To the Editor

Five strong candidates have thrown their hats into the BKW School Board ring to fight for two vacancies.   As any boxer will tell you, nothing compares to testing yourself the way you do every time you step in the ring.  

As many of you realize, our district currently has all new administrators. We are sorely in need of someone with experience, institutional memory, and a strong fiscal background to balance out the skills of the present board members.   For this reason, after serious deliberation, I have decided to cast one of my votes for Ed Ackroyd; the other vote  to be determined after the Feb. 22 "Meet the Candidates Night.”

My decision is based on the following criteria:

— Understanding: As an almost lifetime resident of the school district, Ed has a thorough understanding of what makes us "tick.”  He is the father of four children — a teacher, an AT&T employee, a law professor, and a private business owner. This has provided him with the insights that being a parent brings.  As a retiree, he also is able to give more time to fulfilling the demanding and time-consuming responsibilities of board service;

— Experience: Not only has Ed previously served on our school board but he has also regularly attended board meetings for over 10 years.  He has a comprehensive knowledge of current issues before the board.  Therefore, he would not need to spend months being brought up to speed;

— Fiscal knowledge: Ed owned his own business for over 30 years, is a co-owner of a patent, and contributed to three others.  He has been a member of BKW's Budget Advisory Committee for the last six years and is completely familiar with our budgetary needs and expenditures.  He also has the "hands on" knowledge needed to address recently discussed repairs and building concerns.

— Service:  Ed is a disabled Vietnam veteran who takes the concept of  "service" seriously.  Working in concert with other American Legion members for several years, Ed was able to have seven of our students (11 by the end of this year) attend the prestigious Boys State, a remarkable achievement as usually only one student is selected for each area.  In addition, he was also one of the leaders, a few years back, in getting donations from local fire companies to fund our marching band's appearance at local parades when the school district was no longer able to do so.

For all of the above reasons, I urge you to cast one of your votes for Ed Ackroyd when the ‘bell’ sounds on Feb 23, 2016  and he steps into the ring.

In closing, I would like to express my thanks to all of the folks who have chosen to join Ed in throwing their hats in the ring!

Helen M. Lounsbury

Berne

Editor’s note: Helen Lounsbury is a retired Berne-Knox-Westerlo teacher and Berne-Knox-Westerlo School Board member.