Candidate Questionnaire: Susan Stern

Radnor Patch has reached out to local candidates to find out more about them. Here is information from Susan Stern.

Name:  Susan Stern

Running For:  Radnor School Board Director

Party Affiliation:  Democrat

Positions Held Previously:  No elected positions but currently serving on the Radnor Planning Commission.

Community Involvement:  Currently serving on the Radnor Planning Commission and a member of the Board of Advisors for the newly formed Skunk Hollow Community Garden.  Former Cubmaster for Radnor Cub Scout Pack 19, currently the Pack Committee Chair, and former Treasurer for Radnor-Wayne Little League.

Why are you running for office:  The school district is at an important juncture.  We have just hired a new superintendent and are set to begin a new strategic planning process.  At this critical time, we must have an entire school board that is committed to working collaboratively together, with the administration and the community, to form a vision for education here in Radnor.  We must maintain fiscal discipline to ensure there are sufficient resources to meet our financial obligations and provide a superior education for all children in Radnor.

What do you think are the biggest issues you would face in office:  One of the biggest challenges that the District must tackle is how to provide an appropriate, enriching education for each student, at a time when expanded standardized testing is used to measure the child’s, and the District’s, growth and success.  We must be a District that provides more than a “teaching to the test” education but, rather, be an educational system in which all children may thrive and grow with their own individual gifts.  This must all occur at a time when funding for schools, on the national and state level, is under assault.   Given that, it is particularly crucial that the budget be managed carefully, with an acknowledgement that both short-term (yearly expenditures) and long-term (PSERS – the pension obligation, capital needs, and debt service) expenses must be funded. 

If elected, what would you aim to accomplish:  If elected, I am committed to attending committee and board meetings well prepared, ready to do the work that the job of school board director requires, ready to listen to what others have to share, and prepared to make decisions I believe will serve the students of Radnor, and the community as a whole, the best.  I have been doing that, in my capacity as a member of the Radnor Planning Commission, for the past 3 ½ years and would welcome the opportunity to do so as a school board director.

To learn more about our campaign, please visit www.radnor2013.com