Letter of Support for Jim Link

The following letter was submitted to Radnor Patch by Bobbie Lane of Villanova. Send your letters to Sam.Strike@Patch.com.

As a long-time resident of Radnor Township and an active member of the school parents' community, I support Jim Link for School Board Director.  
You will find him listed as Valentine James Link, Jr. on the November 5th ballot.  

Jim and his wife Kathy have lived in Radnor since 2006, having moved from Charlotte, NC.  When looking to move into the Philadelphia region, they focused on communities with excellent public schools for their three daughters.  They chose Radnor.  Since arriving here, Jim and Kathy have been tireless volunteers, supporting the township schools through organizations like REACH, RMS PTO, and RHS PTSA.  Just this year, Jim retired from his executive leadership position as RHS PTSA Treasurer (which he held for two years) to run for School Board.  Under his leadership, he developed a written policy regarding the handling of treasurer duties and functions, instituted a multiple check signature requirement to reduce the potential for fraud, and integrated the PTSA's School School within overall PTSA accounting.  I have personally worked with Jim on the PTSA and I know he values Radnor and its educational focus.

Professionally, Jim is an advisor to state and local governments like the Radnor Township School District, and has a truly unique insight into how governments function and how they can become more efficient, not just less costly.  He advises governments on how best to manage their long-term liabilities through thoughtful planning and the measured, appropriate and transparent building of reserves to fund those liabilities.  As you may have noticed, when Jim is making public comment at the board meeting podium, he is fluent in government accounting topics and financial matters.  He has said, he is for proper funding and reserving of assets to fund the district's long-term plans, but those long-term strategic plans must be written and vetted before the public.  Fortunately for us, Jim speaks from professional experience and wants to bring his expertise home to Radnor.

The reason I support Jim is his honest, transparent and reasoned views about educational services and tax funding.  He will bring an expertise that no current board member or candidate has as it pertains to the financial workings of the district.  However, more importantly, he values a "Radnor Education" and wants to return to those exceptional values.  Two of his daughters are focused on math and science so he is keenly aware of issues relating to a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education.  He is also aware of the falling scores and dissatisfaction in Radnor as it relates to some of this curriculum.  As an example, Jim would push to review the elementary school math curriculum since there seems to be a broad view amongst parents that the current curriculum is inadequate in preparing our students for higher math.  Ultimately, Jim is a very thoughtful, reasonable decision-maker who would benefit us all through his service as a Director on the Radnor Township School Board.

I am voting for Valentine "Jim" Link for Radnor School Board because he will govern fairly with all of us in mind and encourage you to do so as well.