Due to a mistake by the Hopewell Valley News, the same letter from school board candidate Neil Seftor ran two weeks in a row. The following letter, which was received on Oct. 21, did not run as was requested in the Oct. 24 edition of the paper.
Due to a mistake by the Hopewell Valley News, the same letter from school board candidate Neil Seftor ran two weeks in a row. The following letter, which was received on Oct. 21, did not run as was requested in the Oct. 24 edition of the paper. As a result, it is being published today.
I believe my experience evaluating education programs and policies would benefit the board, particularly in the area of education programming (curriculum) and policy. To that end, I spent the last two years working with the superintendent, district staff, and parents to craft a new homework policy to better balance academic demands and life outside school. This focus differs from my fellow candidates, who expressed a primary interest in finance at the Candidate Forum hosted by the LWV. Additionally, a previous letter to the Hopewell Valley News, Bruce Gunther detailed concern about the cost of our schools, noting that the school district must “do more with less.” While financial decisions are critical to the management of scarce resources, the education of our students should be the primary concern.
As the district faces the issue of changing demographics over the next few years, the elementary schools are likely to be the center of the conversation. I currently have children in third and fifth grade at Bear Tavern. Neither Mr. Gunther nor Michael Markulec has a child in the elementary schools, a point highlighted by their suggestion of maximizing the use of (non-existent) free space in Bear Tavern.
My focus is on what is best for our students, not politics. I will not bother you at home with junk mail or robocalls. My family and I moved to this area for the quality of life; we chose Hopewell Township for the outstanding schools. I am passionate about making sure those schools maintain their high level of quality, and that decisions about them are made thoughtfully, appropriately, and responsibly. For more information, please visit seftor.com. I look forward to hearing from you and hope you will consider voting for me on Election Day.
Neil Seftor
Hopewell Township