School Board Candidate Rebuts Pre-Election Opinion Piece

It is my belief that over time most of us come to about the same place, hopefully above midpoint, on the Perfection Scale. I make my mistakes, learn, and try to do better. So does Ed Inghrim. Therefore, in response to :

I am running with Ed in this election because I have witnessed directly his genuinely valuable contribution to analysis and planning for eight years. We have a long history of talented people serving our board. You may put yourself on that list, and you are entitled to a judgment about Ed from your perspective. However, I have seen it in much closer detail for eight years. Ed is one of those talented contributors, providing a level of expertise in some areas that we have never had before.

I am surprised that you continue to use the argument that spending control equates to decline. The website that you criticize provides hard data to counter the assertions that (a) we have cut spending (it has gone up), (b) that we have reduced staff (teacher/student ratio has gone up), and (c) that we have hurt academic performance (we have not). If anything, the most significant change in our district in the last eight years is the increase in AFDC children, whom we have absorbed and serve exceptionally well.

The path our district was on (8 percent per year tax increases for 10 years) was not sustainable. A fiscally strained community cannot support a sound school system built for the long term. Ultimately it will break down. We now have savings in the bank, five years of tax rate stability, and a good school system on a sustainable path.

You have been an interesting friend for many years. I would have to reluctantly decline your endorsement if doing so was at the expense of a decision that I believed in. I guess you saved me from that dilemma.

Ralph Puerta