A Holmdel school board election is coming up April 16. If you don’t usually vote in such elections, you should think of it this way: our property values are tied to the excellence of our schools. That’s what many people move here for. And the schools are now facing a rocky transition, having lost 11 of 12 administrators (eight were bought out by the Board of Education to bring in "merit pay" and three others left for various reasons). Experience and continuity have been lost with those administrators.
Karen Strickland is one of 10 people running for three school board openings. She recognizes we are at a crossroads with people in the school community frustrated and anxious, facing one another as adversaries rather than partners.
I have worked with Karen on political campaigns and fund-raisers and have admired her talent for defusing tensions and getting people to work together with mutual respect toward a common goal.
Karen was a teacher herself for 10 years, has three children in Holmdel schools, and has organized a number of civic projects both in her native Virginia and since coming to Holmdel five years ago. She attends Township Committee and school board meetings regularly and practices the active citizen participation of someone who really cares about her community and makes a personal effort to improve things.
To maintain the standard that Holmdel’s schools are known for, you can’t do better than to vote for Karen Strickland for the Board of Education.
Anita Linke
Holmdel