Letter to the editor: Welton gets it

I’m planning to vote for Sarah Welton for School Board. I am so pleased with what she has been able to help the School Board do already, and want to enable her to help get a few more things done.

When Sarah was first elected the overcrowding at Wasilla schools was awful. Working with others, and with the vote of the public, a carefully phased construction program for new schools was set in motion and overcrowding is largely a thing of the past.

She had a role in seeing some important improvements in the safety of our schools. We now have a School Resource (aka Wasilla Police) Officer at Wasilla High & Middle schools and available at the elementary schools. She fought to bring the custodians and clerical staff back under the direct supervision of building principals because that is also key to keeping our schools safe. She advocated for advanced safety training for all staff.

Graduation rates have improved. Students can take courses online now through APEX. Voc ed programs have been expanded. She worked collaboratively with the charter schools to help them improve their instruction, efficiency and transparency. She’s excited about the growth of the correspondence school. It’s incredible how students can now earn an AA degree while in high school! She hopes after-school programs like Night Court (basketball) can be expanded. She’s very proud of her role in helping establish school-start roll-in which helps students and families have a less-stressful start to the school year. She wants to see early-start programs (pre-k) expanded.

She is not accepting political party support because School Board offices are non-partisan.

As a taxpayer, it’s important to me that she has helped keep costs down and that a smaller percent of my property tax dollar goes to schools now than it did before she was elected to the School Board.

I appreciate the personal qualities, professional skills and community connections Sarah brings to the School Board. She is an ordained minister, pastoring a parish. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor, running her own small business. She has a PhD, and for 14 yrs was an Adjunct Professor at UAA. She’s been actively involved for years with the Recycling Center and is now the President of the board. She is also on the board of Daybreak Services.

Please join me voting for Sarah Welton for School Board on Tuesday, October 2nd.

Patrick Johnson,

Wasilla