Meet Michael Simone, Candidate For Central Bucks School Board

WARRINGTON, PA — Michael Simone is running for Central Bucks School Board Region 7, which includes Warrington Township.

Rob Dugger is also running for the seat. Both candidates are cross-filing and will appear on both the Democratic and Republican ballots in the May 18 primary.

Here is Simone's profile, as filled out by the candidate:

Age (as of Election Day)

68

Party Affiliation

Cross Filed

Family

I'm married with 2 publicly schooled children.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

BA/Philosophy, SJSU; MDiv, Covenant Theological Seminary

Occupation

25 Years Selling Total Joint Replacements, Arthroscopy Equipment, and Orthopedic Biotech. 10 Years as a Portfolio Manager and Financial Analyst.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

None

Campaign website

https://facebook.com/Michael.S...

Why are you seeking elective office?

I want to represent the primary stakeholders in public education: the kids, the parents, and the taxpayers.

School board members and teachers, on the other hand, are the public servants. They serve at the pleasure of the taxpayer as do police, firefighters, EMT workers, road crews, and prison guards.
‘Public Servants,’ i.e., they are hired to serve, involving personal sacrifice and an eye on what’s best for the primary stakeholders, namely kids, parents, families, and taxpayers. This brings a crisp focus.

Otherwise the Public Servants are tempted and distracted by their personal interests, outside agendas, and trendy ideologies. And these agendas may well, and often do, conflict with the interest of families and taxpayers.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

1) School reopening in full for all those families who want it.
2) Careful eye on curriculum, focused on developing competence in STEM, history, writing, and English skills.
3) Every School in CB is under capacity and enrollment is shrinking while costs continue to rise. The taxpayer is on the hook for every penny, and unlike the School Board, cannot demand more money from his/her employer when expenses rise.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I am non-ideological and focused on kids, parents, families and taxpayers as the paramount stakeholders.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

Too ideologically driven and driven by outside interests besides the Stakeholders I mention above.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Courage and probing questions, not accepting glib or superficial answers.

PA is one of the few places in the country whereby a few people (9 in the case of Central Bucks) can raise your taxes without requiring the tax increase to be on a ballot. They also control school opening and curriculum and, the case case of CB, a large budget and the third largest school district in PA. This kind of power and money is easily subject to corrupting influences by outside interests.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

Member of two non-profit boards. 10 years as the president of an HOA. Straight commissioned sales for most of my years in medical device sales.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

"...never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense." Winston Churchill

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I enjoy eating finely prepared squash and making a bit of mischief now and then!

More seriously, I'm not in this for anything other than the interests, as I said, of kids, parents, families, and taxpayers. This job doesn't pay and someone is always unhappy. Why would I want it? Yes, kids, the next generation, families, and taxpayers all need advocates who have their backs.