They are the leaders, the "head" of the student body. They are the people who have to deal with and solve the many problems that arise every single day. They are the ones who pull it all together. They certainly deserve our strongest support, cooperation and respect.

And last, but certainly not least, are the classified employees. They are the support, the backbone of the school system. They are the ones who often are forced to take the brunt of cutbacks and/or lack of funding, but the job cannot get done without them. They also deserve our support, cooperation and respect.

If I am elected to Seat F of the school board Oct. 5, I promise I will work hard to try and resolve all of these issues.

Beverly (Bev) Erbey is a candidate for School Board, Seat F.